72 
The Irish Naturalist 
March, 
From its commencement, Mr. Burbidge closely associated himself with 
the interests of the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, eventually becoming 
its President in 1904. He was also a member of other scientific societies, 
such as the Ivinnean Society, and the Royal Irish Academy. The Royal 
Horticultural Society of Kngland acknowledged his work by conferring 
on him the Victoria Medal of Honor in 1897, and he also held the Veitch 
Memorial Medal for distinguished services to horticulture. His geniah 
cheery manner, and the honest sincerity of his friendship are traits 
which have left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of 
knowing him. 
F. W. M. 
SIR ROBERT LLOYD PATTERSON, D.L., F.L.S. 
The civic and scientific life of Belfast will long feel the poorer for the 
loss of one of the most prominent of the many energetic amateur na- 
turalists of the north. Sir R. lyl. Patterson passed away on January 29th, 
the immediate cause of his death being weakness, following on a necessary 
operation. He had reached his seventieth year, having been born in 
December, 1836, the second son of Robert Patterson, F.R.S., one 
of the most famous of the eminent group of Ulster naturalists 
of the first half of the last century. Educated at the Royal Aca- 
demical Institution and at Stuttgart, he entered business life as 
a flax merchant when only twenty-two years of age ; and he did not 
retire until 1886. His untiring and energetic work on behalf 
of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, which he joined in 1864, and of 
which he held the Presidency in 1880 and again in 1896, was recognised 
by the warm esteem in which be was universally held in northern 
business and municipal circles ; and the knighthood conferred on him in 
1902 was no surprise to any who knew his work for the good of his native 
city. 
As a naturalist Sir R. LI. Patterson will be remembered for his obser- 
vations, carried on through many years, of the animals of Belfast Lough. 
He was an enthusiastic yachtsman, and took every opportunity of 
watching the habits of sea birds and other denizens of the waters. His 
studies on these subjects were embodied in his well-known book : '• The 
Birds, Fishes, and Cetacea of Belfast Lough," published in 1888. Notes 
from his pen appeared from time to time in the pages of the Ibis, the 
Zoologist, the Field, and the Irish Naturalist. In the establishment and 
progress of this magazine he ever took a kindly interest. 
In the scientific societies of Belfast he was always a well-known and 
popular figure. For forty years he was a member of the Belfast Natural 
History and Philosophical Society, and for two periods— in 1881-2 
and 1882-3, and again in 1894-5 and 1895-6— he occupied the presidential 
chair. For the furtherance of this Society— of which his father had been 
one of the founders in 1821— he never spared himself, and the Belfast 
Naturalists' Field Club also found in him a willing helper. During the 
