MAN WHO AIDED DARWIN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1644, 10 January 1913, Page 3

MAN WHO AIDED DARWIN.

'DEATH OF TEGETMEIER, JOURNALIST AND. NATURALIST. ' The death' is announced of the veteran journalist and naturalist, Mr.; W. B. Tegetmeier, at the age of ninety-six. Now the only survivor of the great scientists of mid-Victorian times is Dr. Afred Russel Wallace, who is in his ninetieth year. When Darwin .was making- his regearches which were afterwards given to the world in-the "Origin of Species," "Tlie Descent of Man," and other , epochmaking works, ono of his chief assistants was Mr. .Tegetmeier. The i latter was born at. Colnbrook, Bucks, in 1816, and was the eldest, son of a'surgeon in the Royal Navy.' .George 111 was still on the throne. As a boy he -used to buy wild birds and keep them' in his father's house in St. James's, and he-also adopted pigeon fancying. It'was'through o neighbour, Mr. Varrell, who was" also a well-knoivn - writer on birds and fishes, that Mr. Tegetmeier made the acquaintance of Darwin, who at the time was in search of facts about variation in animals. Darwin gratefully accepted his help, and in his volumes has made many acknowledgments of the assistance rendered by his feellow naturalist. _ Mr. Tegetmeier was of service to Darwin ' ir many different directions.' For instance, he'tabulated for him from the "Racins Calendar," the, births of racehorses during.' a period of twenty-one years, and also the births of greyhounds as recorded in the "Field" for twelve years. On morf than one occasion lie suggested , a method of research which Darwin adopted.- Foi instance, he tried an experiment bj which a bee was led to build a singl( cell, and'found, as ho suspected, that tin "geometrical" instinct of tho- bee was t myth. Tlie cell, in fact, was circular end he read a paper on this discovery al tho British Association meeting in 1858. Mr. Tegetmeier was on the staff of thi "Field" for . almost fifty years, and wrot< more than 1100 consecutive weekly lead ers for the "Queen." He, wrote man} books, on bird life. • ' • .-l; It was one of his fewboasts that he wn! tho oldest liolder of a reading ticket ai tho British Museum.- He took-out, hi! 1 reading ticket in 1833, at.the age-of seven . teen. ' ■ .