44 
Obltuary — E. Billings. 
at Ottawa and partly at Potsdam, in tke State of New York. Enter- 
ing tke Law Society of Upper Canada as a Student in 1840, he was 
called to tke Bar in 1845. He practised first in tke town of Benfrew, 
and afterwards in Ottawa, or Bytown as it was tken called. Wkile 
residing in tke latter place ke seems to have found tke study of 
nature more congenial tokis tastes tkan tke formalities of tke Courts; 
but wketker tkis was tke case or not, it is certain tkat he commenced 
to devote muck of his time to collecting: tke onranic remains of tke 
Suunan rocks of tke neigkbourkood, and amassed in particular a 
fine and almost unique series of Cystideans and Crinoids, wliick ke 
ultimately presen ted to tke Museum of tke Geological Survey. 
His earliest contributions to the literature of Science were a few 
letters on geological subjects wkick appeared in tke Ottawa Citizen, 
but tke first palasontological papers of any consequence from kis pen 
were a couple of articles “ On some new genera and species of 
Cystidea from the Trenton Limestone,” wkick were publisked in 
tke Journal of tke Canadian Institute of Toronto for 1854. 
In 1856 Mr. Billings commenced tke publication of tke “Canadian 
Naturalist and Geologist” as a monthly magazine, of wkick he was 
botk editor and proprietor. Out of a total of 63 papers in tke first 
volume of tke new venture, 55 were eitker written or compiled by 
him. Since 1857 tke “Naturalist” kas been edited by a Committee 
of tke Natural History Society of Montreal, but Mr. Billings was 
always an active member of tkis Committee, and there is scarcely 
a volume of tke journal to wkick ke did not contribute. 
Tke merit of Mr. Billings’ descriptions of fossils and kis zeal in 
their study did not escape tke notice of Canada's Veteran geologist, 
tke late Sir W. E. Logan. Accordingly, in 1856, Sir William offered 
Mr. Billings tke position of Pakeontologist to tke Geological Survey 
of Canada, an appointment wkick was at once accepted. In tke same 
year Mr. Billings removed to Montreal, tke head-quarters of tke 
Survey. and entered on tke discharge of kis new duties, wkick ke 
continued to perform witk equal credit to kimseif and advantage to 
tke country up to tke time of his deatk. 
His principal memoirs during kis twenty years of office are an 
illustrated monograpk on tke Lower Silurian Cystidea and Asteriadm, 
also anotker on tke Crinoidea of the same formation, wkick together 
form Decades Nos. 3 and 4 of “CaDadian Organic Remains:” tke 
palceontological determinations in tke “ Geology of Canada ” for 
1S63 : “ Palmozoic Fossils,” vol. i., witk 426 pages and 401 wood- 
cuts, publisked at Montreal in 1865 : Part 2 of tke second volume of 
ditto, issued in 1874: and “ Catalogues of the Silurian Fossils of tke 
Island of Anticosti,” Montreal, 1866. He wrote numerous pakeonto- 
logical papers, not only for tke “ Canadian Naturalist,” but also for 
the American Journal of Science and Arts, and for tkese pages. 
Mr. Billings was for many years one of tke Vice-Presidents of tke 
Natural History Society of Montreal, was elected a Member of tke 
Canadian Iustitute of Toronto in January, 1854, and a Fellow of the 
Geological Society of London in 1858. 
In 1862 ke was awarded a bronze medal in Class 1 by tke jurors 
