enlarged "Sharpe's" edition. Ceylon, New Zealand, Para on the Amazon, Fiji, and New Caledonia were the scenes of other governmental appointments, which covered a term of forty-seven years. He was an old and valued contributor to our contemporary the 'Field.'
In 'Nature' for Dec. 28th last is a most useful article on "Formalin as a preservative" under the easily recognised initials "R.L." We read that "for sterilising freshly killed specimens of mammals and birds, as well as eggs, that have to be sent some distance to a museum in the flesh, there can be no doubt that formalin is invaluable. And it is no less valuable to the field collector of mammals, not only on account of the small bulk a sufficiency of the fluid occupies, but also from the marvellous preservative power of the fluid itself. According to Mr. O. Thomas (who reports very favourably of it for this purpose), commercial formalin, which is itself 40 per cent, under proof, must be diluted with no less than twenty-five times its own bulk of water before use. Moreover, whereas when mammals are preserved in spirit it is necessary to allow a very large amount of fluid to each specimen, when formalin is employed the vessel may be crammed as full as possibles with specimens, which are preserved without exhibiting the slightest traces of putrefaction. When received at the British Museum all such specimens are, however, immediately transferred to alcohol, on account of their unsuitability for handling when in the original medium."
A large egg of Æpyornis maximus was sold at auction by Messrs. Stevens on November 7th for forty-two guineas. The purchaser was Mr. T.G. Middlebrook, of Great Auk-egg notoriety.
The late Sir James Paget, who died in London on Dec. 30th last at the age of eighty-five, beyond his renown as a surgeon, must be remembered as a naturalist. In 1834, with the assistance of his brother Charles, he published 'A Sketch of the Natural History of Yarmouth and its Neighbourhood, containing Catalogues of the Species of Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, Insects, and Plants at present known.' Our readers will call to mind frequent reference to the same in recent communications in these pages by Mr. A. Patterson.
News has reached this country of the death of America's great ornithologist, Dr. Elliott Coues, which took place at Baltimore, U.S.A., on Christmas Day. We hope to publish an obituary notice very shortly.
