Edward Alfred Minchin. 



xli 



difficult, study of the Trypanosonies, he continued the study of this group for 

 the rest of his career. As the outcome of study in the vacations on the Norfolk 

 Broads he published (' Proc. Zool. Soc.,' 1909) an interesting general account 

 of the trypanosomes and trypanoplasrns of fresh-water fishes, illustrated by 

 remarkably beautiful figures. In the course of this study he showed how 

 essential it is for minute cytological details to use a wet method of fixation 

 and to stain by some variety of iron-htematoxylin. So impressed was Minchin 

 by the necessity for the best possible technique in studying trypanosomes 

 that before undertaking his great research on Trypcmsoma lewisi he spent 

 some time in comparing the results obtained by many different fixatives 

 and stains. His observations are recorded in a most instructive paper on the 

 cytology of this parasite in relation to technique (' Quart. Journ. Micro. Sci.,' 

 1909). 



He then turned his attention to the investigation of the life cycle of 

 Trypanosoma lewisi in the rat flea, and after arduous study, extending over 

 five years, he published, with Dr. J. D. Thomson as joint collaborator, a 

 complete memoir on this subject (' Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci.,' 1915). The 

 great importance of this elaborate piece of work must be recognised by 

 all protozoologists. It is the only complete account of the life-history 

 of any trypanosome in its invertebrate host, and the detailed description of 

 the various stages and their relation to the epithelial cells of the various 

 parts of the alimentary canal of the host that they infest make it a standard 

 work on which the researches of later investigators must be based. It is, 

 perhaps, in this memoir that we see Minchin at his best. On every page 

 we recognise his infinite capacity for taking pains, amounting almost to 

 genius, his skill in technique, his wide knowledge and sound judgment. 



But, although Minchin's interest was focussed mainly upon the 

 Trypanosomes from the time he became Professor of Protozoology, he wrote 

 several shorter papers on the Haemogregarines and parasitic Amoebae. To 

 the general zoologist, however, his name will be associated principally with 

 his book entitled ' An Introduction to the Study of the Protozoa,' one of the 

 best and most valuable treatises on a single group of animals that has ever 

 been published. In this work he brought together in a concise form a vast 

 amount of information concerning all the groups of Protozoa, but giving in 

 greater detail the results of recent investigations on those that are parasitic. 

 It is a book characteristic of his clear mind, his profound knowledge and 

 powers of acute criticism. 



One of the last acts of his busy life was the preparation of his address as 

 President of Section D at the meeting of the British Association in Manchester 

 last September. It was written at a time when he was suffering from the 

 painful and fatal illness to which he succumbed three weeks later. Unable 

 to attend the meeting himself, he invited his friend, Mr. Heron- Allen, to read 

 the address for him, and with his usual care for efficiency marked those parts 

 that lie wished to be emphasized and those parts that could be omitted if 

 time were pressing. Those who were present at the meeting will long 



