118 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Antarctic voyage of the ' Southern Cross.' * Previously to this he 

 had applied (as he has himself told us in his " Appreciation of Dr. E. A. 

 Wilson," published with part xiv. of his ' History of British Mammals ' 

 in August, 1913) for appointment to the scientific staff of Scott's 

 first Antarctic Expedition (1901-4), when Wilson was selected, 

 doubtless on account of his marvellous skill as an artist, combined 

 with his qualifications as a doctor; while to Barrett-Hamilton fell 

 the honourable task of compiling for the use of the expedition the 

 chapter on Seals in the ' Antarctic Manual' (1901). 



There is something singularly pathetic in the coincidence of the 

 author pausing during the publication of his principal work to write 

 an appreciation of his artist who had perished in the Antarctic ; and 

 only five months later the publishers again pausing while a similar 

 sad office is performed by an old friend (Mr. Oldfield Thomas, P.E.S.) 

 of the author, who has now himself died on what may be called the 

 threshold of the same Antarctic. 



He maintained a weekly correspondence from his Cambridge days 

 until his death in 1907 with Professor Alfred Newton, who took the 

 greatest interest in and guided his career, and who always regretted 

 that his life was not wholly given up to zoology. His output of 

 papers and notes on all branches of zoology was very large, but space 

 does not allow an extended notice of them. 



Early in 1904 Barrett-Hamilton " approached " the present writer 

 by asking if he could supply certain specimens of British mammals 

 for the National Collection at South Kensington, but in his third 

 letter he divulged his real object: — " I may as well tell you straight 

 out that I have accepted the invitation of the owners of Bell's 

 ' British Quadrupeds ' to bring out a new edition of the work, and I 

 am very anxious that it should be as good and up-to-date as possible. 

 That is why I am anxious to obtain reliable information upon the 

 moults, periods of gestation, &c, of the smaller and rarer carnivora, 

 on which points I believe that no one has anything like the know- 

 ledge which you have." Correspondence on a subject so congenial 

 to both of us once started, has flowed ever since, generally with very 

 short intervals, ending only with his lamented death, ten years later. 

 Another quotation or two will help to show the early stages of the 

 work, though not by any means its inception, because from his 

 youth he had cherished the idea, and his preparations began early. 



* " Report on the Collections of Natural Histoiy made . . . during the 

 Voyage of the ' Southern Cross.'" Mammalia. 1902. Sold at the British 

 Museum Natural History. 



