*34 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



! July 



Bay on the shore, among rejectamenta mixed with fish scales, 

 evidently where fishermen had been landing fish (W.F.J.). 



6. S. laevigata, F. A very distinct species, having smooth elytra, 

 stout legs, and very short antennae. Mostly found in chalky districts. 

 Several have been exhibited at the Society's meetings by various 

 members, who have obtained them from Kent and Sussex districts. 

 Taken at Higham from a ditch by Mr. Cripps ; four or five crawling 

 on pathways at Deal by Mr. Allbuary ; and also by Mr. Jarvis. 

 Recorded by Mr. Champion (Kent and Surrey Coleoptera) as not 

 uncommon in carcases, at roots of grass, &c, often on pathways, 

 Chatham, Dover, Heme Bay, Ramsgate, Sheerness, Lewisham, Box- 

 hill, and Gomshall. Also noticed pretty commonly on Darland Hill, 

 Chatham, by Mr. W. C. Chaney. Found very common on south-east 

 coast of Kent by Mr. A. J. Chitty, running over hot paths (April) ; 

 likewise at Deal and south-west Hampshire. Mr. Chitty does not 

 remember taking it at carrion, but has found it at roots of trees in the 

 New Forest. Several additional localities are given by Canon Fowler, 

 and Mr. Robson has taken it at Hartlepool. Not recorded from either 

 Scotland or Ireland. 



NATURALISTS OF THE DAY. 



XVII.— JOHN JENNER WEIR, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S.* 



I was born at Lewes on 9th August, 1822. My father was John 

 Weir, late of the Legacy Duty Department, Somerset House. 



From the earliest dawn of memory I can think of myself as being 

 ardently fond of Natural History, indeed the love of nature has been 

 all my life a passion with me. I have always felt pleasure in the 

 reflection that Dr. Gideon Marstell, F.R.S., the eminent naturalist 

 and palaeontologist, attended at my birth. 



When my brother Harrison Weir, who is nearly two years younger 

 than myself, became old enough to join in my pursuits, we kept a 

 multitude of living creatures, and have certainly had not less than one 

 hundred different species of vertebrates in captivity. • 



I first made a collection of the eggs of British birds, and afterwards 

 of dried botanical specimens, but although occasionally I collected 

 insects, it was not till the summer of 1843 that I seriously took up the 

 study of Entomology, and I find my first note on that subject was 

 made 1st March, 1844. 



* This was sent in letter form to enable me to draw up a brief biography of Mr. Weir, but the 

 whole is so interesting that I have no hesitation in giving it in his own words. — Ed. B.N. 



