160 In Memoriam: Walter John Gyngell. 
largely owing to his enthusiasm as a collector, and his pains- 
taking searching, that the list of land and freshwater mollusca 
was completed, and he added immeasurably to our knowledge 
of this branch of natural history. 
But his interest in nature was too wide to be confined 
only to birds and shells. Wild flowers, geology, insects, and, 
indeed, all aspects of wild life made a strong appeal to him, 
and he brought to bear on these the same critical faculties 
that he employed in the study of his special branches. 
As I remember him he was a man of simple tastes,’ with a 
keen sense of humour ; a love of the beautiful, and an inate 
tenderness of heart that made cruelty in any form abhorrent. 
There was a strong vein of scepticism in his nature which 
made him demand scientific proof where others might be 
content with generalities. He had little use for theories. I 
remember discussing with him the theory of protective 
colouration and mimicry. He would neither accept nor reject 
the theory. ‘ It can’t be proved one way or the other,’ he 
said, * because we don’t know that animals see colour and 
form as we do. It’s all based on human experience.’ 
This sceptical attitude made him, at times, ultra-critical 
of the opinions or statements of others. ‘ I believe nothing 
The Naturalist 
