276 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
Pittas being especially noteworthy for their striking coloration. The 
majority came from the collection of A. Russel Wallace, though some, such 
as the young kestrels, were reared by himself. 
Since he came to England in 1856 he took an interest in the marine 
fauna — indeed in that year a local publication included his contributions 
to the marine fauna of Brighton. His holidays were generally devoted 
to the increase of the Museum’s marine or freshwater fishes and other 
forms. At St Andrews he collected in a day or two various fishes and 
ten species of marine annelids. An excellent sailor, he sometimes was the 
only effective naturalist on board a boat or yacht, as, for example, when 
the distinguished Professor Kolliker of Wurzburg requested his aid off the 
south coast of England. His tanks for the preservation of the large fishes 
always accompanied him in these excursions. None enjoyed the freedom 
of forest, moor, or hill, or the quietude of a river bank more than he, and 
thus he gained an intimate knowledge of Nature — both animate and inani- 
mate — so important for the head of the Zoological Department of the 
National Museum. This knowledge, gained by close observation on the 
Continent of Europe, in Britain, and in the adjoining seas, made him a 
delightful companion, and there were few who were more welcome than he 
at the country-seats both of England and Scotland. Moreover, he was an 
excellent shot — a reminiscence, perhaps, of his military experiences in South 
Germany — and an expert angler. At one time he took an active interest 
in the introduction of the Sheat-fish ( Siluris glanis) to English waters, and 
with success ; but the voracious habits of these large fishes proved disastrous 
to the salmonoids, and the attempt was not repeated. 
Quite lately he prepared for the Trustees a brief account of the changes 
in the British Museum (Natural History) from 1858 to 1895 — that is, during 
the period of his official connection with the institution. The continuous 
stream of important additions, many of which were due to the influence of 
the Keeper himself, the increase of the assistants, the inauguration of 
systematic publications by the staff, the transference of the greatest collec- 
tion of the kind in the world from the old to the new quarters, and the 
introduction of every modern improvement in arrangement, are told with 
the characteristic modesty and restraint of the veteran investigator. 
Dr Gunther was the recipient of many honours both at home and 
abroad. He was a Vice-President of the Royal and Zoological Societies, 
President of the Linnean Society, President of the Biological Section of the 
British Association, and a Fellow of most of the learned societies at home 
and abroad. He was awarded a Royal Medal by the Royal Society, and 
the Gold Medal of the Linnean Society. 
