From the " Field." 



The death of this eminent zoologist, which took place on the 

 7th inst., at his residence at the British Museum, has left a 

 void in the scientific world which it will probably be impos- 

 sible to refill. There are, indeed, many living naturalists 

 whose knowledge embraces a wide gauge of subjects, but 

 they are known chiefly as authorities on one or two special 

 branches of natural history ; and the man who would attempt 

 to master the whole of zoological science, at its present rate 

 of progress, would assuredly not compass one tithe of his 

 endeavour. 



Dr. Gray, whose loss the scientific world now deplores, was 

 almost the last representative of that old school of scientific 

 men who, following in the wake of Cuvier, have laid the basis 

 of that firm zoological platform on which we now stand, and 

 who have gathered together those magnificent collections in 

 the different countries of Europe which afford to the student 

 in every branch of science the means of prosecuting his 

 studies. 



It is difficult for the present generation to realize the 

 obstacles against which a naturalist in the position of Dr. 

 Gray had to contend thirty or forty years ago. Collections 

 of animals did not then arrive wholesale from foreign countries 

 as they do now ; there were not half the number of museums 

 in existence, and few private collectors ; the art of preserving 

 specimens of natural history was then not nearly as well 

 understood as it is now, and even the specimens which were 

 procured by the different Government exploring expeditions 

 were not always returned in a fit state of preservation. In 

 the face of these difficulties how earnest must have been the 

 endeavours of men who, in spite of the paltry remuneration 

 with which scientific merit is rewarded by the Governments of 

 all countries, have laid the foundations of such museums as 

 those of Paris, Leydea, Berlin, Stockholm, and London, and 

 have conducted them to their present state of excellence. 

 Nothing is easier in these days than to find fault with the 



