Vs^ I •^ HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF THE Museum of Comparative Zoology THE ESSEX NATURALIST : BEING THE Jourmil af the i£^:^c^tx Jficlb (Elub. EDITED BY WILLIAM COLE, Honorary Secretary. VOLUME VII. JANUARY— DEC EMBER, 1893. " Men that undertake only one district are much more likelv to advance natural knowledge than those that grasp at more than they can possibly be acquainted -unth. Every kingdom, every province, should have its own Mono- grapher.'''— Gilbert White of Selborne. " Seldom was ever any knowledge given to keep, but to impart ; the grace of this rich jewel is lost in concealment." — BiSHOP JOSEPH Hall. The aiiHiars atone are responsible for itie statements and opinions contained in tlieh- respective paper s.\ PUBLISHED BY THE CLUB, BUCKHURST HILL, ESSEX. E. DuRKANT & Co., 90, High Street, Chelmsford. 1S93. MAH16 1926 1/ ^Jk^^^f**H /f rti' ("^rr re/ «■ stone that told a lie ? " " Sadie." Nature a^ords at /east a (^^li/iu/i'n'.'/i:; iis^^U The tines, though touched Init fai/itiy, are drawn rii^hti" Pope. " O Nature I Enrich vie tvith the kiioiDledge of thy works: Snatch me to heazien."' Thomson. " Who great in search of (Jod and Nalur-e grow They i>est the -wise Crea'or's praise declare.'"'' Dryuen. '■'■ Rural recreations abroad, a?id boohs at home, are the innocent pleasures of a ma7i tvho is early wise." Dryden. " The ivorks of Nat me ivill bear a thousar,d vieivs and revieivs ; the more frequently and narrowly we look into them the more occasion we shall have to admire their beauty.^' Atierbury. " A mail finds in the productions of Nature an inexhaustible sfock of material upon which he nuiy employ himself without any temptation to emy or mal-Tolence." Dr. Samuel Johnson. " In the vernal season of the year, when the air is calm and pleasant, it were an injury and sullenness against Nature r -t to go out and see her riches and par'ake of her rejoicing with heaven and earth." Milton. " Jiich with the wisdo)n of birds and By T. V. HOLMES, F.G.S., M.A.I., etc. [Read February 21st, jSgj-] T^HE new railway from Upminster to Romford is the most northerly portion of the line connecting Grays Thurrock with Romford. In The Essex Naturalist for 1890 (vol. iv., p. 143) I gave some account of the sections then visible in the most southerly part of this railway. I there stated that south of Back Lane Chalk appeared, while between Back Lane and the stream known as the Mardyke it became covered by the Lower Tertiary formations, the Thanet Sand and Woolwich Beds, the overlying London Clay being seen on the northern side of the Mardyke Valley, and thence constituting the oldest rock visible anywhere, not merely along the course of the railway, but anywhere southward of the upiise of the Chalk and Lower Tertiaries in northern Essex. But a glance at the section given in The Essex Naturalist (vol. iv., p. 146), showing the arrangement of the beds just mentioned from West Thurrock to the northern flank of the valley of the Mardyke, reveals the fact that the surface of the high ground, both I For the block of the section and m.ap illustrating this paper, the Editor is indebted to the courtesy of the Council of the Geological Society. B 2 THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. north and south of the Mardyke, consists of old river-gravel, except where some bare Chalk appears near West Thurrock. This old river-gravel lies indifferently on the Chalk or Tertiary deposits, and that on each flank of the Mardyke valley evidently once formed a continuous sheet. Between a point rather more than a mile south of the Mardyke, and another between Stubbers and North Ockendon, this gravel, along the course of the railway, has a surface level varying between sixty and seventy feet above Ordnance Datum. In the cutting at and south of the road between Manor Farm and North Ockendon, brick-earth, clay, and sand appeared, as also in others northward towards Cranham Hall. Between Cranham Hall and Upminster the railway is on an embankment. Between the Mardyke and Upminster the cuttings are shallow, seldom, if ever, exceeding ten to twelve feet in depth, and in my journeys along the line I never saw the underlying London Clay in this part of the course of the railway except for a distance of two or three hundred yards close to the Mardyke valley. In short, the sections afforded by the cuttings revealed nothing but the gravel and brick-earth -shown on the map of the Geological Survey. A glance at the map just referred to makes it obvious that the Thames in this south-western corner of Essex has once flowed by Hainault Forest, Romford, Hornchurch, and North Ockendon to Hangman's Wood, Mucking, and Stanford-le-hope — a course much more northerly than that of its present channel. And examination of the tract of river-gravel, which remains as a record of this fact, shows that it consists of flat ground very gradually increasing in height as we recede from the present Thames and approach the undulating London Clay, which lies beyond the gravel plain. Thus we find that the surface of the gravel of Hainault Forest, of the ground close to but north of Romford, Hornchurch, and Upminster, and on the eastern side of North Ockendon, has a height above Ordnance Datum of loo feet, or a little more. If we look for gravel averaging sixty to seventy feet, we find it occupying a belt of ground roughly parallel with that just indicated, but nearer the Thames, at Chadwell Heath, south of Hornchurch and Upminster, and west of South Ockendon. Similarly, areas below fifty feet are those around Ilford, Dagenham, Barking, and Rainham. These facts all point to the conclusion that the Thames once flowed at a height of loo feet or more above its present level, and some four or five miles northward of its present course ; and that the river has THE NEW RAILWAY P.ETWEEN UPMINSTER AND RO.MKORD. 3 during many ages been occupied in deepening its valley, and in gradually taking a more southerly channel. This last-named tendency of the Thames is still more obvious between London and Windsor, in the still greater breadth there of the gravel plain on the northern bank of the present stream. The embankment mentioned as existing on the railway between Cranham Hall and Upminster rests on London Clay, lietween Cranham Hall and the Mardyke (as already observed) the line traverses a continuous gravelly or loamy plateau ; but from Cranham Hall to Romford the gravel or loam covering the flat-topped higher ground is cut through, and the London Clay exposed, in the valleys of the Ligrebourne and other streams which intersect the route. In the cutting at and west of Upminster Station, London Clay was seen capped by a variable amount of gravel and loam. These surface deposits were seldom more than six to seven feet thick, their base being from eighty-five to ninety feet, and the surface from ninety to a little over loo feet above Ordnance Datum. The gravel hence to Romford belongs entirely to this highest and oldest of the terraces of the Thames valley in this district. It was noticeable that in this cutting it was often seen to lie in festoon-like hollows on the surface of the London Clay, which sometimes even formed the surface for a few feet between two of these festoons. This mode of deposition is usually observed to be a characteristic of these old river-gravels at all levels, wherever the junction with the London Clay is clearly visible for any distarre. Crossing the Ligrebourne, we enter another cutting, the most interesting and important along the whole line from Grays to Rom- ford, though it has now been for some months sloped and soiled, and yields no sign of its former attractions. About 250 yards east of the church at Hornchurch the road to Upminster is crossed by otheri? ranging north and south. About 400 yards north of this point of junction is the cutting, extending mainly westward, and having a total length of about 600 yards. Towards its two ends, only London Clay capped by sand and gravel could be seen ; but in the ctntre, where the cutting attains a depth of from twenty to twenty five feet, a considerable mass of Boulder Clay was once visible, lying in a hollow on the surface of the London Clay. It extended along the cutting for a distance of 300 yards, and was in every respect tvpiral Chalky Boulder Clay. Indeed, when I read a short paper before the Geological Society on these se'lions between Upminster a:;d B 2 4 THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. Romford last March, Mr. H. E. Woodward stated that, having seer\ this section, he thought it afforded a better exposure of Boulder Clay than he had elsewhere seen in Essex during two years' work on the Geological Survey. The greatest thickness measured was fifteen feet. When this cutting was visited by the Geologists' Association on March 5th, 1892, Mr. Robertson, the engineer of the line, very kindly exhibited a collection of the most interesting specimens obtained from the Boulder Clay. They included many lumps of Kimeridge Clay, some examples of Gryphcea dilataia from the Oxford Clay, and a vertebra which had been determined by Prof. Seeley as plesiosaurian. Some small shells in a glacially-scratched lump of bituminous shale belonging to the Kimeridge Clay were identified by Mr. H. B. Woodward as Lncma minuscula. A space of about 250 yards, without any section, intervenes between the cutting just described and that on both sides of the road at Butts Green. Towards the eastern end of the Butts Green cutting only sand and gravel could be seen, the greatest thickness shown being about ten feet. But near the road five or six feet of London Clay appeared beneath eight or nine feet of sand and gravel, and London Clay was more or less visible at the bottom of the cutting as far as it extended in a westerly direction. West of the stream, which crosses the railway about 500 yards from Butts (ireen, there are cuttings as far as the junction of the new railway with the Great Eastern line, about half a mile east of Romford Station. Close to this junction I have seen London Clay, as well as the overlying sand, gravel or loam ; but nearer the Brent- wood Road a permanent wetness in the sand and gravel, at a depth of about ten feet, afforded the only sign of the proximity of clay. \\\ my description, already referred to, in The Essex Naturat.ist, of the sections between Grays and Stifford, I some- what rashly remarked that having arrived at the London Clay on the northern flank of the Mardyke valley, we might be sure that the sections seen southward were those of the most geologically interest- ing part of the line, the rest of it being likely to show nothing but London Clay, with a capping of gravel or loam. Fortunately, as the Hornchurch cutting demonstrates, my prediction was a mistake. On the other hand, my remarks deprecating the assumption that signs of ice-action of some kind necessarily imply that beds showing it belong to the Glacial Period (in forgetfulness of the fact that ice has been a geological agent from a very early period, and is one now), THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. in o yl -G be Vc CZ H-5 6 THK NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. have received a signal illustration in the Boulder Clay of the Horn- church cutting. For, in the absence of special evidence to the contrary, we may rightly assume that the gravel covering the Boulder Clay at Hornchurch, which forms part of a higher terrace than that traversed by the railway south of Upminster, belongs therefore to an older one. Hence, if the Boulder Clay is evidently older than the Hornchurch gravel, it must rightly be considered to be still more ancient than the gravel nearer the Mardyke. Locally, the only sound test of the Glacial or post-Glacial age of a bed is the nature of its relation to the Chalky Boulder Clay of the district, and to attempt to employ any other is but to introduce confusion. Of course, the age of the Chalky Boulder Clay of Essex as com- pared with that of any given deposit of the Glacial Period in Lancashire, Scotland, or elsewhere, may rightly be a question for discussion and speculation. But in Essex and Middlesex the only standard of comparative age is that furnished by the local Boulder Clay. It is then evident that if we may rightly conclude that the Horn- church gravel is older than that at less elevation between Upminster and the Mardyke, we are also justified in deciding that it is older than the river deposits which occur at a lower level at Grays and Ilford, or at Erith and Crayford on the Kentish shore. It is also obvious, that if we compare the Hornchurch gravel with fluvial deposits fifteen or twenty miles higher up the course of the river, we should expect to find its equivalent in beds with an eleva- tion as much greater than that at Hornchurch as the fall of the river per mile, when the gravel was deposited, would indicate. If, for example, the average level of the Hornchurch gravel should be loo feet, then, supposing a fall of one foot per mile, the equivalent terrace fifteen miles higher up would be 115 feet, and so on. Thus the natural inference is that as the Hornchurch gravel is older than the various river deposits of Grays, Ilford, Erith, and Crayford, and the Chalky Boulder Clay is evidently older than the Hornchurch gravel, the fossil remains found in the river deposits of all the places just named are rightly considered to be post-Glacial. The probable age of the Chalky Boulder Clay, as compared with that of beds of Glacial age in Wales, Scandinavia, or elsewhere, is, as I have already remarked, a wholly distinct question. In what is termed the Glacial Period, glacial beds may well have been in process of formation in the north of Scotland long after they had ceased in THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPjMINSTER AND ROMFORD. 7 southern England, and have ceased in Scotland long before they came to an end in northern Russia. The fossil remains found at Grays, Ilford, Erith, and Crayford, include those of the Mammoth {Elephas primigenius), a creature whose geological range has given rise to much discussion. Remains of the mammoth have also been found in river deposits higher up the stream in London. The most recent discovery has lately been recorded by Dr. Hicks, in a paper read before the Geological Society on May 25th, 1892. (Q. J. G. S., vol. xlviii., p. 453.)' But as that able geologist inclines to think that the beds overlying the mammoth tusks in Endsleigh Street are of the Glacial Period, from their resemblance to those which underlie the Boulder Clay of Finchley, it becomes necessary to discuss the probable age of these beds in order to ascertain the amount and nature of the evidence for this conclusion For it seems to me that they are simply river deposits, which, from their surface being only eighty feet or less above Ordnance Datum, are in all probability decidedly later in date than the river gravel of Hornchurch, which unconformably overlies the Boulder Clay there. The excavations which were, so fortunately for geologists, brought under the notice of Dr. Hicks, were made in Endsleigh and other streets on the southern side of Endsleigh Gardens, south of Euston Square. The sections were much alike as regards their general character. On an eroded surface of London Clay lay gravel, resting on the gravel was sand, and, above the sand, clay which con- tained the calcareous nodules called " race." The surface consisted of "made ground." All the strata mentioned were very variable in thickness. In addition to the beds just named a thin stratum of dark clayey loam with seeds was met with below the gravel here and there, where the surface of the London Clay was more concave than usual, and in this clayey loam the remains of the Mammoth were found, at a depth of twenty-two feet from the surface, and a height of sixty feet above Ordnance Datum. In this clayey loam Mr. Clement Reid recognised the seeds of plants usually seen in ponds and marshy places, and which, in the present day, range from the Arctic Circle to Southern Europe. The contours of the surface in a town are frequently so obscured by winding streets, and a lack of open spaces, that it becomes impos- 2" On the Discovery of Mammoth and other remains in Endsleigh Street, and in sections exposed in Endsleigh Gardens, Gordon Street, Gordon Square, and Tavistock Square, London." By Henry Hicks, M.D., F.R.S. O THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. sible for the most careful observer to note, with any approach to accuracy, the hmits of a terrace of river deposits cut in so soft a formation as the l,ondon Clay. But the straight streets and open squares of the district south of Endsleigh Gardens, in which these excavations were made, afford much better views than usual of the shape of the ground. And they reveal the perfect flatness of an old river terrace, averaging originally about 75 feet above Ordnance Datum, though now with a surface elevation of five or six feet more, owing to the overlying " made ground." In short, the appearance and position of this level tract seem to me to suggest nothirlg whatever but an old terrace belonging to the present Thames Valley system. Then, if we consult the Geological Survey Map, we find that the area between Euston Square and the river is coloured as one of old river deposits, a little bare London Clay being shown here and there along the course of a valley. Mr. Whitaker, in his memoir on the " Geology of London and of part of the Thames Valley,"^ has the following remarks on the boundary of the River Drift between the Serpentine and the Fleet : • " The boundary-line follows the course of the Serpentine Brook northward as far as the Great Western Railway, whence eastward by Paddington to the southern part of Regent's Park it is doubtful. In Mr. Mylne's map the gravel is coloured farther to the north than on the Survey map, perhaps rightly.* From Regent's Park the boundary runs eastward to Euston Square, beyond which the tunnel of the Metropolitan Railway is in London Clay." x\nd in another part of this memoir (vol. ii., p. 321), we learn that at Gower Street Station and at Euston Square, on the Metropolitan Railway, there was at the first-named spot, " sand and gravel with yellow clay," thirteen to seventeen feet, resting on the London Clay, and at Euston Square gravel and sand up to eight feet. The made ground at the surface varied from four to seven feet in thickness. Indeed, in spite of the obscurity arising from the buildings and the " made ground," which cover the surface, the Geological Surveyor has been, on the whole, by no means at any special disadvantage hereabouts, owing to the record of the deep and continuous sections on the Inner Circle Railway. Thus the general evidence bearing upon the affinities of the beds overlying the London Clay around Endsleigh 3 Vol. i., p. 398. 4 Mr. Whitakei- holds that where the boundaries of a superficial formation are doubtful, it is better to err on the side of under-estimating the area it covers, than of over-estimating it. THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. 9 Street, is by no means either slight or obscure, and it seems to me quite sufficient to warrant us in regarding them as River Drift, unless there should be strong special evidence to the contrary. And, on the other hand, the decided presumption that they are River Drift derives additional strength from what seem to me to be the very slight grounds for the formation of an adverse opinion. For if the gravel, sand, and clay much resemble the material and arrangement of the beds below the Upper Boulder Clay of Hendon and Finchley, they equally suggest the gravel, sand, and loam which are the usual constituents of river drifts, as well as the order in which they usually occur. And when we remember that the beds under the Finchley Boulder Clay are some five miles away, and are found only at heights of more than 200 feet above the sea, it seems to me that nothing but the finding of unquestionable Boulder Clay capping the beds at Endsleigh Street could establish a real affinity between them and the deposits at Finchley. " Race," also, may be found in these Finchley beds ; but it may also be seen in clays and loams of the most diverse ages. Readers of the chapter on the Woolwich and Reading beds in Mr. Whitaker's memoir from which I have already quoted, may note that " race " is mentioned as exist- ing in clay or loam in at least ten different sections. And if we turn to that on River Drift we find that " race " was found in many sections in the unquestionable River Drift of Ilford, Erith, and Crayford. Thus its presence furnishes no presumption whatever as to the age of any bed in which it occurs ; but leaves that question to be decided on the general evidence, which seems to me wholly in favour of the River Drift view. It may be worth while to add that Mr. Hudleston (Proc. Geol. Soc.) remarked after the reading of Dr. Hicks' paper that " so long ago as 1 7 15, the Mammoth was found in deposits on the same plateau (at Gray's Inn Lane) along with a Palaeolithic implement." I now return to Hornchurch. There are two points on which I should like to add a few words in connection with this Hornchurch Boulder Clay, and the conclusions deducible from its presence there. Firstly, in the discussion on my paper at the Geological Society last March it was remarked that the river deposits of the Thames valley were not really terrace gravels at all. Now, it is quite true that if anyone tries to map the boundaries of the various terraces at and south of Hornchurch, he will soon find himself engaged in a hopeless task, a bank which appears comparatively clear and sharp at a given lO THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROIMFORD. spot becoming merged in a vague slope in the course of a few yards. But, on the other hand, the position of the highest gravels towards the northern edge of the broad plain, the very gradual descent thence towards the present channel of the river, and the whole aspect of the valley, is simply that of a district in which the Thames has been slowly cutting its way laterally from north to south, and vertically from a higher level to a lower one. The absence of well-defined terraces is entirely caused by the softness of the strata in which they, have been cut, and occurs, as I can personally testify, wherever a river has cut its way through soft and incoherent beds such as London Clay. But where the same stream has been eating its way through harder rocks, distinct terraces appear. Thus, the Geologists' Association, in July, 1891, visited Henley-on-Thames. There, on an eminence known as No Man's Hill, the members stood on a gravel terrace overlying Chalk, 315 feet above Ordnance Datum, and 210 feet above the Thames at Henley, and saw, most clearly and sharply cut, in the distance, at Remenham, another gravel terrace cut out of the Chalk, a little more than 100 feet lower than that on which they were standing. Similarly in the low, drift-covered districts of Cumberland, near the Solway, I found it impossible to map the terraces on the left bank of the Eden below Carlisle, because they were but vaguely indicated h6re and there, precisely like those of southern Essex. But a few miles away, on the Esk at Longtown and Netherby, two or three clearly marked terraces could be traced throughout their course. The explanation of this difference was to be found in the facts that, on the Esk, a soft sandstone underlying the Glacial Drift existed to some height above the surface of the stream, and the terraces were cut in it ; while on the Eden, at the spot mentioned, the Glacial Drift came down nearly to the water's edge. Consequently the terraces cut in it had become as vague and doubtful, and as impossible to trace for any distance, as those in the London Clay of the Lower Thames. But the mapping of alluvial flats and river terraces is part of the duty of a worker on the Geological Survey, while it is a matter unlikely to attract the attention of most other geologists. The second point on which I wish to touch is this. Previous to the discovery -of Boulder Clay beneath Thames Valley Gravel at Hornchurch, the most southerly exposures of Chalky Boulder Clay known were those north of Rojnford and at Finchley. In each THE Nf:\V RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. II • case the Boulder Clay ended a short distance northward of the edge of the River Drift, and the probable relations of the two formations could be but matter for speculation. The most southerly point at which the Boulder Clay appears at the surface, in the Romford district, is at Maylands, about three miles north of the Hornchurch cutting. And it is noticeable that at Maylands the Boulder Clay comes down to a level considerably below the 200 feet contour-line, though almost all of it, in the immediate dis- trict, lies above that height. It was, therefore, suggested during the discussion on my paper at the Geological Society last March, that the Hornchurch Boulder Clay, being at a level still lower than that at Maylands, pointed towards the probability of the pre-Glaciai age of the Thames valley system. But this is, I think, to exaggerate greatly the significance of the low level of the Boulder Clay at Hornchurch. All that it really does tend to show is, that there once was probably a hollow or valley parallel with that of the Ingre- bourne, having a direction from north to south, or nearly at right angles to that of the present course of the Thames, and that the Boulder Clay more or less occupied this hollow. There may have been at the time a valley to some extent coincident, here and there, with that of the present Thames ; but its deposits remain unknown to us."' Of those which we find in the present valley system, the oldest terrace — as we are entitled to assume that at Hornchurch to be, in the absence of special evidence to the contrary — is manifestly post-Glacial in the sense of being later in date than the Chalky Boulder Clay. And this, as I have already remarked, seems to me the only sense in which the term can rightly be used in south-eastern England. I have said that we may easily exaggerate the significance of the low level of the Boulder Clay at Hornchurch. Where, as in northern Essex, we see Boulder Clay forming a continuous plateau ; or one the continuity of which is broken only by the valleys of streams in which lower beds are exposed, we find the base of the Boulder Clay at the most various levels. In the Geological Survey Memoir, on Sheet 47 (which includes north-western Essex with portions of adjacent counties), we find the following general statement : — " It is evident the clay was not formed in fragments as mapped, but in one continuous sheet. It has been cut through in post-Glacial time by the present valleys ; but, with this exception, it spreads over 5 See Notes at end of paper. 12 THE NEW RAILWAY BETWEEN UPMINSTER AND ROMFORD. high and low ground alike, being found from the top of the Chalk escarpment down to points not greatly above the level of the sea." I may illustrate this statement by the following case. In the valley of the Stort, about Sawbridgeworth, we find the Boulder Clay forming the plateau on each side, and lower beds of Glacial age exposed in the valley itself. Crossing the plateau in an easterly direction, we come to the valley of the Chelmer, two or three miles north of Chelmsford, in which lower Glacial Beds are also visible. But, whereas the level of the Boulder Clay plateau about Saw- bridgeworth is between 200 and 300 feet, on the Chelmer, near Broomfield, it is between 100 and 200 feet, averaging nearly 100 feet less. And, in addition to examples of this broad and general kind, many might be brought forward illustrating the local variations of small patches. In the Geological Survey Memoir on the Geology of the Neighbourhood of Colchester, by Mr. W. H. Dalton, it is stated that " between East Thorpe and Birch " (villages about two miles apart) " the Boulder Clay lies in a hollow, either denuded in, or formed by, the irregular deposition of the gravel.'' Now this hollow appears to have no connection with any existing system of drainage. Many examples might be given, showing the very varied height of the outlying patches of Boulder Clay found on or near the course of a straight line drawn from Maldon to Brentwood : but it seems unnecessary to do more than to allude to them, without attempting to describe them in detail. It may be useful, in conclusion, to give a brief summary of the leading points in what I have written on this Hornchurch Boulder Clay and the Thames Valley Beds. In the first place, the discovery of the Boulder Clay beneath the highest and oldest gravel terrace of the Thames valley system, justifies the remarks made in a previous communication to the Essex Field Club, as to the rashness of assuming that evidence of the action of ice in some form is equivalent to evidence that the deposit showing it dates from the Glacial Period. For if the Boulder Clay is older than the Hornchurch gravel, it must be still more ancient than the river deposits south of Upminster, or those of Erith, Crayford, Ilford, or Grays. Secondly, the beds in which the Mam- moth remains were found at Endsleigh Street seem to me to be simply River Drift, of more recent date than the Hornchurch gravel ; and the Mammoth there, as at Erith, Crayford, Ilford, or Cirays, to be in strata rightly termed post-Glacial, or, in other words, of later THF: new railway I^KTWEEN UPMINSTER and ROMFORD. 13 date than the Chalky Boulder Clay ; the only standard of age that can be taken without introducing confusion.'' On the other hand, I pointed out that the absence of definite, traceable terraces was invariably to be found where a river cuts through soft, incoherent strata ; and that it implied no peculiarity in the formation of the river valley. That the general evidence all pointed towards the view that the highest terrace was in this case, as usual, the oldest ; and that, in default of special evidence point- ing yet more strongly another way, the only rational course was to hold this view. That the low level of the Hornchurch Boulder Clay necessarily implied merely deposition in a narrow valley, or hollow with a direction at right angles to that of the present Thames. That there may have been at the time a valley, possibly coinciding here and there, more or less, with that of the Thames ; but that we had no evidence of it and its deposits, the present valley and its beds being post-Glacial. And that the Essex Boulder Clay lies on a very uneven surface, and at various levels. In short, I maintain that the evidence now available clearly points to the conclusion that the River Drift of the lower Thames, with the Mammoth and other remains contained therein, is post- Glacial. Absolute proof is, of course, unattainable. But it seems to me that this conclusion can be discredited only by the discovery of some special evidence pointing yet more strongly in another direction. And of this we have, at present, no sign. Notes. A most interesting example of the occasional coincidence and frequent variation between the pre-Glacial and post-Glacial channels of an English river, is given by Sir Andrew Ramsay in his "Physical Geology and Cieography of Great Britain" (edit. 5, p. 531). It is that of the Wear, in Durham. A letter from Mr. H. H. Howell (who superintended the Geological Survey of the Newcastle coalfield) to Sir A. Ramsay thus describes the changes that occurred : — " The pre-Glacial valley runs nearly north and south from Durham to Newcastle. The river Wear, instead of following this old valley, meanders about, winding in and out of it, and at Durham cutting right across it, and passing into the sandstones of the Coal- measures, through which it has cut its way in a narrow gorge. At Chester-le-Street, half-way between Durham and Newcastle, the river 6 Of coins;- I bj- no means assert that the Mammoth is necessarily to be found only in post- Glacial Beds. I see no reason why it should not be pre-Glacial as well. Each case must be decided on iis own evidence. 14 OLD I.OUGHTON HALL. Wear leaves the course of the old valley altogether, and turning to the east, makes its way to the sea at Sunderland, and, principally passing through sandstones and shales of the Coal-measures, and cutting through the Magnesian Limestone just before entering the sea." And on the same page it is stated that, for this reason, coal- miners in Northumberland and Durham sometimes find that a coal crops up underground "against a mass of Boulder Clay that fills an ancient (pre-Glacial) rocky valley, of which the plain above gives -no indication." Of the south-east of England he writes : — " We find that in places the Ouse and its tributaries in Bedford- shire, and also many other streams, flow through areas covered with this (Boulder) clay, and have cut themselves channels through it in such a way as to lead to the inference that parts of the valleys in which they run did not exist before the Boulder-bed period, but that they have excavated their courses through it and the underlying Oolitic strata, and thus formed a new system of valleys." See also Mr. Whitaker's " On a Deep Channel of Drift in the Valley of the Cam, Essex," Essex Naturalist, 1889, vol. iii., p. 140. (An abstract of a paper read at the Newcastle meeting of the British Association.) OLD LOUGHTON HALL^ By WILLL^M CHAPMAN WALLER, M.A., F.S.A. T7ROM the days of Harold, (Godwin's son, down to the time of James I., the Manor of Loughton knew no resident lord. First the canons of the Holy Cross at Waltham ; and then, after the dissolution of the monasteries, the kings and queens of England, in their order, numbered it among their possessions. By both the demesne lands were let out to farm, and the royal owners sometimes even leased out the profits of the Manor Court.- But it is probable that, from very early times, the site of Loughton Hall was occupied by a manor-house, which was inhabited by ihejirtnarii, or lessees, of the demesne. At all events, in 1522, we find one of them undef- 1 This paper, although almost purely historical and antiquarian, may he admitted into our pages, ina^^much as it relates to one of the most imporl,^nt of the Forest Manors. And further, Mr. Waller has collected so much original matter, not to he found in the county histories, that we feel sure our readers will pardon this incursion into the preserves of our friends the Es=ex .■\rch3;ological Society! — Ed. 2 Duchy of Lancaster: Leases; Div. .\i., No. 35 (iS May_ ig Eliz.). OLD LOUGHTON HALL. 15 taking" to provide all the costs and expenses of the cellarer, steward, and receiver of the Abbey, together with their servants, for two days and two nights, when they resorted to Loughton to hold the courts and leets there. This condition would naturally be fulfilled, in times when hostelries were rare and payments in kind common, by the reception and entertainment of the cavalcade at the house of the firmarius, who was doubtless the most important resident in the parish, and probably the only one whose resources were at all equal to such extensive hospitality. Old Loughton Hai.i, I'.efore the Fire. From a Water-colour Dra-anng at Goldings Hill. It is not, however, until much later times that we come on any direct mention of Loughton Hall. Writing (in February, i6o|) to his " very good freind Saint Michaell," Sir Robert \\'roth, in the course of a long letter,* refers to a report that certain Duchy of Lancaster lands are to be sold, and that the Manor of " Lucton Hawle " (Sir Robert always writes "Lucton"), in which he dwells, is classed among them. He goes on to give particulars as to the leases granted " by the Abbot to ould Mr. Stonard," and to his own faiher-in-law, Mr. Stonard's namesake and grandson. These leases, 3 Conventual Leases (Essex) ; B. 238 ; fo. 7^. 4 Lansdowne MSS. 83, fo. 59. "To Michaell Hickes, E.s ;uir;." In a subsequent letter '.r^ i> addressed as " no lon^^er Saint, but Sir Michaell." 1 6 OLD I.OUGHTON HALL. he says, he was " forced to buy to keep my Lord of Lester^ for cominge so neere, who was earnestly in hand to have bought them." After a general allusion to his own services to the Queen, he adds that, if it be his fortune to obtain it in time, he purposes to make such an alteration of the house (being very ruinous, and part of it in such decay that, if it be not repaired, it will fall down) that it shall be fit to entertain her Majesty. The letter concludes with a request to Hickes to use his influence in the matter. Although Sir Robert lived for some time" after preferring this request, his death, as we shall see later on, anticipated the proposed purchase. But in the interval a survey of the Manor' was made, which furnishes some interesting particulars as to the house, in which, albeit he gave so unpromising a description of it, he seems to have entertained his sovereign for two nights in July, 1605.** But some repairs may have been effected in the meanwhile. For, in consequence of his representations as to the great decay in which the house and buildings were, commissioners were appointed, and in their report, dated June i 7, 1602, they state that they repaired to the Manor House, and then, as well by view of the defects in the said house and the gate-house, and other tiled buildings, as by conference with artificers and workmen, determined what the charges, both in stuff and workmanship, would be. The buildings specified are — the gate-house and fore-house adjoining ; the brew-house; the corn-barn; the cow-house ; the hay-barn. Coming to the house itself, they find the kitchen and offices are most needful of speedy repair, being in danger of ruin, but that they are supported for the time being ; and that the chimneys and ovens, by reason of some cracks therein, are to be taken down and new builded, while the larder and pastry need repair. The cost of all this, " after conference had with workmen in their several trades," is found to be — in carpentry, ^26 13s. 4d. ; in tiling, walling, and underpinning, with the stuff, £\2,- Mention is then made of " three payre of stayres within the howse," which, with the roof over them, are greatly decayed, and the walls and ceilings overhead also. The cost of repairing them is set down at ^18 for carpentering ; and the tiling over the parlour and chambers, with repair of the walls, will cost another ^16. The total cost of the 5 Robert Dudley, the great Earl of Leicester, who, in 1578, acquired the Manor of Wanstead, where he lived and built much. He died in 1388. (Morant.) 6 He was buried at. Enfield, Jan. 28, 160^ {Par. Reg.)- 7 Duchy of Lancaster : Surveys and Depositions (44 Eliz.). 8 Nichols' " Progresses of K. James L" : i., 517 ; and Lansdowne MSS. S3, fo. 127. OLD LOUGHTON HALL. 1 7 repairs, exclusive of seventy timber trees to be had on the Manor, is set down at ^loo. "The consideracion of all which premisses," add the commissioners, " wee doe referre to yo"" wisdomes." What was done in consequence of this report remains doubtful But some time afterwards we find the Lady Mary Wroth, Sir Robert's daughter-in-law, in an undated letter^ addressed to Anne, the Queen of James I., beseeching Her Majesty to recommend to the king Mr. Wroth's petition for a new lease. The request was evidently, in some sort, a repetition of that addressed by his father, old Sir Robert, to Michael Hickes ; for, in the course of her letter, the Lady Mary alludes to the house as being old and in decay, and like every day to fall down, and promises that her husband will make it his chief dwelling-place and fit for Their Majesties. He is also willing to pay ;^6oo as a fine, or to spend that sum upon the build- ing; and to lose ;^roo a year by letting the deer feed in his best grounds, to which, by his lease, he is not bound. And, as a further inducement to the Queen, who was clearly her very good friend,^" the writer humbly beseeches Her Majesty's furtherance in the business, on the ground that it will be much for the petitioner's good, "Mr. Wroth having promised to add itt to my jointure, all the rest of his lands beinge entailed." The result of the negotia- tions was the grant, in 1609, of a new lease," to run for forty-one years from 1644, when a former one, granted in May, 1579, to John Stonerd, and then vested in Sir Robert Wroth (he was knighted in 1603), would expire. For this renewal the lessee paid ;^iS4, by way of a fine, and bound himself to maintain in good condition all thatched buildings, hedges, ditches, and enclosures, the annual rent being, as in the time of the last Abbot of Waltham, ^£46 — a suffi- ciently good bargain, it would seem, for the fortunate lessee. Some three years later, a fresh survey^'- of the manor was ordered to be made, on the ground that the Manor of Loughton had " not been of long time exactly survaied, by reason whereof divers rents, services, and boundaries, were concealed, detayned, and sup- pressed"; and the sheriff was instructed to provide a jury. The survey was accordingly made on June 30th, 161 2, and the first paragraph of it runs as follows : — 9 Lord Salisbury's MSS. (Hatfield House) : Cecil Papers, \^. 10 Nichols (c/. cit), iii., 541, names her as attending the Queen's funeral later on ; and also (ii.. 756) states that the king stood sponsor to her son, by his deputy, the Earl of Pembroke. 11 D. of Lane. : Counterpart Leases ; Class xv.. No. 28. 12 D. of Lane. : Surveys and Depositions (10 Jac. L). c 1 8 OLD LOUGHTON HALL. " Imprimis, the mannor or mansion house contains a Hall, a Buttry, Kitchen, Larder, Bakehouse, Pastry, Mylkhowse, Wash- howse, and eight other Lodgings, with faire Lodginge and greate Roomes over the said Roomes new built and redified at the chardgs of Sir Robert Wroth, the now iTarmer thereof; with two barnes of nine bayes a peece, two duble stables, l)rewhouse, Garnerhowse and sundry other out offices and Lodgings ; with an orchard and a garden ' now in plantinge, all consisting of Six acres and one rood of ground, valued at, per annum, the Repair and the late new building con- sidered— vj li. xii'f. iiij''." The rest of the document is taken up with the -lands and other appurtenances of the manor, the gross annual value of which is stated to be ^768 2s. lod. The nett value, after deduction of the rent reserved (^58 8s. 4d.), and one-fourth "in respect of feeding of His Majesty's deer, both red and fallow, upon all the grounds throughout the said manor," is set down as ^517 13s. gid. The timber, separately valued, and taken as 1,028 loads, is said to be worth ^3,028. Just one year later, on June 15, 1613, a grant in fee of the manor,'-' with the advowson of the Rectory, was made to Sir Robert and the Lady Mary Wroth, in consideration of the payment by them of ^'1,224, and a fee-farm rent of ^58 8s. 4d. It appears, therefore, that, relying on the length of his lease, or, pLrhaps, having his subsequent purchase already in view, Sir Robert Wroth, the younger, rebuilt Loughton Hall; but of this the allusion in the survey appears to be the only existing evidence. It is pos- sible, however, that an allusion to Sir Robert's rebuilding of the house is intended in the following passage from his wife's book : — " " Hee replyed, the place hee was on was called the Forrest Champion ... a little way from thence hee told him was a faire house, where a noble Knight and his Lady liued within a part of the same Forrest, which they had inclosed, and made like an orderly ciuil place, from the others wildnesse, and shut themselves within a Pale ; woods were within this place, the rest all Heath and Rocks, scarce a Bush, but no tree that could sheltre one from a small shower. . . . The Knight was a braue Gentleman . . . his Lady a young woman, cheerefuU and pleasant, the daughter of a great Lord,'' and Sister to as fine a gentleman as was in that kingdom." 13 D. of Lane. : Div. xii., B. 26; and Originalia : 11 Jac. L, part 4. 14 " The Countesse of Montgomerie's Urania," by the Lady Maiy Wroath, p. 534. 15 The Lady Mary was daughter to Robert Sydney, Baron Penshurst, and Viscjunt Lisle ; and, later, Earl of Leicester. OLD LOUGHTON HALL. 19 More than two centuries afterwards, an anonymous writer^" described the Hall as an Elizabethan pile of considerable beauty, the front and ceiling of the inner hall and a stone staircase being by Inigo Jones. It is not improbable that Inigo Jones was employed to design the interior alterations ; for not only must he have been well known to Sir Robert and the Lady Mary as the deviser of the machinery and decorations of the costly masques in which they themselves, as courtiers, doubtless often played a part,^' but he was also the particular /r^'//^/- of their kinsman, the third Earl of Pem- broke. Whether he had anything to do with the exterior seems more doubtful, as it is generally spoken of as being Elizabethan in character; and a writer in 1770 said of it ^* (in accordance with the taste of the time, half apologetically) that Loughton Hall, "though it is not a regular, is a large, handsome building." Erom the beginning of the seventeenth down to the middle of the nineteenth century we get but one peep into Loughton Hall, and that is through the windows of the High Court of Chancery.'^ On the death of John Wroth, in 170I, a dispute arose between his widow and the children of his two former wives. This resulted in the filing of long "Bills" and "Answers," through which it is a weariness to wade. John Wroth, the son, refers in his statement to certain goods in the Hall, which he, now resident there, had bought from the complainant, his stepmother, and her co-executors. The value of the whole amounted to ;^547 5s. 2d., and, among others, the following items occur : Goods in the King's chamber, ;^34 ; in the dining-room, ^lo ; in the drawing-room above, ^6 ; in the drawing-room below, ^30 ; in the great parlour, jC^\2 \ and — irons in the hall, 6s. The garden, cellars, buttery, and press-room are also named. It is needless to trace here the descent of the manor, which remained in the possession of the Wroth family until 1738, when, on the death of Elizabeth, the childless widow of John Wroth, it passed, under his will,-" to her great-nephew, ^^'illiam Henry, fourth Earl of Rochford. It was sold by him in 1745 ; and, thenceforward passing by will, it became, in 1825, the property of William Whitaker Maitland, of Woodford Hall. Soon after this the old manor-house once more emerges from its obscurity — an obscurity 16 " Lewis' Topographical Dictionary," 1S44. 17 Nichols, op. cit., i., 479. 18 " History of Essex," by a Gentleman, vol. iii. ig Chanc. Proc. b. 1714 : Hamilton, 645 -Wroth Z'. Wroth. 20 P.C.C. ; gi, Tenison : proved by the widow, April 28, 1718. C 2 20 OLD LOUOHTON HALL. illumined for a moment by the lurid light of the conflagration in which it vanished for ever. After his accession to the estate, Mr. Maitland took the house in hand and carried out extensive alterations, both inside and out. The illustration which accompanies this paper (taken from a water- colour sketch at Golding's Hill, the home for many years of his widow) is thought to represent the exterior as it was just before the fire. The building presented, according to a contemporary account,"^^ two frontages, each 162 feet long, with a depth of 65 feet, being of what is called the Elizabethan style originally, and, from a date on the leaden spouts, would seem to have been erected about the year 161 6. The front had been modernized, continues the writer, and ornamented along the line of facade with pilasters, over which ran a range of columns, both of the Doric order. Within, the recent decorations were generally of the Ionic and Corinthian orders, richly gilded at the capitals. Over ;^6,ooo had, it is said, been recently spent on mere building operations, and fifty rooms were destroyed or damaged. The fire seems to have had its origin in a beam in the library chimney, and burst forth early on the morning of Sunday, December xith, 1836. The butler, awakened by the library bell, which was fortunately set ringing by the fall of some burning material on to the wire attached to it, roused the household, and all were soon got out of danger. But none too soon ; for " in a few seconds the whole [west] wing was one body of fire." The subscription fire-engine ("from Chigwell," says one account) and the neighbours were quickly on the spot ready to help. The only supply of water, how- ever, was from a pond 360 yards distant. Two servants rode off to London, and by ten o'clock two other fire-engines, hurried down as fast as four post-horses in each could drag them, were on the spot. The west wing was then hopelessly burnt, and the energies of the firemen were bent on the east one, containing the kitchen offices, with rooms above them. Fears were at one time entertained for the ancient church of S. Nicholas, in which, of course, no morning service was held. Fortunately, however, there was no wind, and it escaped damage. Some few things were dragged out of the house on to the lawn and saved ; but the magnificent library of over 10,000 printed volumes and MSS., many rare, and some said to be unique, was destroyed, together with a costly collection of pictures which, it 21 "Essex Standard," December i6, 23, 30, 1836 ; "Essex Herald," December 13, 1836. OLD LOUGHTON HALL. 21 is Stated, had been accumulating during two centuries. The mere pecuniary loss was estimated at something between ;^2o,ooo and ^30,000, to say nothing of the greater losses on which no money value could be set. Even at this distance of time, the thought of that disaster, endured, as it was, with manly fortitude, serves to awaken in one emotions of sympathy and regret. The gloom which followed on the glare of the burning house is penetrated for us by a ray of kindlier light, when we read of the good services of friends and neighbours, and of the " extraordinary exertions of the labourers, with whom Mr. Maitland was a great favourite." These exertions he himself was not, in spite of all, backward in recognising. ■ For just three weeks later " The Essex Standard " (December 30th) reported that Mr. Maitland, in com- missioning his steward to announce that he would that year double his customary liberal Christmas gifts, "emphatically observed: 'When the Hall was on fire, full 200 of my humble neighbours came to my assistance, and they worked hard ; and not one of them was a thief.' " For many years the great iron gates, surmounted by the Wroth crest and the interlaced initials of John and Elizabeth, the last of the Loughton branch of the family, kept guard over the foundations of the ancient house. In the year 1879, however, the road, which passed in front of them and beside the old church of S. Nicholas, was diverted to its present course, and a new house, designed by Mr. W. Eden Nesfield, was built on the old site by the Rev. John Whitaker Maitland, the first clerical owner of the manor since Robert Fuller, last of the long line of Abbots of the Holy Cross at AValtham, signed the Deed of Surrender on March 23rd, 1540." NOTE. — An incidental reference to the rebuilding of Old Loughton Hall, on which I have since lighted, occurs in the Chancery Forest Roll, No. 153, which is dated Sep. 21, 1630 (6 Car. L) :— " Item, wee finde that S' Robte. Wroth, K*^ deceased, about sixteene yeres past did build some parte of the howse called Loughton Hall upon an old ffoundacion, nowe in the occupacion of the Lady Mary Wroth." This, which does not profess to be exact, brings us sufticiently near to 1616, the date said to have been found on the leaden spouts. — W. C. W. 22 Aug : Office, No. 252. 22 NOTES— ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. Destruction of Otters in Essex. — We, regretfully, find no dearth of records with which to continue the dismal story of the persistent persecution of these interesting animals in our county (see list in THE Essex Naturalist, vol. vi., pp. 41-42). We have noticed in the papers the following cases : — Maldon — " xMr. Harry Poole this week came upon another oiter on the banks of the canal, and shot him dead in a clean and workmanlike manner. The animal is a splendid and well-grown specimen, in the ' puppy ' stage, good in shape, colour, and symmetry, and is altogether a typical example. Its destiny, of course, will be the usual glass case." — " Essex Weekly News," March 4th, 1892. Chappel. — " On Monday, Mr. J. S. Goodey, of Broom Hall, shot a remarkably fine dog otter, measuring 47^ inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the pole, and weighing 22lbs. 50ZS. This makes the fourth otter which Mr. Goodey lias shot almost at the same spot in the river." — "Essex County Chronicle," January 6th, 1893. Wether sfield. — " A fine dog otter was shot in the River Pant on Tuesday, from the land occupied by Mrs. Marsh. The otter has been about for some time, but was eventually got after a couple of shots." — "Essex County Chronicle," February loth, 1893. Colchester. — " Early on P'riday, Feb. 3, p.c. Stannard, of the Borough Police, saw a fine otter in the river, lying on the mud near Mr. Chisnall's boats. On being observed it plunged into the water, and made off in the direction of Sheepen Farm." — "Essex County Standard," February iilh, 1893. The actions of these " noble sportsmen " are not, however, allowed to pass without protest. .\ writer (" C. C. S.") thus admonishes them in the " Essex Herald " for January loth : — " Among the paragraphs in your papers, I occasion- ally read, 'Another otter shot,' and in the last number I see that Mr. J. S. Goodey, of Broom Hall, Chappel, is credited with having recently shot no less than four, nearl}' in the same place. What pleasure he or anyone can find in shooting these rare and interesting wild animals I cannot conceive. For my part, I think it a great pity, and if I had it in my power, instead of endeavouring to exterminate otters in this senseless manner, I would afford them all the pro- tection 1 possiblv could. They are very harmless, and extremely scarce in most parts of Essex, and I think the sight of one to any person with a love of natural history in its living condition would be infinitely more gratifying than the same animal stuffed in a glass case. Something may, no doubt, be said for otter hunting, where they are numerous, with a pack of otter hounds, which affords amusement to a large number of people ; but shooting them is another matter altogether, and one which I think justly merits the disapproval of all right- minded persons. Anybody who has had an opportunity of seeing an otter at play in the water would indeed feel sorry to see his gambols ended by a charge of shot through his head ; and I hope the next time Mr. Goodey finds himself within sight of an otter at this favourite spot, he will refrain from shooting it, and confine himself to watching the interesting exhibition of aquatic skill which no doubt the animal will afford him." Some excellent observations were printed in a late number of the " Fishing Gazette," which confirm the conclusion we have more than once alluded to that the otter is not an enemy of the fisherman, but is, in reality, one of his best friends : — " The otter is still found, though in decreasing numbers, in nearly e\ery part of Great Britain and Ireland ; and we would say a word in its behalf, for with its NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 23 extinction an irreparable mischief would be done to our rivers, our lakes and tarns, and to the tens of thousands of anglers who derive pleasure and profit upon their banks. The otter is one of the fisherman's best friends ; and, reckless as some may think this assertion, we repeat it, and have reason for so doing Whilst we write, we have in our mind a little river in our own neighbourhood than which, for its size, there is not a better in the kingdom as a trout stream ; and yet this river, figuratively speaking, actually swarms with otters. Depend upon it, the otter lends respectability to a river, for where he is found, there will the fish be found also. Perhaps his presence may not be desirable in the rearing pond ; but were we on the look out for fresh fishing ground, the known haunt of the 'water-dog' would decidedly have preference over a stream which knew him not Nowiihstanding the evil character given this animal as a river poacher, we have every reason for knowing that fish forms only one course, and that not always a considerable one, of its daily meals. The young of water- hens, coots, and other birds breeding by the waterside, and at times rabbits, and even large worms, are common changes in the otter's diet ; while frogs, eels, and the crustaceous crayfish are probably thought as great a dainty as the brightest of silvery salmon. These facts are easily proved by an examination of the animal's ' foil ' ; while we have over and over again had ocular demonstration of the avidity with whic'.r vegetable food is consumed. It is not intended to assert that the otter does not relish a salmon cutlet or toothsome trout ; but that he is the wanton destroyer of fish to the extent often imputed to him, those best acquainted with his habits firmly deny. Cunning and quick in his actions as the otter may be, a salmon is more so ; and this fact alone should weigh in the otter's favour, when charges are made about the depopulation of our fishing streams. It is more likely that he acts the part of a river scavenger ^ destroying, as a rule, only such fish as are diseased, and which from their -weakness are iinahle to escape his clutches." Rough-legged Buzzard {Archibuteo lagopus') at Little Baddow.— Mr. C. Smoothy, of Little Baddow, writes : " I saw a tine specimen of the Rough- legged Buzzard on March 5th. It was seen again on the 7th. The bird is very rare in Essex, I may sa}- almost extinct. This specimen was not shy. I might easily have shot it, but trust it will share a better fate. It was sailing over one of my fields some time. It caused several partridges to scuttle off to the fence. At the same time I do not think this bird is destructive to game, being very slow of flight. I have not seen any for several years. I have two good specimens, one killed in Norfolk and one in Cambridgeshire." [Many records of the occurrence of the bird in Essex are given in the "Birds of Essex." Mr. Hope writes, "Common on the coast, first arriving at the end of September, but coming in flocks in very cold weather." The occurrence of a fine female specimen at Patching Hall, near Chelmsford, in 1879, is recorded b\' Mr. Miller Christy in "Trans. Essex Field Club," vol. i., p. 63.'— El).] Waxwing {^Ampelis garrulus') at Oakley and Stock. — The " Essex County Chronicle," for February 8th, records that " on Monday, Mr. Keeble, the carrier, shot a pair of Waxwings, a bird very rarely seen in this country. The ' Chronicle ' of March 30th, 1883, records the shooting of one by Mr. B. Watson, jun., at Dedham, about that date. Mr. T. W. Offin shot one at Rayleigh about ten years ago, while Mr. Charles Smoothy saw one at Danbury on several occa- sions during January, 1890. Further back, Turrell records that his friend Mr- Joseph Clarke killed one out of a flock in 1835, at Saffron Walden. Like most of the winter visitors to this country, the Waxwing comes to us from the north. 24 NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. The country in which it produces its young is not decidedly ascertained." This i?, according to Christy ("Birds of Essex"), a rare and irregular winter visitor, although sometimes occurring in considerable numbers, as in the years 1835, 1849-50, 1866, etc. He gives ratiny records in addition to those quoted above. The writer in the " Essex County Chronicle " is in error in stating that the breeding-place is not known. It extends, as was discovered some years ago by Mr. Wolley, across Behring Strait to Alaska and the Rocky Mountains. The first nests and eggs were found in 1856 in Russian Lapland, since which a great many have been taken ; and the breeding range is now known to extend westward to the north-eastern portion of Norway, and southward to about 65^? N. lat., on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. Since the above was written the " Essex County Chronicle " records that on the 28th of February " a beautiful male specimen of this rare bird was shot by Mr. H. Heywood, at ' Greenwoods,' in the parish of Stock. The bird bus been carefully preserved by Mr. C. Cable, naturalist, of Stock." Robin Nesting in the Winter. — " A robin's nest, with five young ones, exists in an unused milk churn, placed close to the fire in one of the cow-houses at Terling Hall. A nest has been built there for five successive years, and each year there have been five young ones at Christmas time. It is a strange occur- rence that a robin should build her nest in the dead of winter and have young ones. The birds are quite healthy, and thrive as well as other birds." — " Essex County Chronicle," February loth, 1893. Effect of Want of Light (?) on Colour o a Frog.— Early last year a friend of mine, living at Wanstead, found a frog beneath a flower-pot which had been standing right way up and full of earth in the same place for two or three months. The body of the frog was shrunken and the skin transparent, so that the internal organs could be seen. The head, however, which was outside the pot, had not changed colour to any appreciable extent, but the eyes were unusu- ally protruding. My friend released the frog, and fed it upon worms for seven or eight days, by which time it had recovered its colour, and it then escaped. Some of our members may be able to mention other instances which would show whether the alteration in colour was due to the pressure of the flower-pot, or the want of light. Perhaps the Ethiopian could change his skin by dwelling in the dark.— F. W. ELLIOTT, Woodford Green. Hydrobia (Paludestrina) Jenkinsi. — Supplementing the information respecting this estuarine mollusc, which was given in volumes iv. and v. of The Essex Naturalist (vol. iv., p. 212, etc. ; vol. v., p. 220, etc.) by Messrs. Smith, Crouch, and Jenkins, it may be useful to refer to a paper by Mr. Lionel E. x^dams, in the " Journal of Conchology," for January last (vol. vii., p. 148), giving a theory as to the possible introduction of the species into this country. Mr. Adams states that he found H. jenkinsi at Countess Weir, halfway between Exeter and Topsham, in August last. Noticing that the habitat was similar to those at Plumstead and Sandwich, where this very local species had previously been found, it occurred to him that this similarity might throw some light upon the manner of its introduction into Britain — provided, of course, that the mollusc is not really indigenous. Mr. Adams remarks how greatly Topsham reminded him of the old-world, sleepy, and decayed Cinq Port of Sandwich, and both towns were of considerable importance as trading ports 200 years ago. Mr. MacMurdo, of Topsham, informed Mr. Adams that in the reign of NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 25 Henry VIII. two men of war, which afterwards fought against the Armada, were built upon the spot where H. jenkinsl now flourishes, and for many years vessels used to go regularly to Countess Weir. Between 1840 and 1855 there was a trade between St. Petersburg and Finland and Topsham in hemp, tar, and timber. Sandwich, too, in former times, imported timber from Cronstadt (whence timber from Finland may also have been shipped), and from several Swedish and Russian ports. Along the banks of the Thames (where H.jenkinsi was first observed) timber has been unloaded from most parts of the world, and certainly largely from Russia and Finland. The only ports then trading mutually with two of our three English ports are Cronstadt (St. Petersburg) and some Finnish ports along the Gulf of Bothnia. Though Topsham imported timber from America, Mr. Adams could not find that Sandwich ever did so. Sandwich, again, imported timber from Sweden, Norway, and Russia ; but he could find no record of the same for Topsham. Mr. Adams thus sums up and concludes from the above : " Now- the fact of the same foreign locality exporting timber to three different English ports (the only known habitats of H. jenkinsiy and that same foreign locality being the only one, as far as my information goes, trading mutually with two of the three, seems a curious coincidence, and, though by no means amounting to anything like a proof, forms a provisional hypothesis. This hypothesis would be greatly strengthened if the shells were found in any other of our ports which trade or have traded with Russia or Finland, e.g.^ Newhaven and Wisbech, where I would suggest that search should be made. And, lastly, it would vastly increase its probability if the species were found to exist in some of the low-lying marshes along the Russian and Finnish coast, which have been little explored, and are very desolate. ... It may be remembered that the habitat of H. jenkinsi is slightly brackish dykes, such as timber is likely to be stored in while waiting shipment." This species is so very interesting to Essex naturalists that the above observations will be welcomed ; and we shall be glad to have any remarks or criticisms on Mr. Adams' hypothesis (which seems to be a workable one) from our local conchologists. — Ed. Freshwater Molluscs in Brackish Water.— Mr. L. E. Adams remarks in the "Journal of Conchology" (vol. vii., p. 150, Jan., 1893) that Limncea peregra is well known to exist and thrive in brackish water, and that he had found Planorbis vortex and PL spiroybis in a very salt marsh at Dovercourt, near Harwich. Sake's (commonly called "Snake's") Lane, Woodford. — Since my note on this subject in the preceding number of The Essex Naturalist was printed (vol. vi., p. 208), I have come on an earlier mention of the Sake family in a Woodford Court Roll of 5 Henry IV. (1403-4). At that date the wives of John Sake, senior, and John Sake, junior, are described as being brewers, and for their shortcomings in that capacity, their respective husbands were mulcted in 2d. each. John Sake, junior, himself incurred a like penalty, for an unscoured ditch in Mottes lane ; and he is also charged with carrying off a house (amoveba/ una;« domuwz) from the holding, which once belonged to Thomas-in-the-lane. {^Rec. Off. Ccurt Rolls : 174/42.) — AV. C. Waller, Loughton. Correct Spelling of " Fowlness Island." — Some of the good people of Camden's " Promontory of Birds or Fowls " are \ery properly protesting against the official spelling, " Foulness," as being not only derogatory to their native soil and hurtful to their feelings, but incorrect philologically and historically. 2 6 NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. Mr. W. H. Dalton, F".G.S., author of the very interesting paper on " Fowlness '' in The Essex Naturalist for 1889 (vol. iii., p. 239), has written vigorously in defence of the true orthography: — "As a native of this interesting, if not romantic, island (and proud of the fact), allow me to point out that on a few occasions a properly educated official has used the above orthography ; that it has to my knowledge been used for forty-five }'ears in the local centre of light and leading, the rector}', and elsewhere ; that it was changed from Vogelnase, Fughelnesse, and Foulenesse, to Fowlnesse (Jemp. Will, et Mar.') in accordance with the general name for wild birds, and that the retention of the " u " is both incorrect and misleading. A parallel name, Foulmire, in Cambridgeshire, was a few months ago corrected to Fowlmere by the Post-office authorities, on precisely similar evidence. If any real change of name be adopted, I would suggest ' Fowlers' Island,' as connoting the presence of both feathered and unfeathered bipeds. The only objection to any change is that when, by the exploitation of the mineral wealth of Essex, the Crouch and other estuaries come to resemble the Wear and Tyne, with their fleets of collier craft, the present common mis- spelling may become appropriate. I may add that natives speak of ' Fow'ness ' ; it is on]}' the inhabitants of the adjacent island of Great Britain that sound the ' 1,' the elision of which necessitates the use of ' w,' as the diphthong ' ou ' would sound differently before a single consonant." In a later letter, alluding to an idea put forward in the newspapers that the name had some reference to the form of the promontory, Mr. Dalton continues : — " I take it that the name Fowlness was not applied from any resemblance to a bird's beak, which is indeed perceptible only to a poetic mind, aided by a map, but frcm its being emphatically the ' ness ' frequented by wildfowl. The broad, sandy flat running out as a sharp promontory (naze, nose, or ness), affords still, despite the cannonade from Shotbury, a feed- ing-place for myriads of birds of many species, being not only a gathering ground for organic refuse brought down by the Thames and Medway, but the crowded habitat of cockles, worms, and other marine consumers of garbage, who there iulfil the great law, ' Eat and be eaten.' That the name applied primarily to the sands is evident from the rounded outline of the enclosed land till within a period much more recent than the name. If we cut back the land in imagination to the road leading from the Crouch through Courtsend to Eastwick and the Rugvvood Head road, a curved line which is evidently that of an old wall, we shall have nothing worth the name of ness. There is yet much to be learned about not only the nomenclature, but the former geography of our Essex estuaries. Within the memory of even young men, considerable changes have occurred, in the loss of land here, and its increase there. W'heu to the effect of alterations in the set of tidal currents we add that of oscillations of level, as evidenced in raised beaches and submerged forests, it becomes clear that our present iraps do not show tlie past, an}- more than the future, outline of our county." From the many letters in the local papers on this subject, we extract the following interesting particulars from an anonymous correspondent (" Bird of Prey, Oxon.") in "The Essex Herald," for January loth : — "Concerning the earliest records of Fowlness, anciently written Fughelness, it may be of interest to state that although there is ro actual mention of it in Domesday Book, a note appended to the translation of Domesday says, ' There is little doubt that Foulness Island was included in some of these estates of Suene in Rochford Hundred.' This takes us bark to the time of the Danes towards the end of the tenth century, implying that the island was, at any rate in part, reclaimed before NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 27 the Conquest. In a history of Essex, published a hundred and twenty years ago, the name is spelt four times with a ' vv.' The Saxon derivation of Foulness is Fugel, a fowl, and nsese, a promgintory. In very early English the word was written Fouhnesse, Foulsnesse, the first ' s ' conclusively proving its meaning. The farm of which the earliest mention is made is Nazewick, probably the Wick of Fowlness, as then being nearest the Cape. There is, of course, another and a far-fetched derivation of ' ness ' or ' naze,' namely, nassa, a noose or snare ; in support of which theory there is undoubted evidence of a former decoy pond in the centre of the island, close to which the discovery of Roman remains was made. ' Sir Guy de Rochford dyed in 1274, and besides the Manors of Rochford, Burden, and Elsenham, held a hundred and twenty acres of marsh in Foulnes, called Nassewyk.' His nephew, John de Rochford, dying in 1309, besides Naze- wick, held the Marsh of Eastwodwick, afterwards held by Rubirt de Rochford. William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton, possessed Middlewyk Marsh in 1343, through whose successois, William and Humfrey de Bohun, the estate went to Alianor, wife of Thomas of Woodstock, on whose tragic death it came to the Crown. King Henry VI. granted these lands to Thomas Earl Ormond, from whom they passed to the families of Bullen, Stafford, and Rich, and to the female heirs of the Earl of Warwick, one of which brought it to the Right Honble. Daniel, Earl of Nottingham. Thence it passed to the Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham. ' In the steward's account of Robert, Earl of Warwick, in 1651, the quit rents of the Manor of Foulness amounted to £9, 17s. lod. Fowlness Hall, that is. New Hall and Old Hall, were £1^0 per annum.' The old church of Foulness was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Thomas the Martyr, and All Saints, and is described as a wooden fabric, about the middle of the island, of one pace forty-seven feet long and twenty broad. At first called chapel institutive, it was presented to by the Lady Joane de Bohun in 1386, and from that time by lords of the manors ; but, being slenderly provided for, and the curate but little resident, a chantry was founded in 1408 by the same Joane, Countess of Here- ford, in whom, with the archbishop and other lords of the manor, the right of patronage was vested. After the dissolution of chantries in 1547, this chapel was erected into a rectory in 1554, the advowson being then the property of Richard Lord Rich. ' Robert, Earl of Warwick, at the time of his decease, March 24, i6ig, held the Marior of Fowlenes and divers lands, etc., called Nasewick, Arundell Marsh, New Wicke, East Wicke, South Wicke, Muncken Barn, and two marshes, in .Packleshame and Wakering, parcel of the Manor of Fowlenes — otherwise called Isle of Fowlenes.' ' In creeks round these islands are fed small ojsters called Wall-fleet oysters.' The remains of old counter walls, much more distinctly marktd on the island of Wallasea, are still to be seen on the higher grounds of Fowlness, showing that the island was reclaimed at different periods. In early modern English, fowl, a bird, was also spelt ' foul ' and 'foule,' and in middle English, ' foule,' ' fowel,' etc."' Dagenham and Dagnams. — In a short paper on "The Geology of the District around Dagenham Breach, Essex " (ESSEX Nat., vol. iv., p. 142, Septem- ber, 1892), I quoted from a well-section given by Mr. Whitaker (" Geol. Lond.," vol. ii., p. 18), the locality of which is theie stated to be " Dagenhall Hall, " as showing the remarkable thickness of the London Clay beneath the River Drift at that spot, which I then supposed to be the Hall about half a mile north of the Aillage of Dagenham. Mr. Whitaker, who appears to have obtained the details of the well-section from the MSS. of Dr. J. Mitchell, held this view of the 28 THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. position of the well when the iVIemoir was published, and has consequently placed the explanatory words " Valley Drift," against the details of the superficial brick- earth and gravel. But he informs me that he has since discovered that the true locality of the well-section is not Dagenham hut Dagnams, between three and four miles north-east of Romford. The very great thickness of London Clay given as existing at Dagenham, together with the round numbers " 400 feet," seemed to me, last July, to suggest a want of perfect accuracy in the account. But as the words " Valley Drift " applied to the superficial beds at Dagenham, and are utterly inapplicable to those at Dagnams, which are more than 200 feet above the sea, and as 200 feet of London Clay would have been enough for my purpose, I thought I might safely quote this well-section. However, though it cannot be mentioned as confirming the existence of the continuation of the long line of synclinal fold spoken of in my little paper, nothing else there seems to me to need any modification. — T. V. Holmes, February 23rd, 1893. Rainfall at Chelmsford in 1892. — Mr. F. Chancellor has recorded the ioUowing monthly summaries of the rainfall at Chelmsford as observed by himself during 1892 : — Jarmary, 0-48 ; February, 2-42 ; March, i-o8 ; April, I'2I ; May, o'Sy ; June, 2-64 ; July, 1-27 ; August, 3-52 ; September, 2-22 ; October, 4-05 ; November, 2-09 ; December, 1-31 : Total, 23-16. THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. By JOHN C. THRESH, D.Sc, !\LB., D.P.H. etc. [Read, February ^ist, iSgj. C0NT£N7S. — Sources cf our Water Supplies — Variation in the character of the water from various kinds of Gravel — Effect of a stratum of Boulder Clay — Magnesian Waters — Deep] well waters (l) from Tertiary Sands (2) from the Chalk — Great variation in character — Causes — Effect of proximity to the Ocean, etc. The paper is written in the hope that Essex Geologists may be* able to explain sotne of the author s difficulties, and that others may help by procuring for him samples from certain districts not yet represented. npHE above somewhat hurriedly adopted title is probably not the most appropriate one for the subject we have to discuss this evening, and on that account our secretary acted wisely in giving my short syllabus in the circular convening this meeting. During the past three and a-half years I find that I have examined 874 samples of water from various portions of Essex (by far the largest majority from the district around Maldon and Chelmsford), the object, in every case, being to ascertain whether they were sufficiently free from pollution and otherwise of such a character as to be fit for drinking and domestic purpo.ses. About two years ago, I published a " Report on the Water Supplies of the THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. 29 various Villages and Hamlets in the Chelmsford and Maldon Rural Sanitary Districts," which contained the results of the analyses of 400 samples of drinking water derived froiu the most varied sources — rain-water tanks, ponds, ditches, streams, springs, shallow wells in Boulder clay and in various kinds of gravel, and deep or artesian wells, sunk through the London Clay to the sands and chalk beneath. In the introduction it was affirmed that the waters yielded by gravels of different origin differed much in character. A copy of this report reached the hands of our esteemed member, Mr. W, Whitaker, F.R.S., and he wrote me saying that he had noticed this remark, and that " it would be interesting to study such differences, if they existed." He adds, " There may possibly be some difference between gravel-water and sand-water, of whatever age the deposits may be, and you might be on the look out for this." Tables of analyses of typical waters, or of waters which for some other reason are interesting, have been prepared and are appended to this paper.^ Out of the hundreds of analyses of shallow well- waters I have made, there are few which are of any use for our purpose. In many instances the subsoil water supplying the wells has become so contaminated with the filth deposited on the surface of the ground, or in defective cesspits, cesspools, and bumbies, that the character of the water has become entirely altered. For examples I would refer you to my Report on the Writtle Water Supply, a few copies of which are upon the table for distribution. Writtle village stands upon a patch of Glacial gravel. At the edge there are nume- rous springs. The analyses of five of these are given as bein^ typical of what the water from this gravel patch should be. We may compare these with the analyses of the water from the village wells. Total solids in grains per gallon vary from Temporary Hardness ,, Total Chlorine ,, Nitric Nitrogen „ Out of the forty-eight shallow well waters only one or two bear any close resemblance to the spring waters ; all the others are more T See appendix of Tables of Analyses, inserted in the present number. — Ed. Springs. Village Wells. 28 to 31-5 14-4 to 20-3 20 to 26 I to 1-5 ■25 to -45 32 to 160 ii'5 to 45 18 to 58 2-3 to 18-4 ■07 to 9"i 3© THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. or less seriously affected by the filthy deposits of the centuries during which Writtle village has existed. In all the gravel waters I have examined I have found that when the chlorine exceeds about two grains per gallon (corresponding to yT, grains of chloride of sodium, common salt), there are other signs of pollution and of change in character due to such pollution. For instance, you will find that whenever the chlorine is high the nitric nitrogen (which is a measure of the amount of nitrates present derived from the oxidation of organic filth) is also high ; whereas generally, but not invariably, when the chlorine is low the nitrogen is low also. On Table I. some analyses are given of waters from the Bagshot sands and pebble beds. One peculiarity of such waters is the low temporary hardness (due to carbonate of lime) and the comparatively low total hardness (due to carbonate and sulphate of lime). My attention has been particularly drawn to these waters, because I find they have a powerful action upon lead pipe, and upon iron pipes, whether galvanised or not. I found, however, that I was not the first person to note this peculiarity, since, upon communicating the fact to Dr. Barry, one of the inspectors of the Local Government Board, who is at the present time engaged upoa an exhaustive examination as to the cause of the lead-dissolving power of certain waters, he informed me that Dr. Harcourt had already sent him a series of analyses of waters from the Bagshot beds, all of which waters acted powerfully on lead. Dr. Barry, at the time, appeared to think that this was a property possessed only by waters from this particular source. Analyses showed that such waters contained little or no carbonate of lime (temporary hardness) and therefore had no alkaline reaction ; and in the north of England, where moorland sur- face waters often act strongly on lead, the reaction of the water is either neutral or faintly acid, and the addition of a little chalk (carbonate of lime) effectually destroys this solvent power. Such waters, how- ever, are yielded by gravels which, on the Drift maps, are referred to as " Glacial Drift," especially if such gravels occur on the tops of hills, or far removed from any Boulder clay. Table II. contains analyses of many waters containing little or no carbonate of lime, and most of them can dissolve lead freely. Such waters occur at Asheldham (an isolated gravel patch), Great Baddow, Little Baddow, Danbury, Woodham Mortimer, and Woodham Walter, the gravel upon which these parishes lie being far from any Boulder clay. At Galleywood, Writtle, Fryerning, Ingatestone. and Stock, the Bagshot THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. 3 1 beds again yield us samples ; but at Great and Little Braxted, Great and Little Totham, Wickham Bishop, and Tiptree Heath, where the Glacial gravel is raised and exposed so as to be beyond the influence of the Boulder clay, we also obtain water almost destitute of carbonate of lime. Li the Chelmsford and Maldon districts these are the only parishes yielding such waters. In all others, we find that most of the water in the gravel must have percolated through the Boulder clay which, in some places, is far more pervious than is generally supposed. The springs at Writtle, Roxwell, Chignall, and Ford End are at the edge of patches of gravel, most of which is covered with Boulder clay. As this latter contains a considerable amount of chalk, the water, in percolating through, dissolves a certain amount, and its temporary hardness, due to the dissolved carbonate of lime, is increased {vide analyses). I have also given a few analyses of waters obtained from wells sunk through the Boulder clay to the gravels and sand lying between this and the London Clay, and it will be observed that they contain from ten to thirty grains of carbonate of lime per gallon. At present, therefore, I have no evidence that there is any difference between " Bagshot " and " Drift " waters, except such as can be accounted for by the influence of the Boulder clay, or the proximity of villages with defective sanitary arrangements. In certain localities, I have observed a peculiarity of the Boulder clay water which I find other analysts and medical officers have noted, VIZ., that the water, when freshly drawn, has the odour of rotten eggs. This smell is due to a trace of sulphuretted hydrogen ; but how the gas is produced, and why peculiar to localised areas, I cannot explain. It is very probably formed by the reduction of a sulphate by some peculiar organism, or by dead organic matter, vegetable humus. The general public, however, invariably ascribe the smell to sewage pollution ; but my analyses do not confirm this opinion. The smell very rapidly disappears if the water is left in an open vessel, the gas being oxidized by the exposure to air. In other districts, again, we meet with waters containing much sulphate of magnesia. In such cases the water seems to be derived from small beds of sand in the London Clay. On the east of Galleywood Common we recently made a few trial bores, finding water at a depth of about twenty feet ; but it contained so much sulphate of magnesia (Epsom Salts) as to be unfit for any domestic purpose. At Margaretting Tye there is a well (now closed) yielding 32 THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. such water, and at West Hanningfield there is a similar well. A brook running from South Hanningfield also contains such magne- sian waters. What is the source of this magnesia ? and are the beds of sand yielding such waters limited to the upper portion of the London Clay ? The importance of this question will be manifest when we come to speak of the deep well waters. For examples of such waters, refer to my report on the Chelmsford and Maldon District Water Supplies. C. Nos. 15, 16, 17, 21, 24, 26, 31, 38, 39, 45, 63, 94, 98, 107, 121, 126, 159, 168, 176, 198, 213. M. Nos. 62 to 81, 86 to 90, 133 to 146. At Bradwell, Southminster, Galleywood, and possibly other place3, where such waters are found, the proximity of beds of brick-earth have possibly some connection with this peculiarity. Passing on to the consideration of the waters yielded by wells sunk through the London Clay, here again we meet with serious difficulties, due to the fact that many of the wells, more especially the older ones, are so badly constructed that it is quite uncertain what proportion of surface or sub-soil water they contain. As the water from these superficial sources is usually, if not always, very impure, containing much organic matter and nitrates, we can invari- ably detect its presence, but we can only very roughly estimate the quantity. According to the varying proportion of surface to subter- ranean water will the constituents vary on analysis. Take, for example, the water at Goldhanger Rectory and at Cold Norton Railway Station. Li 1889, the water from the rectory well was uncontaminated. Li 1891, there were reasons for suspecting that the water was being fouled, and upon analysis such proved to be the case. Evidently water containing less saline matter and more lime salts and nitrates {i.e., impure surface water) was gaining access to the well. At Cold Norton Railway the water obtained soon after the well was bored contained so much nitrates and lime salts that I felt justified in condemning it as impure. The well was opened and some improvements made. The quality of the water also improved ; but it still was impure. The well was again examined, and, I believe, some puddling done, or the brickwork cemented. The result was that when the water was again submitted to analysis it proved to be pure. At Stow Maries (Hogwell) we have not been so fortunate. When I examined the water, in 1890, I found it very impure, and I reported that sub-soil water was entering the well. The railway company had the water pumped to a low level, and THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. T,^ something was done at the well itself (I do not know what), and at my next visit the water taken gave no indication of impurity. Recently, however, I was told that the water was again very hard, and, upon examining a sample, I found it as bad as at first. Before considering the variations in character of the deep well waters throughout the county, it may be instructive to consider to what extent such waters may differ in composition over a much more limited area. As I recently examined the waters from all the wells in the parish of Latchingdon, we will take this area as an example. The analyses of fourteen waters are embodied in Table VII. These waters varied in total solids from 85 to 582 grains per gallon : the hardness from 3'' to far over 100°. In fact the hardness of the water from Hitch's well is so excessive as not to be capable of estimation by the ordinary process. The alkalinity, due to the presence of carbonates, varied from 17 to 34*5° per gallon; the chlorine from i4'8 to 71 grains per gallon. All these wells are said to be about 300 feet deep, save the one at Tyle Hall, the surface elevation there being much higher than in the other portions of the parish where the deep wells are found. In all cases the water is said to come from the Tertiary sands : yet some con- tain, as we have seen, only 3 to 4 grains of lime salts per gallon, and no magnesia salts; whilst others (Snoreham Hall, Bullock's, and Hitch's) contain so much sulphate and chloride of magnesium as to unfit them for any domestic purpose. I know of no other district, however, in which the variation in character is so marked as around Latchingdon. Many of the wells bored here have been closed because the water was unusable ; and anyone wishing to sink a well must take the risk as to what the character of the water will be. Up to the present time I have only met with these magnesia waters in the district between Foulness Island and Latchingdon. What is the origin of these magnesian salts, or of the water containing it? It resembles closely the water referred to as contained in small beds of sand in the upper portion of the London Clay. Do such beds also occur at various depths or beneath the clay ? The water from Hitch's well, for a great many years, was as soft and good as any deep well water in the parish. The supply, however, began to fail, owing, it is said, to the sinking of a similar well on Bridgemarsh Island, and the owner decided to have the tube " shelled " and the well bored a few feet deeper. This was done ; but it was then discovered that the water was totally altered in character, and it has D 34 THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. since only been used for slopping purposes. What caused this change ? — the deepening of the well, or the process of shelling, which may have destroyed the continuity of the tube and allowed water from some source at a lesser depth to enter ? This is a question upon which I should like to have your opinions. My analyses of the deep well waters are divided into three groups. 1. Those of waters not exceeding 5" of hardness. 2. „ with a hardness of over 5", but not exceeding 10". 3. „ with a hardness exceeding 10". (I may here remark that the depth of the wells given in Col. I. are almost all taken from Mr. Whitaker's Sections, and that it is toler- ably certain that the water from the wells of unknown depth is from the Tertiary sands.) In each of the three groups we find waters from both the chalk and sands, and it is impossible to tell from the analyses from which source the water is obtained. Take, for instance, the first group, Table III., the waters from the very carefully made wells of the Southend Waterworks Co. — wells sunk expressly to exclude all water except that coming from the chalk. Compare these with the water from the Tertiary sands at Woodham Ferris, Rettendon, and Runvvell. All contain very small quantities of lime salts, and a considerable amount of chloride and carbonate of sodium. At Brentwood, and south of Brentwood, however, the soft chalk waters contain much less salt {vide^ waters from Brentwood Asylum, Pyrgo Park, and Britannia Works, Ilford). A few of these waters contain a larger quantity of sodium chloride than the others, more espe- cially the chalk water at Tiptree Brewery, and the sand water at Bridgewick Farm, Dengie. The latter is close to the sea, the former many miles distant. The soft waters obtained near Maldon also contain an excess of salt ; but the wells here are close to a tidal basin. If the salt, however, be due to infiltration of sea water, how is it we obtain no indications of the presence of magnesia ? I may also draw your attention to the fact that nearly all these soft waters are exceptionally pure, as indicated by the small quantities of nitrates present. When we examine the second group (Table IV.), we find there are only three chalk waters (two at Colchester and one at East Donyland, near Colchester). These differ somewhat in character. THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. 35 The East Donyland water contains about fifteen grains of carbonate of soda per gallon, the Colchester water No. I. about six grains, and No. II. none, the whole alkalinity being accounted for by the lime salts present. In all respects the Donyland water closely resembles many of the sand waters. Amongst this group of moder- ately soft waters we find the amount of chlorides varies very considerably ; but the wells yielding the largest quantity are sunk near the sea and close to a tidal river, the Blackwater. It will be observed that the waters in these two groups are all obtained from wells at and south of Colchester. North of that town all the deep well waters I have examined are from the chalk and contain over ten grains of carbonate of lime per gallon. They therefore fall into group III. (Table V.). The first eleven waters in this group, and five out of the last six, are derived from near the outcrop of the chalk or from places in which the London Clay and Tertiary sands are thinning out. In nearly all, the chlorides are very small in amount. The exceptions are at Mistley and Grays, both near the sea or a tidal river. In nearly all the alkalinity is due to carbonate of lime, the exceptions being the Mistley water, which contains probably about four grains of carbonate of soda per gallon, and the Stratford water (Phoenix Works), which contains about ten grains. The only other sample from Stratford (Howard's Chemical Works), on the other hand, contains little, if any carbonate of soda. Many of the Tertiary sand waters are very hard (due to both magnesia and lime), but contain very much more chlorides, sulphates, etc. (of soda chiefly), and some are so brackish as almost certainly to suggest infiltration of sea water. This is more probable, since all of them come from sources near tidal rivers or the sea. The last water on this list, that from the Beckton Gas Works, resembles some of these waters in being brackish ; yet it is sunk well into the chalk, and I am told that many wells in that neighbourhood have been sunk to considerable depths into the chalk, yet have yielded waters so brackish as to be useless, and the wells have been closed. Reviewing the whole three groups, we find that most of the chalk waters in the south of the county and in the north-east resemble each other in containing considerable amounts of carbonate of lime and very little chloride and carbonate of sodium ; but differ from the chalk waters in other portions of the county, where the chalk lies St a much greater depth, since the latter contain very little lime and P 3 36 THE SHALLOW AND DEEP WELL WATERS OF ESSEX. much sodium chloride and carbonate. On the other hand, in the central portions of the county the waters from the sands and the chalk beneath are practically identical. ( Vide also Whitaker's " Geology of London," vol. i., 514.) How are these differences and agreements to be accounted for ? What is the source of the carbonate of sodium found in both the sand and chalk waters throughout the county ? Possibly the water under the central and eastern portion of the county, whether derived from the Tertiary sands or the chalk, is from one and the same source. Near the outcrop of the chalk, the water is undoubtedly derived from that portion of the rainfall which percolates into the chalk or passes in through fissures from the superficial sands. Is the water in the deeper portions, under central and east Essex, in part derived from the sea, the character of the water being altered by the sands or chalk through which it percolates? (The abundance of chlorides and of magnesia salts would seem to indicate a much more direct corinection between the sea and the wells in several localities.) Could slow filtration of the sea water, through such strata as we find beneath the clay, remove certain salts from the sea water and at the same time by some chemical action give rise to the formation of the carbonate of sodium found in these waters ? If so, these saline waters would naturally be found at the lower levels, whilst the water percolating into the chalk near its outcrop, being less dense, would, as it were, float upon it, and the line of demarcation might be defined by the examination of waters from various depths and from various parts towards the south, west, and north of the county. The discussion of the relative values of these deep well waters for domestic purposes is beyond the scope of the present paper; but is one to which I am devoting some attention. I had not intended publishing my analyses, or a paper on this subject, until many more samples of water had been examined; but I have had so much difficulty in obtaining samples from well authenti- cated sources, and have been so perplexed with the variations found, that I decided to communicate to the Field Club ths results already obtained in order to elicit criticism and opinions, and, if possible, to obtain the aid of its members in conducting further researches, which can scarcely fail to yield results of an interesting character. APPENDIX TABLES ILLUSTRATING DR. THRESH'S PAPER ON ESSEX SPRING & SHALLOW WELL WATERS. (Note.— Waters marked with an asterisk were not examined by me. The Analyses were kindly communicated by Mr. Shenstoue, Dr. Turner, and others.— J. C. Thresh. TABLE r . Tcm- Total Nitric Pabish. Source. Total porarv Hard- Chlo. Nitro- Solids. Hard- ness. ness. rine. gen. BAGSHOT S.iND. South Hanningfield Spring 19- •75 5^ 12 Ditto „ 19- •75 4-7 1-6 •'95 Fryerning ,, 22' 1- 6' 3-4 „ Mill Green » 20- 1-5 12. 41 •87 BAGSHOT PEBBLE BEDS. JWrittlePark Spring 19- 15 6-5 21 •79 „ Coptfold Hall " 21- 13 14-? 2-3 •62 GLACIAL GRAVEL. Writtle — Oxney Green Springs 31-5 18^3 22^ 15 •42 » „ f. !! 31- 20-3 26- 11 •25 » » ••• 28- 14-5 20- 11 •45 j> » „ 29- 19^ 22- 1-9 •25 J, 28- 16^5 20^ 15 •33 Roxwell jj 345 114 25- 1-5 •85 Chignalls ,, 32- 22-5 26- 2-2 •25 Pleshey )J 36- 22^ 26 11 •25 Ford End » 39- 17-5 22- 2^4 •13 GHAVEL UNDER BOULDER CLAY. Roxwell ... Well 75- 205 33^ 12-8 110 Tyle Hall )1 14S- 2r 44^ 12 8 215 Good Easter . 98- 10^ 40- 11^4 105 Tye ... J, 465 10 8 22- 3-5 •55 Pleshey " 94- 31^ 44- 135 •82 TABLES OF ESSEX SPUING AND TABLE II. GRAVEL WATERS CONTAINING VERY LITTLE CARBONATE OF LIMK, Tem- Total Nitric- PABisn. Source. Total porary Hard- Chlo- 1 Nitro- Solids. Hard- ness. ness. rine. gen. Asheldham Spring 19- 2- 6- 2- 1-05 ,, jj 19- 1- 5-2 1-5 1-0 ,, ,, .32- 1-5 17-6 2- •90 ,, ,, 34- 1-5 20-8 3-6 1-01 „ Well 14- 1-2 5- 1-5 •45 Baddow, Great ,, 29- 1-5 7- 3- •60 „ „ Public supply Spring 16- 2-5 6- 1-8 •85 „ „ Meadgate Farm ... Well 64- 1- 24- 6-4 Baddow, Little, School Spring 30- 1-0 9- 2-6 I^IO P.O >) 25- ■5 4-5 2-5 •50 Bicnacre P.P Well IG- 2-4 7- 2-2 •25 „ ... ... ... Trial Bore 14- ■0 8- 3-3 •18 Braxted, Little, P.P. Well 18- 1- 4-5 1-7 •85 „ Great, „ jj 30- ■5 5-5 3-7 •86 Danbury, Buell Spring Spring 17- 2- 5- 21 -76 „ near Black Boy ... 24- 2- 6-6 2-4 •70 „ Village ... Well 34- 2- 10- 3-2 •76 Runsell P.P ,, 2- 15- 2-1 •41 Mill House jj 20- •0 9- 2-2 •99 Fryerning P.P. ,, 18- 1- 9-5 4-9 105 „ Mill Green J, 31- 2- 12- 4-6 152 Galleywood, Bush Farm „ 122" ■0 33- 15-4 32 „ Godfrey's ,, 10- •0 4- •9 •17 „ Mill House )j 48- •5 9-5 4-1 110 Highwood, Green Man 27- 2- 7- 3-8 ■23 Ingatestone, Trueloves ,j 130- 1-2 14- 24-5 24 (Fryerning) Public Supply ,, IS- 3- 5-5 1-9 •14 Sandon, Lt. Gibcracks ,, IS- 2- 4- 1-5 •10 Stock, Jubilee Pump ,, 49- 1- 14- 5-3 1-15 ,, Wrights ,, 56- 2' 12- 11-2 1-80 „ Beyond Slough House Spring 21- 25 5- 2-7 -15 „ Mr. Gillow's ... Well 2-5 16- 7-3 126 ,, App's Farm ,, 39- 2-5 12- 5-1 1-37 „ Forest Hall ,, 19- 2- 9- 2-5 •33 Tiptree Heath Hall Spring- 2.3- 1- 6-5 23 •34 „ „ Arnold's Well 43- 1-5 15- 5-3 •83 „ near S])ring 19-5 3-5 7- 2-2 ■10 » ). » jiin Well 43- -0 18- 5-8 1^7 „ „ opposite P.O. ,, 62- 1-5 11- 91 1-7 „ „ Rectory Spring 28- 1-5 9- 3-2 •60 „ „ New Well Well .38- 2-5 11- 5-0 •85 „ P.c „ 82- 2- 34- 16-8 2-94 „ „ School J, 178-? ■0 26- 19-3 2-90 Totham, Gt., Great Mountains Old Well 49-5 3-5 is- 10-3 1-15 J) )) New ,, 46-5 2-0 le- 7-7 190 P.O Well 17- 1- s' 1-5 •52 Ulting Spring 24- 15 7-5 2-2 •41 Writlte Park, Bailiff's House Well 41- 1- 7-5 5-4 •30 Woodham Walter P.H Spring 17- 1-7 6-5 ]-7 •40 ,, Mortimer ... ,, 18- 2-5 11- 1-8 ■85 „ ,, Conduit J, 26- 3-5 10- 3- •60 Wickham Bishops, Hon. Mrs. Byron's Well 64- •0 23- 12-8 248 P.P " 22- 1- 4-5 1-7 ■85 I SHALLOW WELL WATERS— coutinuetl. TABLE III. HARDNESS NOT EXCEEDING 5 DEGREES. Pakisii. Depth of Well in feet Supposed Source of Water. Total Solids, Total Hard- ness. Alkal- inity. Chlo- rine. Nitric Nitro- Colchester Sewage Works Pelsted School Tiptree Brewery Heybridge — Mr. Bentall's Ho. Boti tail's Works... Hall Basin — Hardy's ... „ Jolly Sailor „ Clement's ... Harrington's Maldou — Wantz road ... Maldon Water Works ... Chelmsford ditto Writtle — Oxney Green Muudon ... Purleigh Public Pump Deugie — Bridgewick ... Althorne Black Lion ... Althorne — Bridgemarsh Island Cold Norton Railway ... Fambridge Public Pump „ Clarke's Stow Maries Public Pump Woodham Ferris — Pertwce's... „ „ Pearl's Latchingdon — Tyle Hall „ Engineer's Arms „ Miss Ram's „ Nix's Rettendon — Clarke's ... „ Battles Bridge Ry. „ Bell's Farm Runwell — Pease's Farm Eastwood ■) Southend Prittlewell ^ Water Works ... Southend J Company. Brentwood Asylum Havering — Pyrgo Park Ilford 218 404. 562 126 126 + 234 + 568 275! 392 475 423 365 685 866 900 709 665 292 Chalk 83- 5- 21- 248 Chalk 67- 4-5 23-2 191 Chalk 133- 2-5 30-5 43-1 T Sands 98- 2-5 25- 23-4 J) 105- 3- 22- 37-2 98-0 3-5 26- 35-1 98- 2-5 26-5 31-3 97- 2-5 26-5 31-5 94- 2-5 27- 31-1 108-5 3-5 25-5 37-6 126- 5- 27-5 36-2 Chalk 87- 4-0 27-5 24-8 Chalk 3-0 20-7 76- 35 23-5 17-4 94- 3-5 27-4 27-3 87- 2- 27- 23- T Sands 114- 3- 23-5 47- 92- 4- 26- 28-5 95- 2-5 26-5 27-2 T Sands 81- 2- 23-5 229 90- 3-5 25- 26-6 97- 3-5 26-5 26- 95-5 3- 27- 23- 85- 2- 26- 23-4 76- 3-5 29- 22-2 T Sands 86- 2-5 26- 26-6 100- 4- 32- 27-4 92- 3'5 25- 28- 90- 3 0 25-5 28-6 64- 2-4 24-5 25- ..* 80- 3- 22- 23-6 4-5 21- 24-9 74- 4-5 23- 22-5 Chalk 66- 2-5 19-7 19-2 ,, 73- 2-5 18-7 23-5 )> 665 3-0 18-5 23-2 SO- 2-5 20- 9-9 jj SO- 2- 19-5 9-6 „ 34-5 3-5 17- 31 -03 •07 -27 •3U •05 ■12 •12 •01 •00 •05 •06 •07 •10 •12 •OS •12 •05 •20 •OS •07 •12 •05 •05 •05 •0(3 •03 ■09 -07 •14 •03 •05 •05 •04 •05 ■07 •05 •05 •03 •07 TABLE IV. HARDNESS BETWEEN 5 AND 10 DEGREES. Colchester Brewery* ... Chalk 69-5 10^ 16-4 24-2 •00 * 721 9^8 93 213 — East Donyland ... 305 Chalk 81^5 8^5 26^ 271 •00 Goldhanger — Francis Farm ... 111^ 65 265 37-2 •02 Steeple Public Pump 250? T Sands 106^ 6-5 26-5 36^2 •32 „ Wick 140^ 10- 24^ 61^4 ■15 „ Grange 126^ 8^ 27^5 60^ •40 St. Lawrence Rectory ... 138- 7^5 27- 508 •22 Hazel eigh — Jenkins 83^ 6^ 28^ 256 •03 Woodham Mortimer 103^ 6- 19-5 191 •32 Cold Norton Railway 392 T Sands 91^ 6-5 205 225 •34 Fambridge Railway 361 ,, 93. 7- 19-5 2S^ •16 Stow Maries — Hogwell 337 ,, 150^ 95 245 29^ ■()7 Cricksea Ferry ... 385 ,, 96^ 95 22-5 26- '')0 Woodham Ferris — Ilgar's 105 8^ 25^ 266 •16 Latchingdon — Shai'p's 85^ 9- 26-5 283 •25 Rettendon — Motts 80- 8- 25^ 27- •10 Pitts 76- 55 235 23^ •16 ,, Malting 350 T Sands 75^ 6- 23^5 23^ •OS Runwell Rectory 83^ 6^ 24^ 23^ •11 Foulness — New Wick ... 400? T Sands 116^ 8^ 32 5 378 .06 TABLES or ESSEX DEEP WELL WATERS. TABLE V. HARDNESS OVER 10 DEGREES. Depth Supposed Total Nitric Pabish. of Well in feel Source of Water Total Solid.s, Hard- ness. Alka- linity. Chlo- rine. Nitro- gen. Saffron Walden p. S 46 + Chalk 46- 23- 18-6 2-6 -95 Sudbury 200 Chalk 37- 20- 21-7 3-4 •30 * J, Chalk 34- 21-5 16-6 3-2 •17 Mistley Water Co 400 Chalk 55" 14- 18-5 16-4 -05 Dedham* 81 + Chalk 43-4 25- 18-5 9-8 trace Bishops Stortford P.S.* Chalk 29-6 20- 17- 1-7 ,, ,, Brewery* ... Chalk 25-6 20-2 16-5 1-7 -16 Hallingbury College Chalk 22-7 1-1 -04 Musey Hill* Chalk 28- 2r5 18-" 1-7 Hoddesdon P.S.* Chalk 23-5 18-5 14- 1-5 -0 „ Brewery* ... Chalk 39-2 20- 14- 2-7 •8 Goldhanger Rectory ... 103- 12-5 23-5 34-5 •55 Althorne Railway, 1890 346 T. Sands 271- 25- 11- 32- •23 1892 130- 72- 17-5 25- •33 „ Bridgemarsh Island 904- 104- 12- 483- •10 Cold Norton Railway ... 392 T. Sands; 130- 19- IS- 14- -40 Stow Maries, Hogwell 337 )) 358- 31- IS- 37- -70 j^ J) 404- 40- 22- 47-5 •45 Woodham Ferris Railway 321 » 103- 12- 23-5 21-9 •09 Burnham Marshes 300 „ 132- 11- 31- 43-4 •45 Latchingdon, Snoreham ETall ... 256- 47- 23-7 55-2 •38 Rettendon, Haye's Farm 93- 18- 27'5 12-4 1-3 Fowlness Old Hall 400? T. Sands 263- 14- 22-5 126- •05 Romford Brewery* 152 + Chalk 41-5 23- 17-5 6-3 Grays Cement Works 140 Chalk 44- 22- 11-5 12-2 •26 Stratford, Howard's 250 Chalk 33-5 17- 19-2 2-9 •05 „ Phoenix Works 200 Chalk 33-5 ir 21- 2-6 •00 Plaistow C. Manure Works ... 351 Chalk 46- 24- 17-5 102 Beckton Gas Works ... 157 + Chalk 112- 55- 18-8 52-5 TABLES VI. VARIATIONS IN WATER FROM SAME WELL. Goldhanger Rectory, 1889 1891 Althorne Railway Station, 1890 „ 1892 Cold Norton Railway ... 1890 „ „ ... 1891 ... 1892 Stow Maries, Hogwell, 1890 ... 1891 ... 1892 ... 346 392 337 • •• 120^ 6- 24-5 46-4 103- 12-5 235 34-5 [leadingB. 271- 25- 11- 32- ,, 130- 72- 17-5 25^ T. Sands 130- 19- 13- 14- 91- 6-5 20-5 22-5 81- 2- 23-5 22-9 358- 31^ 15- 37- ,j 150- 9-5 24-5 29^ „ 404- 40^ 22- 47^5 TABLES VII. VARIATIONS IN WATERS B'ROM SAME PARISH. Latchingdon— Nix's Farm T. Sands 90^ 3- 25-5 28-6 •14 Rams ,, 92^ 3-5 25- 28- •07 Tyle Hall 475 86- 3-5 26- 26-6 •03 Sharp's 85- 9- 26-5 28-3 •25 Lawling Hall ... 104- 11^ 29-5 30- •24 Engineer's Arms 100- 4- 32- 27-4 •09 Green Lane 150- 12-5 17-5 36- 2-50 Freeman's 123- 14- 28^ 32- -11 Police Station ... 113- 19- 17^ 14-8 1-44 Red Lion 155- 27- 29- 25-6 1-50 Snoreham Hall... 256- 47- 28-7 55-2 •38 Warden's 162- 48^ 18-5 32- 1-97 Bullocks 253- V. g. 273 56-4 -99 Hitch's ., 5S2- V. g. 34-5 71- 2-80 41 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. Autumnal Ramble in Epping Forest, and 136TH Ordinary Meeting. Saturday, November 19th, 1892. This meeting was arranged to take the place of the usual Fungus Meeting, and to afford an opportunitj' of imparting some elementary information about the structure and habits of some of the tribes of Cryptogamia found in the Forest. The Public Hall, Loughton, was the headquarters for the day, and the mem- bers and visitors drove or walked to High Beach and other parts of the Forest. Collectors were recommended to pay particular attention to the smaller forms of Fungi and specimens adapted for microscopic illustration. The day was fine, but the late period of the year, and the recent cold weather, precluded the possibility of obtaining many of the larger and more showy species. Dr. Cooke kindly acted as conductor, and, in spite of adverse circumstances, many interesting species were obtained for e.xhibition in the evening. Tea was taken at the " Crown Hotel," the exhibition of specimens being arranged in the Loughton Public Hall. Many microscopical preparations and slides were shown, and there were a large number of microscopes. The naming and arranging of the specimens was under the direction of Dr. Cooke, Mr. D. Houston, F.L.S., and the secretaries. The 136th Ordinary Meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., Vice-President. Mr. C. Oldham exhibited some specimens of Lepidoptera recently taken in Epping Forest, including Cymaiophora ocularis and Leiicania iurca, which he had not previously seen in the district, and Dicycla 00, Xylophasia hepatica, Eutlu- monia russula, etc., etc. Mr. W. Cole exhibited a set of specimens of pottery, etc., from the Red Hills at Burnham, and on Mersea, in which latter place he had made some diggings during the autumn. He made some remarks upon the specimens, and on the character of the Red Hills, which will be published in a future number of The Essex Naturalist. Prof. Meldola referred to the very mysterious and interesting problem pre- sented by the existence of these Red Hills, particularly relating to the period of their construction. He hoped that further efforts would be made to investigate the subject. Dr. Cooke reported upon the specimens of P'ungi gathered during the after- noon. But little had been observed deserving of special notice, and no additions to the Epping Forest list had been made. But in spite of this Dr. Cooke made, as usual, a most interesting address, and alluded to the extraordinary sporadic nature of some species — appearing one year, and then disappearing for many years. A cordial vote of thanks was passed to Dr. Cooke for his kindness in conduct- ing the meeting, a service he had performed for the Club from the first year of its existence. Mr. Dixon gave a short address on the nature and life-history of the Fungus causing the potato disease, his remarks being illustrated by specimens exhibited under the microscope, and by drawings. Mr. Wray gave a similar short address on the Fresh-water Algae, illustrated by specimens. 42 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. Miss Mansfield explained the structure of an Agaric, as an introduction to the study of Fungi. Mr. D. Houston gave a demonstration of many of the objects of special botanical interest on the tables, illustrating his remarks by numerous drawings on the black-board. The demonstrators and lecturers were cordially thanked by the meeting for their interesting and instructive addresses, and the meeting ended with the usual conversazione, very many botanical and other specimens having been brought for exhibition by members and others. Ordinary Meeting. Tuesday, February 21st, 1893. The 137th Ordinary Meeting of the Club was held in the Committee Room of the West Ham Town Hall, Stratford,^ at seven o'clock, Mr. T. V. Holmes, V.P., in the chair, and afterwards Mr. Walter Crouch, V.P. Nominations of new members of the Council and officers for 1893 were made preparatory to the Annual General Meeting. The Secretary stated that Mr. Henry I. Coburn had kindly consented to serve the Club in the capacity of Hon. Solicitor, in the place of the late Mr. Howard Vaughan, and on behalf of the Council he nominated him for the post. The following were elected members : — T. S. Dymond, F.C.S., F.I.C., Rev. W. T. Dyne, Francis C. Martley, M.A., M.B., and Wilfred M. Webb, F.L.S. The Secretary stated that by resolutions of the Council and the Committee of the Museum, the amalgamation of the Essex and Chelmsford Museum and the Essex Field Club was an accomplished fact, but that certain legal formalities had to be complied with. At an early meeting a statement of the whole matter would be laid before the members. Mr. Sauze exhibited some beautifully set and mounted specimens of Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, etc., all caught and prepared by himself. Mr. W. Cole exhibited a series of specimens of Hybernia aiirantiaria and //. de/oliaria, taken in November last in Lord's Bushes, Epping Forest, for the purpose of calling attention to the interesting mode of concealment adopted by the moths. The ground in the forest at the time was thickly strewn with the yellow and brown fallen leaves of the beeches and hornbeams. The colours in both species of moths are various shades of yellow and golden-brown. Instead of resting upon the trunks of the trees, or on the twigs, where, owing to the leafless state of the trees, they would be very conspicuous, the moths settled down upon, and often partly under, the fallen leaves, and, owing to the close similarity of colouring between the insects and leaves, it required a sharp entomological eye to detect the former. Although the moths were evidently very numerous, but few could be collected in an hour by reason of the perfection of the concealment thus afforded. Mr. C. Oldham exhibited specimens of various kinds of rock, which he had gathered from the heaps of ballast used in mending the roads in the Woodford district. Mr. Wire exhibited photographs of some beautiful pen-and-ink sketches of I In the circular calling the meeting it was stated that Stratford, as a place of meeting, had been " suggested_ as an experiment, so as to allow County Members to attend more easily, it being on the Main Line. Tuesday evening is also a tentative change, in order to elicit the opinions of members. .Saturday is said to be inconvenient for many evening meetings." THE ESSEX FIELD CI.UB. 43 Dunstable Priory Church by Mr. Worthington G. Smith, hon. member of the Club. Dr. J. C. Thresh read a paper entitled, "The Shallow and Deep Well Waters of Essex " (see p. 28), which was illustrated by tables of analyses of waters, specially printed for the occasion. During the discussion following the paper, Mr. T. V. Holmes remarked on the bearing of Dr. Thresh's observations and analyses on the efficiency of the filtra- tion through a considerable thickness of gravel. Dr. Thresh strongly contrasted the purity of springs from the gravels, such as that underlying the Boulder Cla}', with the impurity of wells in which the water was derived from the same source. This could only be the result of the comparative remoteness of houses and farm- buildings with their cesspools, etc., in the case of the springs in question ; while wells in villages were necessarily situated where the inhabitants could most conveniently and quickly get their supply — in other words, close to their houses and cesspools. This showed the necessity, when water was obtained from super- ficial beds, of ensuring the absence of dwellings, etc., within a certain distance of the source of supply, whether spring or well. Mr. Holmes also alluded to the lack of enthusiasm shown by Essex people in their mineral springs. An attempt was once made to " run " the medicinal well at Hockley, but unsuccess- fully ; and there was a mineral spring on Tyler's Common, near Upmmster, once visited by the Club, but which had never been utilized. Essex people did not care for Epsom Salts. Mr. Sworder said many agricultural labourers of Stanford Rivers and Staple- ford Tawney went in hay time and harvest to a spring between Navestock and Brentwood to "take the waters." After a gallon of beer a day, they no doubt needed some little corrective. [Laughter.] Prof. Meldola and Mr. G. J Symons, F.R.S., alluded to the value of Dr. Thresh's observations, and trusted he would continue them ; and the former speaker referred to the value of bacteriological mvestigations in all enquiries respecting the hygienic qualities of drinking water. Mr. J. M.Wood, C.E.,of the New River Company, remarked that the sinking of a well or bore-hole always afforded an opportunity of obtaining valuable infor- mation of a geological, chemical, hydraulic, and engineering character. Each observer interested probabl}- records the results of his own ])articular science : the consequenc2 was that the information is usually of a disjointed character, in the possession of several individuals, and often difficult to obtain. So far as Essex is concerned, Mr. Whitaker had done much in recording in the Journal the geological formations through which wells and bore holes have passed, and now Dr. Thresh was doing most interesting and valuable work in recording the analyses of the surface and underground waters of Essex. But there yet remained much to be done in the county, in studying and especially recording the hydro- geological conditions of water after it had passed into the formations and is beyond the influence of evaporation. Little or nothing was known of the underground waters of Essex, say north of a line drawn from Bishop Stortford to Maldon, such, for instance, as the capacity of the formations for storing water, direction of flow of the underground waters, the natural fall, fluctuations of the standing water levels, the effects of rain upon the water levels, high and low water levels, artesian districts — that is, districts in which wells overflow, etc., etc. Mr. Wood thougfht that a committee of the Essex Field Club could do 44 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. excellent work in this direction, if formed upon somewhat similar lines as the Underground Water Committee of the British Association. Its function should be to collect together every possible information and detail of a geological, chemical, physical, engineering, and structural character. With reference to wells, springs, and rivers, the mere bringing together of such information, and tabulating the same in some standard form to admit of comparison, would be a work of the highest value. This, it appeared to him, could be achieved without much difficulty if members of the Club could be induced to assist, being distributed as they are all over the county. Mr. Wood had endeavoured, in a private c^ipacity, to get information for making a hydro-geological survey of the district before mentioned, similar to what Mr. Lucas had done for parts of Kent and Surrey, but met with so many difficulties that he gJ.ve it up after six months work. Mr. Wood mentioned that the River Stour and valley was highly interesting from a hydraulic point of view, and that several places existed where gauging of the daily flow of the river could easily be obtained, as weirs already existed, especially at Liston near Long Melford, where the mill has been removed and the flow of the river is passing over a board fixed across the old wheel race ; but unfortunately he knew of no one in the neighbourhood who would take sufficient interest to make a daily gauging. He further mentioned the possibility that a large quantity of Chalk water was discharged into the bed of the River Stour between Long Melford and Bures, probably in the neighbourhood of Sudbury, Suffolk, where the Chalk came to the surface. The river always appeared full between Borely and Bures, how- ever dry the seasons might be ; and, what was more, the water was usually bright and clear, except in flood time. Interesting results would no doubt be obtained if the river was gauged between the points mentioned. From the results of the analyses in Dr. Thresh's paper, it appeared conclusive that where the Chalk is overlaid with considerable thickness of Tertiaries (Lon- don Clay, Woolwich Beds, and especially Thanet Sands), the water obtained from the Chalk by means of a boring contained a much greater quantity of solids and chlorine, besides being a softer water, than water obtained from a boring or well sunk in the open Chalk. Mr. Wood instanced the following eight wells sunk down to the Chalk, and mentioned in Dr. Thresh's paper, but overlaid w^ith a considerable thickness of Tertiaries, viz., the three wells of the Southend Water Company, Brentwood Asylum, Havering, Maldon Water Park Felstead, and Tiptree. The average solids were 74, average hardness 2-9, average chlorine 21-5 ; whereas if the five wells in the open Chalk were taken, viz., Saffron Walden, Sudbury (two), Hoddes- don (two), the average solids were 35-9, average hardness 2o-6, average chlorine 27. The above differences w.re remarkable in water derived apparently from the same formation. The only suggestion that one could offer was that the water from the sands (especially the Thanet Sands) above the Chalk intermingled freely with the Upper Chalk waters, due to the absence of impervious beds. In conclusion, Mr. Wood thought that it would probably be highly interesting if Dr. Thresh could examine a series of waters (say taken in a line from Haver- hill to Southend) from the open Chalk to where it is overlaid by a maximum thickness of Tertiaries, and state the changes in the solids, hardness, and chlorine, as the case mig^ht be. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB 45 The discussion was continued by Mr. Andrew Johnston and Mr. Royle ; and Dr. Thresh in his reply observed that to work out such an extensive subject properly required the association of a geologist with a chemist, and perhaps an engineer. He hoped to get some information from his geological friends on the Club indifferent parts of the county. Mr. Holmes then vacated the chair in favour of Mr. Walter Crouch, and read a paper on '' Sections on the New Railway between Upminster and Romford," dealing especially with the discovery of Boulder Clay beneath old River-gravel at Hornchurch (see p. i). The paper was illustrated with geological maps and sections. A short discussion ensued in which Prof. Meldola alluded to the possibly local character of some of the phenomena which are known as Glacial. Mr. Double, C.C., in proposing a cordial vote of thanks to Dr. Thresh and Mr. Holmes for their valuable papers, alluded with satisfaction to the museum scheme of the Club, and suggested that the Corporation of London might be approached with the object of obtaining some recognition and assistance. In seconding the vote of thanks (which was passed by acclamation) Mr. Wra. Cole stated that the Council had in mind the forming of a forest museum, representing the natural histor}', geolog}^, and antiquities of the Forest, in which it was hoped that the authorities of the Forest would participate ; and he anticipated being able to make an announcement on the subject in a short time. The usual conversazione, at which tea and coffee were served, concluded the meeting. Ordinary Meeting. Tuesday, March 14th, 1893. The 138th Ordinary Meeting of the Club was held in the committee room of the West Ham Town Hall, Stratford, at seven o'clock, Professor R. Meldola, F.R.S., Vice-president, in the chair. Th; Secretar}^ stated that Dr. Henry Laver, the President, had explained to the Council that the probable great pressure of professional engagements would prevent his being present at man}' meeiings of the Club, and had suggested, in the interests of the societ}', that some other member should be nominated as President. The Council therefore nominated Mr. F. Chancelloi', J P., for elec- tion by the members at the annual meeting. Mr. Walter Crouch and Mr. C. Ridley were nominated as auditors of the Treasurer's accounts. Major Lamarock Flower, F.Sant.I., of the Lea Conservanc}', Mr. E. Johnston, and Mr. A. S. Wilson, were elected members. The Librarian read a long list of acquisitions to the library by donation, purchase, or exchange, and votes of thanks were passed to the donors. Mr. W. Cole exhibited a series of the moth Agrotis saucza, from Mersea Island in September and October last. According to his experience it was in most seasons a very rare moth in Essex ; but last autumn it had been taken in several parts of the kingdom, and had been fairly abundant at "sugar" in a cottage garden in the above remote part of Essex. Mr. Cole also exhibited, under the microscope, preparations of the plasmodium of a species of " Slime-fungus " (of the group Myxomycetes) which had appeared on the fieshlj'-cut stump- of the hornbeam trees recently felled in Lord's Bushes, 46 THE ESSEX FIELD CI.UB. Epping Forest. Almost immediately after the stumps were cut the slimy layers of this curious organism had spread with rapidity over the sap-bathed surface. The fungus consisted of masses of nalved protoplasm, having considerable powers of movement, like the Amoeba, although botanists now consider the Myxomycetes to be fungal, and net animal, in their nature. • Mr. H. C. Snell exhibited several specimens of the somewhat rare subter- ranean slug, Teslacella scutiihim, which he had found during this season's spring- digging in his garden at Buckhurst Hill. The creature is very interesting in its habits, being carnivorous, and feeding upon earth-worms, which it hunts under- ground. Mr. Cole remarked that Mr. Crouch had found the slug at Wanstead, and he himself had taken it somewhat abundantly in an old garden at Stoke Newington, many years ago. Mr. Oldham exhibited species of Noctucr captured in Epping Forest during the last autumn, and Mr. Wire explained an admirable sj'stem he had devised for mounting, indexing, and grouping in volumes, newspaper cuttings, leaflets, and small pamphlets. Prof. Meldola said that Col. Swinhoe, M.A., F.L.S., of Oxford, had intended to give them a lecture on " Protection in Nature " ; but most unfortunatel}-, owing to sudden illness, he was unable to leave home. In the kindest manner, their member, Mr. E. B. Poulton, M.A., F.R S., had come to their rescue, travelling specially from Oxford that afternoon to deliver a lecture on very similar lines to those which had been proposed by Col. Swinhoe. Mr. Poulton then delivered a most interesting address, which was illustrated by a large number of coloured pictures from original drawings (shown b}- the oxy-hydrogen lante n) of various animals considered from the point of view of tlieir p )wers of concealment or other modes of protection from their enemies. Mr. Poulton clearly showed that not only have animals the power of concealment when the conditions of environment aie constant, as when they resembled sand, rocks, ba k of trees, etc., but that many animals, particularly insects, had the power of adaptation to varying surroundings. The colour of oceanic animals frequently assimilated in a truly wonderful way to the tint of the sea or the prevailing colour of the seaweeds, etc. Land animals often resembled the sand, rocks, or twigs of trees, or dead leaves, etc., upon which they rested. The lecturer explained a series of examples drawn from a wide range of animal life, showing the modes of concealment acquired by fish, Crustacea, spiders, insects, etc. The most interesting part of the address was that in which Mr. Poulton detailed the results of his own researches upon the varying colour relations of caterpillars and chrysalids with their surroundings. Perhaps the most remark- able e-xample was the caterpillar of our common " Peppered moth " (^Atnpliydasis hetularia), which varied in a most startling way in accordance with the prevailing tint of the twigs or leaves upon which it happened to rest. By a series of skil- fully conducted experiments, Mr. Poulton had proved that it was possible to obtain from the same batch of eggs of the moth, caterpillars differing most widely in colour, simply by varying the tints of the surrounding objects. Cocoons and chrysalids of moths and butterflies were shown to vary in a similar manner. The lecturer showed that the variation was not the effect of food, as had been formerly supposed, but thatjt was the result of the action of light upon the superficial tissues of the caterpillars, whereby they were rendered opaque or transparent, so concealing or revealing the colours of the deeper situated tissues in the bodies of the animals. Mr. Poulton concluded by exhibiting the coloured EXCURSION OF THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION TO ILFORD, 47 papers and other appliances used in his experiments, and explaining their optical action. He made several references to the work of the chairman, Professor Meldola, upon the colours of insects, and said that it was Meldola's translation of Dr. Weismann's " Studies in the Theor}' of Descent," published in 1882, which first directed his attention to this fascinating subject. Mr. Poulton had to leave hurriedly in order to catch the return train to Oxford, so that no discussion was possible ; but a very cordial vote of thanks was passed, and the chairman said that, although they all regretted the cause of Col. Swinhoe's absence, it was evident that the}' had lost nothing in having such an address from a master of his subject. He recommended all interested to read Mr. Poulton's book on " Colours of Animals " (Intern. Sci. Series, i8go), in which his important researches were summarised. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Wire for providing and skilfull}' manipu- lating the lantern. Tea and coffee were served as usual in an upper room of the builaing. EXCURSION OF THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION TO ILFORD. ON Saturday, March 25th, about fifty members of the Geologists' Associa- tion visited Ilford, under the experienced guidance of Mr. F. C. J • Spurrell, in order to inspect the brickyards so famous for the quantity of mammalian and other remains which have been found in them from time to time. Strange to sa}', the Association does not appear to have visited these pits since June, 1871, but the Essex Field Club had a most interesting visit there in July, 1880, under the guidance of the late Sir Antonio Brady, Mr. A. R. Wallace, and Mr. Henry Walker (see report in Journal of Proceedings, E.F.C., vol. i, pp. xxviii.). At Ilford, as a glance at the Geological Surve}' map shows, the river-gravel is covered b}' a few feet of clay and brickearth. The first pit visited was east of the town of Ilford and north of the railway, between Ley Street and St. Mary's Church, where " fossil remains found here," may be seen on the Ordnance map of 6 inches to a mile. The second pit was south of the railwa}' and east of St. Mary's Church. In each pit the section consisted of sand at the bottom with loam and clay, containing many of the calcareous nodules known as race^ above the sand. The surface beds to a depth of about three feet were very variable and irregular, some fine gravel being seen here and there. Penetrating into the clayey beds for some feet were veins of sand of a few inches in breadth. The mammalian remains for which these pits are famous were found chiefly in the sand underlying the clay and loam. Dr. H. Woodward remarked at the last ^•isit of the Association to Ilford, that though elephant remains had been obtained both from Ilford and Grays, Elephas primigenitis (the mammoth) was the common species at Ilford, and Elepkas antiquus at Gra3's. But the reader desiring full details of these Ilford sections must be referred to Mr. Whitaker's Memoir on " The Geology of London and of part of the Thames Valley," vol i, pp. 410 — 15. A section of the Uphall Pit, the sides of which are now sloped and afford no section whatever, may be seen in the " Record of Excursions of the Geologists' Association," p. 174. As it is probable that the pits near St Mary's Church will shortly be in the same condition, members of the Essex Field Club interested in geology should visit them before it is too laie. 48 THE "holy thorn" AT WOODHAM FERRERS, ESSEX. After we had gazed at the spot where the Uphall Pit had once been, Mr. Walter Crouch kindly volunteered to show any members interested in archaeology the remains of Uphall Camp, which is on a terrace of river-gravel on the eastern bank of the Roding, north of Barking. Most of the party accompanied Mr. Crouch to the mound close to the farmhouse, from which an excellent view was obtained of the dwindling remains of this old camp, probably, as our director remarked, of Roman age. The site is certainly such as the Romans frequently selected. For their object was to ensure domination over a district by means of camps mostly situated in fertile and populous districts, while that of the prehistoric constructors of earthworks was to secure places of refoge from forays and invasions on sites of the greatest natural strength. The Camp was visited by the Essex Field Club in 1885 (see Journal of Proceedings, E.F.C., vol. iv, p cxlviii.) T. V. Holmes. THE " HOLY THORN " AT WOODHAM FERRERS, ESSEX. " Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our Lord." A PARAGRAPH appeared in the London "Standard"' of January i6th, relating a somewhat wonderful story that on Old Christmas Eve a number of persons went on a pilgrimage to the parish of Woodham Ferrers to "witness the bursting into leaf of a bush, locally known as the ' Holy Thorn.' It is a fact that at midnight the bush did burst into leaf. The peculiar features of the phenomenon are tlaat the bush assumes its "normal condition a few hours afterwards, and breaks forth with renewed vigour in the spring." The Rev. C. P. Plumtree, rector of Woodham Ferrers, afterwards wrote to the " Standard " as follows : " I find that there is a certain foundation in fact for the strange circumstances related. There is an old tree, or large thorn bush, locally called the ' Holy Thorn,' standing in a hedgerow, in a somewhat distant part of the parish. This tree is \isitcd by more or fewer persons each year on the eve of January 5th. I have inquired of neighbours on the spot, and they tell me that it produces buds and green shoots in the depth of winter. Indeed, a very credible witness informed me that he had gathered on that night this 3'ear a sprig with a small show of green on it. Even small Ma}^ blossoms have appeared at this season in some years. I need hardly say that the statement that the tree buds and blossoms during a certain hour on Uld Christmas Eve has not and cannot be proved. " 1 have myself secured a branch of this tree to-day, and find that its appear- ance is that of ordinary thorns, only that I find the sap is more up than I should expect after such late severe weather. I may, however, say that the people near declare that the colder the winter the better is the show of green and flower. I can deny the miraculous, but I cannot explain why this particular thorn should show such vitality at such an unwonted season. " I may, in conclusion, state that the thorn is in a decidedly exposed situation ; that it is certainly of considerable age ; that I can hear of no legend or story in connection with it ; nor can 1 find out anything of its origin." A large number of letters appeared in the " Standard " and some of the county papers, giving some very interesting particulars of these thorns in various parts of the kingdom. Of course, the well-known " Holy Thorn " of Glastonbury Abbey was referred to, an excellent account of the legends connected with which will be found in the " Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and '•SPECIAL MEMOIR" SERIES OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. ESSEX FIELD CLUB, SPECIAL MEMOIRS, VOL. I. REPORT ON THE EAST ANGLIAN EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 22ND, 1884." By Prof. Raphael Meldola, F.R.S., F.C.S., F.R.A.S., M.A.I. , &c. ; and WiLLl.AM White, F.E.S., Member of Geologists' Association. - Price, neatly bound in cloth, 3^. bd. "Fortunately for this Country, we have not been called upon to notice a report of such an Earthquake as that which is chronicled in the volume before us since th-s journal came into existence. Indeed, the authors state that no shock approaching it in intensity has been experienced in the British Inlands for at least four centuries. A brief notice of the occur- rence was given in our columns (vol. xxx., pp. 17 and 60) by Mr. Topley, and we now have a complete scientific account drawn up by i'rof. R. Meldola, and presented to the Essex Field Club as a special memoir, embodying the results of his investi.;ation in conjunction r v/ith his colleague, Mr. William White. The book consists of about 225 pages of readable matter, with four maps and numerous illustrations, and the Essex Field Ciub has certainly earned the gratitude of scientific men in enabling the authors to give publicity to this final result of their labour. . . . . . . Many illustrations of peculiar forms of damage are given, and there can be no doubt that the observations recorded in this section will be not only of local interest, but also of use to engineers and others who oc;upy themselves with the important question of Construction in Earthquake Countries " Nattire, January 21st, 1S86. ESSEX FIELD CLUB, SPECIAL MEMOIRS, VOL. II. "THE BIRDS OF ESSEX: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY." By Miller Christv, F.L.S. (Author of " The Handbook of Essex," " The Tiade Signs of Essex," &c., &c.). Demy 8vo. Price 155. To members of the E.F.C., 105. 5(/. The book is printed in the best style on superior toned antique paper, and handsomely bound in scarlet cloth. It extends to 300 pages, and more than 160 illustrations of birds are inserted, together with two plans and a frontispiece. Members of the Club may obtain single copies at the special price of 105. 6r/., post free, by sending postal orders' or cheque to the Librarian. " This work .... does equal credit to the enterprise of the Essex Field Club and the author. With the assistance of many fellow-workers, both in and without the county, Rlr. Christy has striven to improve on the plans of the local lists which have hitherto appeared ; and not only has he been fairly successful in this respect, but he has undoubtedly introduced some new and useful features. . . . The letterpress is, as a rule, written with considerable discrimination. . . . The work is thoroughly well done, and is a valuable addition to our iDCal lists." — Athenceum. N.B. — A reduction cf 25 per cent, from the above prices is allowed to Members, excepting on the " Birds of Essex " and the Annual Subscriptions to the " Essex Naturalist, \Continticd on f, 4. "SPECIAL MEMOIR" SERIES OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB—confinued. I P-RELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT. The Council intend to publish shortly, by Subscription, a work to be entitled THE MAMMALS, REPTILES, AND FISHES OF ESSEX : A CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY. {Forming Voliune III. of the Special Memoirs of the Essex Field Club) By Henry Layer, M.R.C.S., F.LS., F.S.A., &c., President, Essex Field Club. This work, in conjunction with Mr. Miller Christy's " Birds of Essex," issued in 1891, as Vol. II. of the "Special Memoirs," will afford a complete and valuable guide to the Vertebrate Fauna of the county. The " Mammals, Reptiles, and Fishes of Essex " will be published in Demy 8vo. form (uniform with the other publications of the Club), well printed on superior paper, and handsomely bound in scarlet cloth. The price of the volume will probably be 7s. 6d. ; to Subscribers, 5s. ; and to Members of the Club, 4s. ; but these quotations are subject to revision. Full particulars and Prospectuses will shortly be issued. The " Bibliography of Essex," which will probably form Vol. IV. of the "Special Memoir" Series, is now in active preparation. March, 1893. /jfNUAL SUBSCRIPTION— Members, 4s. 6d. Non-Members, 9s. Post Free. NOS. 4-5, VOL. VII.] Price Is. 6cJ. [APRIL-MAY, 1893. The Essex Naturalist: BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE ESSEX EIELD CLUB. EDITED BY WILLIAM COLE, Honorary Secrctciry. Conttnts. PAGE The "Holy Thorn" at Woodham Ferrers, Essex {concluded) 49 Further Notes on the Burnham Rorqual {Balc^noptera vnisculns). By Walter Crouch, F.Z.S 5° Periodicity in Organic Life. (Being the Presidential Address, delivered at Chelmsford, April 15th, 1S93.) By Dr. Henry Layer, J.P., F.L.S., F.S.A 51 Notes on the Geology of the Neighbourhood of Chelmsford. By T. V. Holmes, F.G.S. 65 Notes— Original and Selected. Capture of Otters near Chelmsford ; Uncommon Birds near Birchanger ; Waxwings {Aiiipclis ^ar>-ulus) M Harwich; Helix Lafiicida (Linn.) at Col- chester ; Hes/cria Lineola, Ochs., in Essex and Elsewhere ; Ancient Pit at Coggeshall ; Proposed Purchase of Mr. Joslin's IMuseum of Romano-British Antiquities ; Death of Mr. W. R. Sackett ; Old Loughton Hall— Erratum 66 The Essex Field Club. Annual Report of the Council for the Year ended December 31st, Notes on the Gravel in Epping Forest. By T. Hay Wilson The Essex Field Club. Field INIeeting at Broomfield and 13th Annual Meeting, and Special Meeting at Chelmsford, Saturday April 15th, 1S93 Title-page and Index to Vol. VI. The authors alone are responsible for the statements and opinions contained m their respective papers. PUBLISHED BY THE CLUB, BUCKHURST HILL, ESSEX. E. DURRANT & CO., 90, HIGH STREET, CHELMSFORD. Ent. Stationers' Hall.l CoMMUNic.A.TioN's and Advertisements should be addressed : — The Editor of " THE ESSEX NATURALIST," 7, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill, Esse.x. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. {^Foitnded January lo///, l88o.) [With which is incorporated " The Essex and Chelmsford Museum," established October 7th, 1828.] List of Council and Officers for 1893. patron : H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CONNAUGIiT AND STRATHEARN, K.G. (Ranger of Epping Forest). JJrceibcut : FREDERIC CHANCELLOR, J.P., F.R.LB.A., F.R.M.S. (ex-officio). <)icc-JJrcsibcnts : E. NORTH BUXTON, LP., Ald. C.C, D.L. WALTER CROUCH, F.Z.S. RIGHT HON. LORD RAYLE1GH,D.C.L , LL.D., F.R.SVZo;-^- J. C. SHENSTONE. Lieut, of Essex). permanent ^icc-^Jrcsibcnts : {Constituted under Rule IV.} Professor R. MELDOLA, F.R.S.. F.R.A.S., F.C.S., M.A.I. {President, iSSo—Sz.) Professor G. S. BOULGER, F.L.S., F.G.S. (President, 1SS3—S4.) THOMAS VINCENT HOLMES, F.G.S., M.A.I. (President, 1SSJ—S7.) EDWARD A. FITCH, J.P., C.C, F.L.S., F.E.S. (President, iSSS—gi.) HENRY LAYER, J.P., M.R.C.S., F.L.S., F.S.A. (President, iSgi.) (Dtkcv jttcmbcrs of liTouiicil : ANDREW JOHNSTON, Chrm. C.C, J. P., D.L. Rev. W. S. LACH-SZYRMA, M.A. THOMAS J. MANN. CHARLES OLDHAM. [. H. PORTER. J. C THRESH, D.Sc, M.B., D.P.H. FREDK. H. VARLEY, F.R.A.S. T. HAY WILSON. Rev. W. L. WILSON, M.A. JOHN AVERY. Rev. R. E. BARTLETT, M.A. CHARLES E. BENHAM. Gen. B. R. BRANFILL, J. P., C.C. MILLER CHRISTY, F.L.S. BRYAN CORCORAN. L. CRANMER-BYNG. GEORGE DAY, F.R.M.S. F. W. ELLIOTT. A. J. FURBANK. Rev. W. C HOWELL, M.A. T!Ivc;is.urcv : ALFRED LOCKYER, Mornington Lodge, Wanstead. (Scci'ftarj) ;iub ©bitoi" : WILLIAM COLE, F.E.S., Buckhurst Hill, Essex. glssistant (Sccrctavn : BENJAMIN G. COLE, Buckhur'st Hill, Essex. librarians : EDMUND DURRANT, I A. P. WIRE, at Headquarters,_ go, High Street, Chelmsford. | 8, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill ^)onor,inj (Counsel : CHARLES BROWNE, M.A., F.S.A. glonoraru ^Solicitor : HENRY L COBURN. jankers : NATIONAL BANK, OLD BROAD STREET, E.C ^cab-xiriartcrs : 8, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. ^tiisciim anti ^ibrarn : New London Road, Chelmsford. THE " HOLY THORN AT WOODHAM FERRERS, ESSEX. 49 Natural History Society " for 1880 (vol. xxvi., pp. 1 17-125). Mr. Charles Cable wrote from Stock, Essex, that " in our late rector's time there was a ' Holy Thorn ' in the rectory garden at Stock. It used to bloom on Old Christmas Eve, and the blossom was of pure while, similar to the white bush. No leaves appeared — only the blossom, and it kept on for about three weeks. There was also another ' Holy Thorn ' at Billericay." Another correspondent says that there is a " Holy Thorn " at Coggeshall, Essex. Some differences of opinion prevail among botanists as to wliether the " Holy Thorns " found in so many places is only an accidental variety of the Common Hawthorn, or a distinct race. Our own naturalist, Ray, was of the former opinion, but Witherington gave it a distinct name, and described it as Cratwgiis oxyacantha prcecox. He says ("Arrangement of British Plants," 1818, vol. iii., p. 604) "it blossoms twice a year ; the winter blossoms, which are about the size of a sixpence, appear about Christmas, and sooner if the winter be severe. These produce no fruit. The berries contain only one seed ... I was informed that the berries, when sown, produce plants in no wise differing from the Common Hawthorn." Mr. T. J. Saltmarsh, of Chelmsford, to whom Mr. Plumtree sent a shoot of the Woodham bush, certifies that it is the plant known to him as the "■ priTcox " variety of the Common Thorn, which is recognised in the trade. Mr. E. Chisholm Batten, in the paper alluded to above, in the Somersetshire Society's " Proceedings," sa3's that the Glastonbury Thorn has during the last fifty years been propagated freely, and sold by the Glastonbury nurserymen. Mr. Lawrence BuUeid, of Glastonbury, in the course of a recent letter, says : " I am not aware of an}' old tree now existing here ; but there are several com- paratively young ones, all of which, I believe, retain the peculiarities of the original stock. As a rule, the thorns are in full bud and ready to burst into bloom for some time before and after Christmas. I have seen several full blooms this winter, and for years as long as I can remember. " Mr. James Austin, the owner of Glastonbur}- Abbey, tells me that he once saw a ' Holy Thorn ' in the abbey grounds white with blossom on Christmas Day, when snow was on the ground. There is the same local tradition here as to the bursting into bloom on Old Christmas Eve as of other ' Holy Thorns,' but I have never heard of a Glastonbury person testing the truth of the saying. The flowers are often sent away at Christmas time, and the local gardeners have for years for- warded small trees to man}' parts of the country. Some of these may be the sub- jects of the letters of your correspondents. The trees blossom freely again in May or June." From the above evidence it may safely be concluded thai the bush at Wood- ham Ferrers is a specimen of this curious race of the Common Hawthorn, but whether the " Holy Thorns " have all been propagated from one stock, or whether the aberration arises spontaneously in the species, is at present a moot point, and one worthy of investigation. Our old correspondent, Mr. J. French, of Felstead, has sent some remarks upon the Woodham example from which we exi act the following. After referring to the manifest influence, within certain lim i^, of the weather upon plant life, Mr. French says that : — " Those cases in which the inherent forces of growth of the plant over- come the uncongenial influences of the weather are more common than is generally supposed. For some years I made notes of the abnormal flower- ing of open-air plants ; and, had I continued, I believe that I should by this ti e have recorded half our common species as aberrant upon certain occasions. The causes I do not know. With some it appears to be hereditary, The Chickweed {Stellaria media') and the Daisy are perhaps E 50 FURTHER NOl'ES ON THE IJURNHAM RORQUAI,. examples, and there are certain others that may be found in bloom throughout the year. With some I have thought it to be due to the influence of the soil, for the following reason. At certain spots, in almost any year, plants may be found much in advance of their fellows as regards vegetation. The theory of country folk is that it is the effect of a 'warm corner.' That theory is not always applic- able, for all warm corners do not show similar results. Near Willows Green, Felstead, on the first of this month (February), I observed the catkins of the Hazel on several plants fully developed and shedding pollen. Adjoining these were some fully developed catkins of the Sallow, but not as yet shedding pollen. At the same place, in a previous year, I picked a spray of Hawthorn fully one month in advance of its time, and similar phenomena have been noticed there by other folks. This place is high and bleak ; and it seems, theref re, impossible to come to an}- other conclusion than thit the soil, in some manner, has a stimulating influence. 1 believe man}' other places give like results, could they be put upon record. It is generally, however, difficult to say positively whether they are not in some manner sheltered. " If we are, then, justified in saying that plants have an inherent principle of variation in their periods of rest, and this principle of variation, although gener- ally controlled by meteorological agencies, is sometimes affected by causes of which we are in ignorance, then the transition to any abnormal case does not appear to be very great. In that of the 'Holy Thorn' the variation seems to have been so pronounced as to have become to a certain degree hereditary. It is even po sible, when we consider what has been done with culinary plants in obtaining early varieties that the Glastonbury Thorn might, by a process of artificial selection, be obtained from the ordinary Hawthorn." FURTHER NOTES ON THE BURNHAM RORQUAL iBAL^NOPTERA MUSCULUS-). (Vide The Essex Naturalist, \o\. v., pp. 124-8, and vol. vi., p. 115.) Hy WALTER CROUCH, F.Z.S. A S related by our Editor in a note quoted in the second reference "^^*- above, the skeleton of the Finner Whale figured by me in The Essex Naturalist (vol. v. Plate v.), was exhibited last autumn at Burnham and Southend. It did not, however, find much favour as a " show " at the latter place, and was removed before I had an opportunity of seeing it. Since then, when visiting Burnham, I made enquiry, and found it lying in a loft at the Temperance Hotel. The bones were carefully cleaned and articulated by Mr. E. Gerrard, but are now only partly mounted, the pieces of ba/een, and some of the smaller bones, such as those of the manus, etc., bein<^ packed up in boxes. PEKIODICITY IN ORf;ANIC JJKE. 51 There is no very remarkable feature to record ; but the general condition of the bones gives evidence of a non-adult animal, especially the epiphyses of the dorsal and lumbar vertebrae, which are distinct, though loosely adherent to the body of each vertebra. In the cervical vertebrae they are nearly free, and in the caudal they are mostly loose plates. Mr. Gerrard informs me that the vestigial remains of the hind limbs were only two small pieces of cartilage. The s/er/iu)ii of this species differs very greatly in individuals, and varies also in shape, according to the age of the animal. The median notch in the prestermiin forms, in the Burnham specimen, a relatively large pear-shaped sinus. It may be interesting to append a few of the measurements I was enabled to make : — ft. Skull . Length, minus a few inches broken off tlie ends of premaxilla*, measured in a straight line Breadth, at zygomatic process of squamosals Length of each ramus, straight line ,, ,, in curve Greatest breadth, including transverse processes ,, height, base to apex of neural arch Breadth .... Height Median opening of presternum Width of sinus Base of sinus to xiphoid point Breadth .... Height, straight line . „ base to end of median notch Greatest breadth .... Width, supra-scapular border to the glenoid cavity P.S. — Since the above was written, I have been informed by Mr. A. Newman that he has sold the skeleton, and it is now in a museum at Grimsby. Mandihle Atlas Slt'iinnn Ilyoid Scapula 9 6i 4 81 9 9i 0 4 I 8 I 0 I If 0 io.i 0 0* 0 2| 0 6i I la 0 5i 0 3-1 2 8 I 6.' PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. By HENRY LAYER, M.R.C.S., F.L.S., F.S.A. Being the Presidential Address, deli-'cred at Chelmsford, April ijth, iSgj.} T HAVE used this term " Periodicity " to indicate that state or condition of a species, either animal or vegetable, which most of those who have paid much attention to natural history in any of its branches must have noticed, I mean that there are periods, not E 2 52 PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. of definite duration however, when the individuals of a species are very abundant or the reverse, scarce and apparently extinct, or nearly so. The scarcity or abundance in any year of insect life would appear to be quite independent of seasons, or of food-supply, or of any other surroundings, as far as our present knowledge extends. True, there are occasionally years of great heat, and therefore of presumably favourable effect on animal life, but it is not to these years and their effects that I wish to draw the attention of naturalists ; the explanation of the abundance of life in such periods being so obvious to all. It is rather to the fact that there are periods in the existence of every species, when from no apparent cause the indivi- duals gradually increase year by year until we have them in great abundance. After this period of what may be termed prosperity of a species, which may continue for some years, a decline begins, when the numbers gradually go down until it would appear that the species becomes nearly extinct. This period of scarcity may also be of some long continuance, or it may possibly lead to the extinction of the species in reality. The extinction of any species of insect by artificial causes very rarely happens, but is much more common amongst mammals and birds, especially with those creatures having a. limited habitat. The case most frequently quoted is that of the Dodo, but there are many others equally decisive, and as clearly due to man's interference with Nature; such as the Rhytina in Behring's Island, the Moa in New Zealand, and the last, and the most dis- graceful case of wanton destruction, that of the Bison in North America, and many others. One insect is said to have been destroyed during the last few years by the hand of man. I refer to the Great Copper Butterfly {Po/yommatus dispar). It is said that the drainage of Whittlesea Mere, by destroying the plant on which the caterpillars fed, caused the extermination of the butterfly. This may have been so ; i)ut I very much doubt the assertion. The habitat certainly was not con- fined to Whittlesea Mere, and even if it were, the food-plant (the (Ireat Water Dock, Riiinex hydrolapatJiuni) abounded everywhere in the district where sufficient water was present. On this it might have remained, perhaps in greatly diminished numbers, and it may possibly now be still existing. Although the grand butterfly has not for some years gladdened the eyes of the collector, I should never be surprised to hear that it had been again discovered in some I PERIODICITY IN ORCIANIC LIFE. 53 niiiiibers ; when it would be an illustration of the phenomenon of periodicity, to which I am now calling attention. Periodicity in abundance is not confined to any class in organic life ; it occurs in the highest as well as in the lowest, and I propose to illustrate my meaning by taking examples first from the lowest forms of life and afterwards from the higher. Epidemic diseases are, in all classes of organic life, due to a germ ; this theory is, I think, now universally acknowledged. The disease germ, then, shall be our first example, and as there is one disease which will enable me to make my ideas on this subject of periodicity more plain and clear perhaps than any other, I will take that first. For many years, ages almost, there existed in the neighbourhood of Boulogne a disease which was known to the French physicians by the name of " Diphtherite," and to many of our countrymen who visited that district as " Boulogne Sore-throat." Possibly there may have been cases in this country also, and perhaps elsewhere in Europe, but if so, the cases were so few in number that they attracted little or no attention. Here, then, we have this species of germ at its rare or almost extinct period ; it existed, but it was not prolific. In 1852 or thereabout cases began, though rarely, to occur in various parts of Britain, but they did not spread, and never became epidemic. (Gradually, however, more and more was heard of them — the germ was approaching its period of activity — and at last, in 1858, Diphtheria, for this was the disease, overran not only Europe but the whole world. This was the period of the abundance of the Diphtheria germ, but, happily for mankind, its period of rarity seems approaching. It is not so virulent (although even now bad enough), nor is it so spreading as in its period of prolificness and abundance. This disease also enables me to illustrate the fact that man's proceedings neither caused the sudden increase in the number of attacks, nor did he in any way diminish them, excepting that by care, and the adoption of the teachings of sanitary science, he, to a certain extent, protected some portions of the population, and in individual cases placed the affected in a better position to resist the ravages of the disease. But he certainly did not bring about the diminished virulence which was so apparent after the disease had existed for some time, any more than he can be said to have made the disease epidemic in the first instance. It will no doubt be said 54 PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. that bad sanitary surroundings encouraged and made this disease epidemic. If so, why did it not spread over the world ages before ? There was the same neglectfuhiess of sanitary precautions, and all unsanitary dwellings and surroundings had not disappeared when the extreme virulence of the disorder had abated. The same may be said of the disease I propose next to mention, and, in fact, of any epidemic. The phenomena attending the appearance and disappearance of other epidemics might easily be given, and the horrible disease, Cholera, now, I fear, approaching our shores, affords another excellent example of periodicity in abundance and decline. For ages Cholera existed in India, but it did not put on the virulent epidemic form which overran the world until about 1830. Then, after a great increase for several years in India, an approaching prosperity as I call it, started on its progress of destruction through- out the world, killing all, or the greater part, of those it attacked, and after a time following the usual course, diminishing in virulence, until finally it disappeared from Europe. But it still went on in its weaker form in India, until its period of abundance gradually approached, and it then again spread over the world. These two diseases are as good examples of what I have called " Periodicity in Organic Life " as could possibly be wished for. In plant hfe generally, the same periodical abundance of species may be noticed. I do not wish any one to infer that there is any regularity in the intervals between the periods ; there is nothing of the kind. The times of prosperity in the species are most uncertain, and cannot always be explained, as I have said before, by either hot seasons, wet years, or any apparent surrounding causes. The first illustration I will take shall be from the lower plants, the Fungi. Some of us remember, and all must have heard of, the first appearance of the Potato Disease. In 1848, or thereabout, a disease appeared in the potatoes in many parts of the kingdom, arousing some interest from its effects on, and the destruction of, the crops which it attacked. The next year, over large areas, the whole potato crop wab destroyed. In Ireland, where the people depended almost entirely on the potato for their food, a famine was caused ; and throughout Europe much distress, disease, and suffering. This was the time I have spoken of as the " period of prosperity " in the species. In the following years much damage also resulted, but the destruction has been gradually diminishing since that time, and, let us hope, the PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. 55 period of scarcity is approaching. The only thing man has done, ur can do, apparently, to diminish the evil effects of the disease, has been to cultivate those forms of the potato which have been proved the best to resist attack. Has weather had any effect ? Certainly it has to some extent ; heat and moisture always encourage the growth of fungi. But an examination of the recorded temperatures of the disease years since 1848, will show that, as frequently as not, the bad years have been cold as often as hot ones — in short, as far as we can see, meteoro- logical effects have had little or no influence in promoting or preventing the appearance of this disease. Some years since, that condition of certain corn and grass seeds known as Ergot was very prevalent in Essex. It was the period of prosperity of the Ergot fungus. Now we appear to be approaching the time of scarcity, and can anyone say that man's proceedings favoured the abundance of the fungus or that meteorological conditions reduced it ? The Ergot has had its abundance in our county, and although now rare, it certainly will appear again. Those who live in Essex will sometimes notice, it may be for some years in succession, how very abundant the wild oat {Avena fatud) is, in wheat or other crops, over large districts of the county. Why is this ? Is it not an illustration of the same law, that everything has its period of abundance and the contrary ? I may be told that the wild oat is more common in wet years, but some further explanation more than this is required, because I have noticed them just as abundant during a succeeding dry year. Parasitic plants, like fungi and disease germs, are good examples of periodicity. Who has not noticed the extreme abundance for a few years of the Orobanch of the clover ( Orohaiiche minor) and then its almost entire disappearance for a shorter or longer period. Meteorological effects seem here also to exert no influence, and, as far as I know, no explanation can be given for its abundance. We can only say it is undergoing, from some cause, a period of prosperity. About 1844, there appeared in British waters a plant from America (Anacharis alsinastrum) which could have been well spared. It soon overran the whole kingdom and threatened to block up all our more slowly flowing rivers and canals. 56 I'EklOlJiCITV IX ORtlANIC LIFE. This plant's appearance is a good example of the abundant period. It will be remembered how alarmed those who had charge of the canals were, and how they were at their wits' end, to find out some means for reducing the mischief ere the canals were rendered quite impassable. Our native water-plants were choked and destroyed, and it seemed as if the new-comer was going to appropriate all our waters, to the destruction of everything besides ; but the period of prosperity is over ; the plant is gradually becoming less of a pest ; our British plants are again able to assert and maintain their proper place ; our waters are becoming less clogged, and let us hope that we are approaching the period of scarcity of this species, which we could so well spare. How can the extreme abundance of this species be accounted for, and how can its gradual diminution be explained? The waters are as before, their ingredients are the same, and the surroundings have not altered, but still Anacharis is apparently dying out. This may be a case of periodicity, and if so, this water pest will some day again be growing in the same rampant condition. Who is there, dwelling in the country, of observant habits, that has not noticed the abundance at uncertain intervals of the common thistle. In those seasons it may be seen everywhere, not only in the badly-cultivated and neglected fields, but also in pastures which have been for years fed down by cattle only, and where the soil is undisturbed also, and no manure put on. This condition may exist, and does do so frequently, over large districts. After a time it may be noticed that the thistles are less abundant, and then for years only the normal quantity may be seen. It must be understood I am not referring to such arable lands as may be neglected and out of cultivation, for here weeds of all kinds are sure to abound. Neither do I believe that this periodic abundance is caused by the seeds that are blown from neglected spots, because, some years since, when every part of Essex was well and carefully cultivated, the extreme prevalence of this weed was noticeable for a few seasons in succession. This periodic abundance occurs in many plants, but the examples given may be sufficient to illustrate my meaning. All members of the Essex Field Club collecting any of the orders of insects, must have noticed that for several successive years certain species are rare, and that after an interval, longer or shorter, they begin to find the individuals of these species more commonly. I'fRIODIClTY IN ORGANIC LIFE. *' 57 until at last the insects become abundant, the range of abundance varyingwith the species; some even in their maximum abundance never being very common. How then can we explain these variations ? Meteorological conditions are not sufficient, for the scarcity may be found in periods of apparently favourable weather, or the abundance may be apparent in a series of cold and otherwise unsuitable 'seasons. Again, the period of scarcity or the reverse continues for several seasons, all of which cannot present conditions favourable or unfavourable for the welfare of the species. I will illustrate this by referring to a few well-known examples. In 1859, and for several years afterwards, the common Lackey Moth (Bombyx neiistria) was very rare in Essex. I do not think I dislodged with the beatii'iQ- stick a dozen larva; in any season for certainly four or five years. If this scarcity had occurred only in this northern part of the county, I should not have remarked it so much ; but as I had opportunities, which I fully embraced, for beating in South Essex as well, it struck me as something inexplicable. After an interval of this scarcity, one began again to see the larvae more frequently, and at last the nests were as apparent on every hedge as in the years of abundance previously to 1859. Sometimes it is said that an insect is scarce in consequence of the destruction of its food- plant in previous seasons by the great abundance of the larva;. This may be, and is no doubt true of some species ; but to a general feeder like the Lackey Moth, the explanation cannot apply, as no one in this country has ever seen the whole of the common trees and shrubs on which this insect feeds defoliated at one time. There must be some other cause for this condition of periodicity. Another insect, the " Small Oak-Egger " ( Eriogaster laiiestris), at the time mentioned (1859) was very abundant on every white-thorn hedge, and in this district a nest might be found every few rods. This period of abundance having lasted for some years, a decline gradually set in, until now very few nests are seen, but not having time to collect, I cannot say whether the insect is absolutely rare. Defoliation and the consequent starvation of the larvce cannot be the cause of the scarcity, for in this district, the white-thorn hedges have never in late years been defoliated, except in some limited localities, and then not by this insect ; it was never in sufficient numbers. It may seem scarcely worth while to take up your time with 58 PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. further examples from the insect world, as both the above- mentioned species are such excellent illustrations of periodicity, in the sense I have used the term. Insects are, however, one of the best classes of animals for working up this subject, as there are so many species which, during their period of abundance, are so very numerous in individuals that the changes may be the more readily observed than if the specimens were less frequent and more difficult to obtain. I have no doubt that many of our entomological friends will be able to call to mind further examples of this periodicity in abundance, for all must have heard of a " Clouded Yellow year," a " Camberwell- Beauty year," a " Convolvuli year," and so on. All of these years of abundance have not been due, in the case of many insects, to the parents being blown over from the Continent, although it is just possible that this cause may explain the occasional apparition of great numbers of " Clouded Yellow "' and " Camberwell Beauty " butterflies. Occasionally it has happened, and perhaps more frequently than hitherto noticed, that the period of abundance of a species in this country coincides with the abundance of the species throughout the continent of Europe. This was notably so, a few years since, with regard to the "Gamma-moth " (Plusia gamma). Now in this instance, it could neither be the suitability of the season nor the abundance of food, as these causes could not have produced the same effect in the hotter regions of the South of Europe, and the cooler climate of Scandinavia. For this mysterious something, then, I use the term " Periodicity," not at all as an explanation, but simply as a term to note the fact. It is easy to say in explanation of the immense hordes of locusts which occur in many parts of the world, that they are migrating for the purpose of finding food. But is this an explanation of periodicity ill these insects? How is it they are in such abundance that they must migrate? They are always in the districts from whence they start on their migrations, and to which they never return. How is it they do not find it necessary to migrate every year? It cannot be in consequence of meteorological causes. Nor is it a question of food, because frequently years elapse between one period of abundance and another, and at other times for several years in succession swarms follow swarms. When I come to mention the Lemming, we shall find the same difficulty in explaining the PERIODICITY IN OKCANIC LIFE. 59 migrations and the abundance of that animal. I might cite ahiiost any number of instances of periodicity in insects, but I will only refer to a few more cases, taking the well-known ones. The Black-veined \Miite Butterfly (Aporia crahegi) used to be common in many parts of England. But where is it now ? It is getting rarer every year in the few localities where it is still found, and looking as if it would soon become extinct. Can any explanation be given of its diminution ? I know of none. The same may be said of the Great Blue Butterfly (Lyaena arionjda^^ many others. Again, numerous species which the earlier Aurelians considered rare are now common. Why is this ? I may be told we know better how to find them, but I question if this is the true explanation. I should rather say the species is undergoing the condition of periodic abun- dance, quite independent of any proceedings of man. In many species we, who have given years to the study of insects, know it is not improved knowledge or ability that enables us to find more of them, and I would use the same reasoning in dealing with the views of the older Aurelians, and say that it is not greater skill, but rather that the insect is more abundant. There is one other insect I should like to refer to in illustration of periodicity. In this (the Colchester) district, in the third and fourth decades of this century, the Blister-fly (Lytta vesicatoria) was very abundant on every ash tree ; at the present time it is rare. Every variety of weather occurred during these years, and the variations from hot to cold and from wet to dry, have been as frequent since ; and therefore is it not reasonable to suppose that meteorological conditions have had no effect ? Man's proceedings in this case certainly had none ; for the number of beetle collectors were so few, and none of these insects were captured for commercial purposes ; therefore some other cause must have been at work, and what was it ? It could not be natural enemies as birds, for the birds leave them alone, neither could it be want of food, for as far as we can see all their various articles of diet were equally common throughout both periods. No attempt has ever been made to explain that scarcity or abundance of Fish, which is so marked in the gregarious species, such as cod, herring, sprat, mackerel, etc., excepting that it is said " It is a bad season," or that they have left the part of the coast where they previously abounded. This change of habitat, no doubt, explains the scarcity in certain localities, but something more than 6o PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. this is required to account for periodic abundance and scarcity when the area over which either may occur is very large. For some few years, on our Essex and Suffolk coasts, sprats have not been in their usual abundance, and, as far as known, there is nothing to account for the scarcity. Their comparative scarcity has not been due to either change of locality or over-fishing, and we can only surmise that this fish is now passing through its period of less abundance. It is to be hoped, for the sake of our seaside dwellers, its period of abundance may soon return. Fish are most difficult subjects for observation, and I will therefore simply pass them over, noting only as a matter of common observation, we have bad years in many species, that is years when few are taken. Birds are much better subjects for study and observation, and we find periodicity in abundance and scarcity well marked in many species. The first I will take is the House Martin. In many, in fact in most, parts of the kingdom, we hear that this bird is becoming rarer ever year, and the cause is said to be that the sparrow, being so abundant, takes possession of the nests of the Martin, and so prevents their increase. This may be one cause of the lessening numbers, but I do not believe that it is the only one, for the Martin is diminishing even in those parts where the sparrow is not, and never has been, numerous. There must, therefore, be other causes ; I do not know that man has had anything more to do with it than have the seasons. Everywhere in this kingdom the Martin is a favourite, and as such is rarely interfered with ; even on the Continent, where bird slaughter is so common, I do not think that it is esteemed as an article of food. From some cause this most interesting little creature is diminishing in numbers ; undergoing its period of scarcity, one hopes, but almost fearing that the facts point to approaching extinction. As an illustration of the opposite condition — a period of abund- ance— we may take the Hawfinch {Coccothraustes vulgaris). It is not many years since this species was esteemed rare, and the find of a nest was almost unheard of. This was in its period of scarcity ; Init now, not only do we hear of its breeding in Epping Forest, where Mr. Doubleday first recorded its nest as occurring, but also in every part of this county its nest is frequently found. And to those who know when and where to look for it there is generally no difii- culty in finding a specimen. Now, if the scarcity of .species is to be PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. 6 1 considered as due to the agency of man, to what are we to attribute the abundance of this bird during the last few years ? I am not aware that man has destroyed any of its enemies, nor am I aware that he has cultivated any fresh crop which can have been utilized by it for food ; nor do I know that meteorological conditions have been peculiarly favourable. The only way of explaining it is by stating the fact that this species is passing through its period of abundance. The Goldfinch is an instance of a species passing through, one must hope, a period of scarcity only and not of approaching extinction. The agency of man may possibly have some effect in producing a portion of this rarity, but he certainly is not the sole cause. Amongst the migratory birds we often see a great abundance at times, sometimes for two or three or more years in succession. There may have been in the district from w^hich they came abund- ance of food or other favourable causes, which may account for their increase, and therefore for the large numbers of our annual visitors. Sometimes a greater degree of cold would appear to be the explanation ; but we must remember there are cold seasons when the flocks are few, so that cold weather cannot be the only factor. I have no doubt that if we could get a correct estimate for every part of the globe visited by these northern breeders, we should find the same inexplicable periodicity of abundance and the reverse obtaining as the rule with these creatures as with all the classes we have been considering ; and that the numbers we see have nothing to do with either heat, cold, or abundant food. The next great division of nature, Mammalia, will furnish us with many examples of the law of periodicity, and we shall in these be able to follow the various apparent means by which the abundance or scarcity is occasioned ; but we cannot tell even then how these means were brought about. This we can do from the more stationary habits of the creatures, and from the large number under the control of man. Plenty, as regards food and favourable weather, will be found very active agents in the welfare of, and abundance of, this class ; but meteorological agents, as far as we can see, have but little influence. This I will illustrate by reference to a domestic animal first. The expression " a good fall of lambs " is well known, and it is a matter of observation that there are seasons when a very 62 i'F:Rroi)iciT\' in organic jjfe. large proportion of the lambs born are twins. There are other years when twins are few. I have never been able to account for this ; and on looking back to the previous season, there seems to have been nothing remarkable ; a fine summer may have been followed by few twins, and a cold unfavourable season may have had many. In the matter of food, so purely an artificial animal kept under the conditions as the sheep in this country is, knows little of scircity, and therefore this cannot much interfere with the fruitfulness of the ewes. There is another domesticated animal which gives us an example of the contrary result, and shows us how periodicity in scarcity may be produced. During certain years, without any apparent difference in season or food, it is noted throughout this kingdom that large numbers of cows abort. This unfortunate accident is not confined to one farm or one county, but is general throughout the kingdom. When a season of this kind occurs, it must have a very considerable effect on the numl)er of the young to be raised ; and, therefore, if these animals were living in a state of nature, periodicity in scarcity would be the result. Something of this kind may occur amongst creatures not under man's control, but from want of opportunity we cannot say that it does or does not do so. Arguing from what we see and know of our domestic animals, it is, I think, a fair inference that possibly this temporary fruitfulness or unfraitfulness may be one of the causes contributing to the period of abundance or scarcity throughout all nature. At various times for many years past, the Field Vole [Arvicola agresfis) has become so numerous in the marshes of Essex, that the whole of the grass has been eaten by them. The first mention of this plague was in 1580. Since this time there are many records of the destruction produced by these swarms of mice in these same marshes. We now hear that the fields in the south of Scotland are overrun with mice, to the serious detriment of the pasturage, and that an application has been made to the Government for assistance in ridding the district, which is a very large one, of these unwelcome visitors or natives. ^Slany theories are promulgated to account for the vast numbers existing ; amongst others that the destruction of so-called vermin has, by doing away with nature's means of checking undue increase, brought about this sad state of things. There I PERIODICITY IN ORGANIC LIFE. 63 may be some truth in this notion, but the destruction of owls, etc., is probably not the only cause of the increase of the voles. In other places they are increasing, for instance in Greece. Does strict game preserving obtain in that kingdom, and are all hawks, owls, and other mice-destroying animals exterminated there ? If they are not, then we cannot say game preserving and the destruction of the carnivo- rous birds and animals of Scotland has brought about the plague of mice, as Greece is also suffering in a similar and probably more extensive scale, from the same mischievous little beasts. Again, in 1580 I do not think any great progress had been made in Essex towards reducing the numbers of the mice-eating birds and animals; still the pest appeared, got gradually worse, and at last began gradually again to diminish, until only about the normal numbers remained. It may perhaps be well to try and diminish the number of these creatures in Scotland, but I thirrk man will be able to do but little in effecting this desirable object, and in my opinion they might as well be left alone, as the laws which govern this periodicity in abundance and scarcity will bring about most surely their usual results, and only a proper number of these animals will be found in the course of a few seasons. This diminution has always occurred wherever the pest has prevailed.' I will take the next illustration from a foreign rodent, the Lemming. At uncertain intervals these animals abound to a mar- vellous extent, and then commences a migration, the details of which are very extraordinary, but we need not go into these, except so far as they throw light on our subject. It would appear that this animal is very common throughout the Scandinavian peninsula, just as the \'ole is in this country. After a period (which may be long or short) it is noticed that there occurs a considerable increase in the animal's numbers. This multiplication goes on for some time, and at last it is found that the Lemmings are evidently moving on, it may be towards the west. Nothing will turn them from their course ; even a river or a lake will not stem the migration. It must not be supposed that they assemble and start off all at one time, as the swallow does, and so complete their journey as quickly as possible. It would rather appear that they I Since writing this paper, an article by the Editor has appeared in the "Zoologist" for April, 1893, not only confirmntory of the views I have expressed as to the influence of mice-eating birds and mammals, but also, what is perhaps more interesting, bearing out the idea previously mentioned that probably a larger fecundity may have had some influence in producing their abundance. The writer states that Art : ? ° M" -S R Soopa H = = = <2 -.3 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 73 volumes of The Essex Naturalist, and two "Special Memoirs," making thirteen volumes in all. The Council have accepted the MS. of Dr. Laver's book on the " Mammals, Reptiles, and Fishes of Essex " for publication as one of the " Special Memoirs," and it will be issued by subscription in 1893. Meetings and Papers Contributed. — Owing to unfortunate failures in connection with the fi.xtures for two Field Meetings, and great pressure of other work in the autumn preventing the Secretary from remedying these failures, the number of meetings was less than usual. Eight meetings were held, full reports of which will be found in THE EsSE.X NATURALIST. The Council have to thank Prof. Boulger, Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Mr. Walter Crouch, Mr. C. B. Sworder, Mr. David Houston, Mr. I. Chalkley Gould, Mr. G. E. Pritchett, Mr. Miller Christy, Lord Petre, Mr. Arthur Pryor, Mr. T. V. Holmes, Rev. Dr. Moore, Mr. W. Varco Williams, Mr. John Gaspard Fanshawe, Mr. John HiUiar, Dr. Cooke, and others for kind aid afforded at the Field Meetings ; and the special thanks of the Club are due to Prof. Stewart for his reception of the Society at the Royal College of Surgeons, and to the Rev. Lewis N. Prance and Mrs. Prance for their reception of the Club at tea at Stapleford Tawney Rectory on May 28th. A considerable number of papers and other communications were read at these meetings, and they, with others sent direct to the Editor, have all been printed in The Essex Naturalist. The Library has received the usual increments of Journals and Transactions of Societies, and some local books have been purchased. It is hoped when the libraries of the two Societies are amalgamated that a strong effort will be made to bind the numerous valuable sets of periodicals and transactions, etc., in posses- sion of the Club. The want of funds to accomplish this extremely necessary' work is a source of great anxiety to the Librarian, and greatl}' increases the labour of arranging the books. Technical Instruction. — The members nominated by the Club to serve upon the Technical Instruction Committee of the Essex County Council, under the terms of the resolution of the County Council of March 15th, 1892, were the same gentlemen as last year, with the exception of Prof. Boulger and Mr. F. W. Rudler, who wished to retire owing to pressure of other engagements. The members of the Club so elected by the County Council, under section i. (2) of the Technical Instruction Act, i88y, are now as follows : — Sir H. E. Rosco3, F.R.S., Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., Mr. J. C. Shenstone, F.R.M.S., Mr. G. J. Symons, F.R.S., Mr. J. Spiller, F.I.C., etc., and Mr. F. Chancellor, J. P., F.R.I.B.A. The Council beg to tender the thanks of the Club to Dr. Laver for his occu- pancy of the post of President during the year. Owing to pressure of professional engagements, Dr. Laver has been compelled to ask the Council not to nominate him for the presidency for 1893, and the Council have placed the name of Mr. F. Chancellor, J. P., F.R.I.B.A., before the members as President for the ensuing year. Mr. Chancellor is an old member of the Club, having frequently most ably assisted at the meetings, and was the chairman of the Committee of the Essex and Chelmsford Museum at the time of its amalgamation with the Essex Field Club. 74 NOTES ON THE GRAVEL IN EPPING FOREST. Bv T. HAY WILSON. OINCE Mr. Whitaker's work on the "Geology of London" was "^ issued, some new sections have been made in various parts of the Forest, north of Chingford, which I have been able to examine from time to time, and it has been suggested that a few notes of my observations might be of some interest to the geological members of the Club. Sec/ion at " Copt Hall." One of these sections I was able to examine by the kindness of Mr. Jennings, the agent of the " Copt Hall " estate. It is in " Warren Wood," nearly opposite the Forest Camp, Ambresbury Banks : its position is practically indicated on the Drift Map of the Geological Survey by the letter " L." in " Loam," where a very good section has been opened. A little farther north-east, in the same wood, a good deal more gravel has been dug out, and the siftings are still there. This gravel differs from that of the neighbouring pits at " Jack's Hill," classed by Professor Prestwich^ as " Westleton Beds " inasmuch as the pebbles of quartz and quartzite are of considerable size, and there are also large flints, some worn and others unworn. Some of the larger blocks of hard, weathered sandstone contained about 300 cubic inches. The bulk of the gravel is of well-rolled flints, and the small quartz pebbles, found at " Coopersale Common " and " Jack's Hill" (Westleton) are not plentiful. The section is about 5 feet deep, and the gravel lies in festoons, the upper part being close to the surface of the ground ; the sandy matrix is reddish brown in colour, bleaching to grey when exposed. ''Earl's Path," High Beach. At the side of the "Earl's Path," between High Beach and Loughton, a large quantity of gravel has been excavated, to a depth of about 15 feet from the surface. The sandy matrix is somewhat similar to that in " Warren Wood." Quartz and quartzites of a good size are common, but not the small pebbles of the "Westleton Beds" type. Large flints of all shapes are also plentiful, and small rolled pebbles reach to the surface ; they are not, however, as close together as they are lower down. The larger flints are in the lowest position. I Quart. Journal Geol. Soc. May 1S90, (vol. .\lvi.). NOTES ON THE GRAVEL IN EPPING FOREST. 75 '■'■Forest Hotel,''' Cliiiigford. A short distance east of the "Forest Hotel," and on the southern side of the road, a gravel pit was dug last summer. To about 6 feet from the surface the beds consist of brown, clayey-sand, with a few scattered pebbles of rolled flint. The uppermost 2 feet of this sand had weathered to a grey colour. Below this clayey-sand a good pebble-bed was found, about 8 feet thick, and of similar composition to that of the two other beds ; the larger flints and drift rocks being at the lowest depth, as in the " Earl's Path " pit. Buckhurst Hill. The gravel pits behind the "Roebuck Inn" contain only small rolled flints, without quartz or quartzite, as far as I have been able to observe ; and the pits seemed to have produced nothing else but this kind of gravel since they were noted by Professor Prestwich, who refers to them as Bagshot. The Gravel in the Forest lies very irregularly, the hollows in the London Clay which it fills varying from i or 2 feet to nearly 20 feet in depth. Thus, while the pit near the "Forest Hotel," at Chingford, shows about 14 feet of gravel, on the north side of the road a few yards distant water, marking the nearness of the underlying clay, is seen at a depth of 4 feet. In the " Proceedings of the Geologists' Association," for August, 1891 (vol. xii., p. 108), Messrs Monckton and Herries in an inter- esting paper on some " Hill Gravels North of the Thames," call attention to the "hollows" in the London Clay, alluded to above, but I think the deeper sections to which I have referred have been opened since. In addition to the quartz and quartzite already named, there are some pieces of grit and also of very hard black flinty rock, much worn. Mr. Clement Reid very kindly examined some of the specimens I have collected, and he is of opinion that they belong to the Northern Drift. As yet no Boulder Clay seems to have been exposed in what now constitutes the Forest district, though Mr. T. A\ Holmes has found it further south at Hornchurch.- These foreign rocks of Epping Forest are similar to those in the Drift at Hatfield Heath, Chelmsford, etc , but the masses of veined quartz and hard block-flint are not quite so large. 2 Essex Nat. (vol. vii., pp. 1-14). 76 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. Field Meeting at Broomfielu and 13TH Annual General Meeting, AND Special Meeting at Chelmsfor]). Saturda}-, April 15th, 1893. In order to fill up the time previous to the Annual ^^leeting in the Museum in the evening, a ramble in the neighbourhood of Chelmsford was projected, and on the receipt of Mr. Christy's kind invitation to the Club to visit him at " Pryors," our steps naturally turned in the direction of Broomfield. The members assembled at the railway station about three o'clock, under the guidance of Mr. Durrant. Mr. David Houston was botanist, and Mr. Chancellor archDsologist to the party. The route led by the alluvial meadows bordering the Chelmer, where the marsh-marigold QCa/t/m pahisiris') was very abundant, many plants showing their first blooms. "Our Lady's Smock " {Curdajnine), was fully out, and in the river the yellow water lilies were throwing up their foliage leaves, while the alder trees on the banks were covered with male and female cones, intermixed with the old black fruit cones of last year. The early sedge was just exposing its brown spikes of unisexual flowers. Mr. Walter Crouch, Mr. Fitch, and Mr. Reginald Christy managed to do a little shell-hunting in the river near Bishopshall Mill. The species noted were : — Linincea pn-egi-a and Z. aurku- laria ; Planorbis carinatiis, P. vortex, and P. albits ; Bvthinia tentaculata ; Succinea putris ; Spluvrium corneimi, and Pisidium amniciun. [On the following day Messrs. Miller Christy and Crouch obtained (besides some of the above) other species from the river, near Gutters Farm, Broomfield, including a large Unio pic/oj-iun, Anodonta cvgncea, a number of Limncra palustris, Planorbis corneus, and Neritina fluviatilis. ] The party regretfully left the pleasant meadows for the road leading to Broomfield, but on the hedge banks the botanists found consolation in examining the quantities of the " Crow Garlic " [Allhim vineale). The flowers in this plant are either partially or entirely replaced by small greenish or purplish bulbs, about one-fourth inch in size, and, as it is a frequent weed in some Essex corn- fields, Mr. Houston remarked that the plants were often harvested with the corn, and the strong-flavoured bulbils get ground up with the grain, so that tons of flour are frequently spoiled in this way. Every one was pleased with the picturesque little village of Broomfield (so- called, perhaps, because Broom may have grown there, the gravell}' soil being well adapted for the plant). Mr. Chancellor fully explained the structure of the church (St. Mary). It is one of the round-towered churches of Essex, and is fully described in Buckler's " Twenty-two Churches of Essex." It is probably Norman, or earlier, and much Roman tile has been used in its construction. Mr. Chancellor said that, as a diocesan architect, he had had a good deal to do with the church, and when examining it some years ago, he came to the conclusion that the original church was built by the Romans, or that a Roman building stood where the nave now stands. Portions of the walls he considered as decidedly of Roman work. The churi h is also interesting as being the burial- place of certain relatives of Sir John Manwood, the historian of the ancient THE ESSEX FIELD CLUR. 77 forest laws of the Norman kings, who lived at " Pryors," to which wa}- was then made across the meadows. Vegetation was especially advanced in sheltered, sunny places. The Hawthorns showed an abundance of flower-buds, and at least one fully opened spray was gathered. It was noted that the foliage on that particular flowering shoot was more like that of the Plum than Hawthorn, both as regards form and margin. Ivy-leaved Speedwell (F(?ro«/'ca //^a'i?;-//^Aa), Jack-by- the-Hedge (^Erysimum aUiaria), Stitchwort, Arum, Strawberry-leaved Potentilla (^P. fragariasintni), Beaked Parsley, Ground-ivy, Goldilocks {Ranunculus aitrico- mus) were a few of the plants collected, In many spots Mr. Houston found that the leaves of Ranunadus ficaria were covered with the " Cluster-cups " of Uromyces pace, a fungal parasite, which, as its name testifies, passes part of its life in some species of Poa (either P. annua, P. pratensis, or P. trivialis). One or two examples of the '' Cluster-cups " of Pnccinia perplexans on Rammculiis aciis were also found. The summer stage of this parasite is passed on the Meadow Fox-tail grass (Alopecurus pratensis'). At " Pryors," the members were most hospitably received by Mr. Miller Christy, and some time was spent over " afternoon tea," and in examining the house and its contents, including some very fine rubbings of Essex Brasses, which are pet studies of Mr. Christy. " Pryors " is the remains of what was until recently an extremely picturesque, but moderate-sized and unpretentious Elizabethan manor-house. It is situate in the south-west part of Broomfield parish, about a mile from the church. The estate originally belonged to the Priory of Blackmcre, hence the origin of its name. Upon the suppression of the monasteries, it was granted, on 17th October, 1544, by Henry \TII. to Richard Roger and Robert Taverner. After being owned in succession b}' William Garrard, William Eyre, father and son, Thomas Wallenger, and Edward Elliot (see Morant's "Essex," vol. ii., p. 77), the estate pass-d about 1590 into the possession of the Man woods, who held it for more than a century. John Manwood, of Lincoln's Inn, coun- sellor-at-law, and author of a well-known work on the '• Forest Laws " (London, 4to, 1592), probably built the present house. He devised the estate to >his son Thomas, of Lincoln's Inn, and of Pryors, who died 20th September, 1656. He married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Love, Vice- Admiral in the reign of James I., and lelt an only surviving son John, and numerous daughters, one of whom. Love Manwood, married Thomas Cox, vicar of Broomfield, the author of man}- learned translations, and compiler of six vols, of " Magna Britannia," and died at the age of ninety-nine. John Manwood died nth April, 1705, leaving a son Thomas, who died unmarried, and be- queathed the estate to Thomas, son of his sister Catherine, married as second wife to Oliver Pocklington, rector of Chelmsford. Thomas Pocklington, attorney-at-law, of Chelmsford, erected, on 26th January, 1728, a marble monu- ment in Broomfield Church, to the memory of his ancestors, of the Latin inscription of which a translation is given by Wright in his " History of Essex " (vol. ii., p. 187). From Thomas Pocklington, or his descendants, " Pryors " was purchased, about the beginning of the present century, b}- Mr. Miller Christy, great-grandfather of the present tenant. From him it descended to Mr. Samuel Christy (afterwards Chrislie-.Miller), and, on his death in 1889, it became the property of Mr. Wakefield Christie-Miller. Until the year 1890, the house, which stands some distance back from the road, among a number of fine elm-trees, exhibited on its eastern side, a series of five antique gables, with two clusters of imposing, though rather plain, brick chimneys, four in each. The northernmost gable, which is of brick, is the most picturesque, presenting a bow window with brick muUions, carried up to the second storey. This gable, together with the chimney-stacks, and the northern 78 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. end (which shows four small original windows, now mured), are evidently the oldest portions of the house, being of Elizabethan brickwork. Most of the rest of the house is of timber and plaster, but the south face is of last century brick. In 1890, one of the large chimney-stacks and the two westernmost gables were pulled down, having become dilapidated, and the end was made good b}^ a smaller brick addition, which has greatly marred the former picturesque appear- ance of the house. Running up from the road to the front of the now-removed gables may be seen traces of an old drive, which, doubtless, was once an avenue, as a row of fine elm-trees, sixteen in number, still remains on one side. The present drive runs parallel to the old at a distance of about fifty yards. The interior of the house presents some fine old oak-work. One of the largest bedrooms is very handsomely panelled from floor to ceiling, and the kitchen is also partly panelled. In one of the downstairs rooms, too, there is a large beam encased in^panel-work. The best feature, however, is the staircase and landing of solid oak, with fairly good carving on the tall square uprights, which are placed at each bend of the stairway. Though not imposing as regards size, this staircase is a very good and handsome example of its kind. The whole of this oak work, Mr. Chancellor considers to be coeval with the older portion of the house, but Mr. Christy is inclined to regard it as somewhat later — perhaps Jacobean. The house is certainly one of the most interesting and picturesque in the neighbourhood of Chelmsford, and it is little wonder that it has long enjoyed a reputation for being haunted. The ghostly inhabitant (which has never been seen by the present tenant, who is a teetotaller) is not known to have assumed any definite shape ; but the late Mr. Bott, who resided many years at Pryors, told Mr. Christy many years ago that when, or shortly before, he took the house ■(which was early in the present century) it had lain for fifty or sixty years uninhabited, solely because it was supposed to be haunted, hurdles being placed at the windows to allow of the ascent of the turkeys and other poultry which were kept in all the upstairs rooms. The garden, which is probably the site of an earlier house, is surrounded by the remains of a moat. The necessity for an early return to Chelmsford, to hold the Annual Meeting, prevented a long stay at this interesting spot, nor could Mr. T. V. Holmes' address on the Geology of Chelmsford be taken (notes of it are printed in this part of The Essex Naturalist, ante^ p. 65). After a cordial vote of thanks to ■our host, a brisk walk across the ploughed fields brought the visitors back to ■Chelmsford for "high tea" at the " Saracen's Head." In the evening the Thirteenth Annual General Meeting ui tiie Club was held in the MUSEUM, New Bridge Street, Chelmsford, Dr. Henry Laver, President, in the chair, and afterwards Mr. F. Chancellor. The minutes of the twelfth Annual General Meeting, held at Loughton on March 19th, 1892, were read and confirmed. The Secretary read the report of the Council for the year 1892 (see p. 70), and referred to the fact that that was the first meeting of the amalgamated societies, the Essex Field Club and the Essex and Chelmsford Museum. Mr. Walter Crouch read the report of the Auditors, which showed that the amount received during the year was ;^2o8 17s. ild. There is about £^0 out- standing for subscriptions. The amount spent was ;^I9I, and the adverse balance of ;^ii3 6s. gd. with which the year commenced had been reduced to ^95 13s. lod. The assets and liabilities account showed assets of ^171 over liabilities. The Report and Statement of Accounts were received and adopted. Mr. J. C. Shenstone and Mr. Cook were nominated as scrutineers of the ;ballot for the election of officers. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUH. 79 At the meeting on Februar}' 2 1st, the following members were announced as retiring from the Council : Messrs. E. N. Buxton, F. C. Gould, Rev. W. L. Wilson, the Right Hon. Lord Rayleigh, and Mr. Edmund T)\Xir-a.r\t (oti nominalion ■as one of the Librarians^. To fill the seats so rendered vacant, the following members were proposed for election into the Council : Rev. R. E. Bartlett, Mr. C. E. Benham, Mr. E. N. Buxton, Right Hon. Lord Rayleigh, and Rev. W. L. Wilson. No other candi- dates having been proposed, these five gentlemen were consequently declared to be elected. Under the circumstances explained at the Ordinary Meeting on March 14th (^ante p. 45), the Council had nominated Mr. F. Chancellor for the office of President. The scrutineers reported that the following members had been unanimously electe 1 as officers for 1893 : President, Mr. Frederic Chancellor ; Treasurer, Mr. Alfred Lockyer ; Hon. Sec. and Editor, Mr. W. Cole ; Hon. Assistant Secretary, Mr. B. G. Cole ; Hon. Librarians, Mr. Edmund Durrant and Mr. A. P. Wire. It was also announced that on retirement from the Presidency, Dr. H. Laver became one of the Permanent Vice-Presidents of the Club under rule V. [The following therefore constitute the Officers and Council for 1892 : Patron. — H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, K.G. President. — Frederic Chancellor, J. P., F.R.LB.A., &c. Permanent Vice-Presidents (^Under Pule 7K).— Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., F.R.A.S., F.E.S., &c. (^President, 1880-82) ; Prof. G. S. Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S. {President, 1883-84) ; T. V. Holmes, F.G.S , M.A.L {President, 1885-87) ; E. A. Fitch, J. P., C.C, F.L.S., F.E.S. {President, 1888-91) ; Dr. Henry Laver, F.L.S., F.S.A. {President, 1892). Other Members of Council. — John Avery ; Rev. R. E. Bartlett, M.A. ; C. E. Benham ; Gen. B. R. Branfill, J. P., C.C. ; E. N. Buxton, J. P., Aldmn. C.C, D L., &c. ; Miller Christy, F.L.S. ; Walter Crouch, F.Z.S ; Bryan Corcoran; L. Cranmer-Byng ; George Day, F.R.M.S. ; F. W. Elliott; A. J. Furbank ; Andrew Johnston, Chm. C.C, J.P., &c. ; Rev. W. C Howell, M.A. ; Rev. W, S. Lach-Szyrma, M.A. ; Thomas J. Mann ; Charles Oldham ; J. H. Porter ; Right Hon. Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. ; J. C Shenstone, F.R.M.S. ; J. C Thresh, D.Sc, M.B. ; F. H. Varley, F.R.A.S. ; T. Hay Wilson ; Rev. W. L. Wilson, M.A. Hon. Treasurer. — Alfred Lockyer. Hon. Secretary and Editor. — William Cole, F.E.S. ; Assistant Hon. Secretary. — B. G. Cole. Hon. Librarians. — Edmund Durrant and A. P. Wire.] The nomination of Vice-Presidents by the President, under Rule HL, was postponed. The amalgamation of the Essex and Chelmsford Museum with the Essex Field Club having been effected (in accordance with resolutions passed by the Council of the Club and the Committee of the Museum under the powers conferred by the Agreement for Amalgamation), members of the Museum for 1892 thereby became members of the Essex Field Club. Mr. Edmund Durrant read out the names of the ladies and gentlemen so admitted as members of the Club, and it was announced that the list of members would be, in future, made up annually in 8o THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. June, and that the members of the Museum would be printed in that list as mem- bers of the Club. Mr. Chancellor thanked the members for electing him as President, and proposed a vote of thanks to Dr. Laver and to the officers of the Club. This was seconded by Mr. J. C. Shenstone and carried unanimously. Dr. Laver returned thanks on his own behalf and on behalf of the other officers. The meeting was then made a Special one, for the consideration of some additions to and alterations in the rules. The Hon. Secretary explained the alterations and additions of and to the rules which had been most carefully made by a small Sub-Committee and by the Council, and which were rendered necessary by the amalgamation of the two societies. Proofs of the new rules were placed in the members' hands. \_The principal additions were the incorporation of the stipulations contained in the Agreement for Amalgamation passed at the Special Meeting, held on January ^Ist, 1891, and printed in THE Essex Naturalist, Vol. IV., pp. 236 — 241, and the establishment of a class of Associates., limited in number, elected by the Council on the recommendation of the members, paying a smaller subscription. The alterations are, that the subscription for new members shall be not less than l-,s. per annum, to include The Essex Naturalist (^the subscription for new members after the amalgamation now stands at £1 i-J.) / the change of date of Annual Meeting from January to March ; a modification of the mode of nomination of the officers ; and consequent additions and alter ations.'\ An amendment by Mr. Avery to the effect that retiring members of the Council should stand for re-election without re-nomination, was, by permission of the meeting, put to the vote, but was lost, and the rules, as altered and added to, were passed nem. con., and ordered to be distributed to the members as the rules of the Club. On the resumption of the ordinary business of the meeting, Mr. Edmund Durrant, the Secretary for thirteen years of the Essex and Chelmsford Museum, exhibited a portrait in oils of the founder of the Museum, the late Mr. Thomas Clarkson Neale, formerly governor of the county gaol. The portrait was lent by Mr. Neale's daughter, who is still living in Chelmsford. Mr. Durrant alluded to the way in which the deceased gentleman started the institution and the good work he did. He was connected with it from 1828 to 1862, and was Hon. Secre- tary for nearly a quarter of a century. His views as to the functions of a local Museum were evidently somewhat in advance of his time, but Mr. Durrant expressed a hope that under the care of the amalgamated societies the old Essex and Chelmsford Museum " would take a new lease of life, and before long realise the intention of its founder by becoming one of the best natural history and scientific museums in East Anglia.''^ Mr. Durrant also exhibited, on behalf of Master Vigne, the eldest son of Mr. Vigne, of Writtlewick, a very curious nest, constructed by mice. Last autumn a string of chestnuts — beloved of boys — was left in a basket in an aviary in the garden, and recently it was found that the^string had been cleverly disintegrated I A very interesting article by Mr. Durrant on the foundation and early history of the Museum appears in "The Essex Review " for April (vol. ii., pp. 113— ii8). As soon as the amalgamation is legally completed vi-e hope to publish an .iccount of the Museum and the Club, with full details. — Eo. SPECIAL MEMOIR" SERIES OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT. The Council intend to publish shortly, by Subscription, a work to be entitled THE MAMMALS, REPTILES, AND FISHES OF ESSEX : A CONTRIBUTION TO THP: NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY. {Forming Volume III. of the Special Memoirs of the Essex Field Club.) By Henry Layer, M.R.C.S., F.LS., F.S.A., &c., Vice-President of the Essex Field Club. This work, in conjunction with Mr. Miller Christy's " Birds of Essex," issued in 1891, as Vol. II. of the "Special Memoirs," will afford a complete and valuable guide to the Vertebrate Fauna of the county. The " Mammals, Reptiles, and Fishes of Essex " will be published in Demy 8vo. form (uniform with the other publications of the Club), well printed on superior paper, and handsomely bound in scarlet cloth. The price of the volume will probably be 7s. 6d. ; to Subscribers, 5s. ; and to Members of the Club, 4s. ; but these quotations are subject to revision. Full particulars and Prospectuses will shortly be issued. The " BiuLiOGRAPHY OF Essex," which will probably form Vol. IV. of the "Special Memoir" Series, is now in active preparation. Marcli, 1893. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB .OCAL (ESSEX) MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, NEW LONDON ROAD, CHELMSFORD. The Establishment cf a truly Local Museum has al\va3-s been a leading idea with the Club, and towards that end many specimens have been collected. The Essex and Chelmsford Museum is no-.v incorporated with the Club, and contains many specimens of considerable interest and value. The Museum has been in existence since 1828, and has done excellent work. The Club is, therefore, now in a position to e3tablish a really useful Museum, to contain authentic collections to illustrate the Geology, Mineralogy, Botan}', Zoology, Ethnology, Pre-historic Archaeology and Technology, etc., of ESSEX and the adjacent sea and rivers, together with an educational series of specimens and preparations to be employed for illustrative and teaching purposes. Chelmsford has been chosen as the site of the principal Museum and Library, being the County Town and occupying a central position in Essex, but it is hoped that loan and temporar}' collections may be arranged for in other localities in the County. Funds are now being raised to build and fit up rooms worthy of the comprehensive scope of the Museum and Library. DONATIONS OF SPECIMENS AND COLLECTIONS OF A LOCAL (ESSEX) CHARACTER are invited. They should be sent at present to Mr. W. Cole, Hon. Sec. and Director.^ care of Mr. Edmund Durrant, go, High Street, Chelmsford. x\ letter should precede the donation, and the Council reserves to itself the right to refuse any imsuitable specimens. The fullest details should be given of the locality, finder, and other precise information about each specimen, for insertion in the Register. The Director will be glad to give any instructions in his power to those pro- posing to collect for the Museum. The Club already possesses a very considerable LlliKARY, consisting of books, MSS., prints, photographs, etc., appertaining in any w\ay to the County of Essex, and also of scientific, antiquarian, topographical, and other literature, and every effort is being made to enlarge it and increase its usefulness. The Librar}' is for the use of the members only, and such visitors as may be admitted under the regulations of the Librarians. DONATIONS OF BOOKS, prints, maps, etc., of the classes above indicated should be sent, at present, to either of the Librarians, Mr. Edmund Durrant, 90, High Street, Chelmsford, or to Mr. A. P. Wire, at the Quarters of the Club, 8, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. I NNUAL SUBSCRIPTION— Members, 4s. 6d. Non-Members, 9s. Post Free. NOS. 6-9, VOL. VII.] Price 3s. [JUNE-SEPT., 1893. The Essex Naturalist: BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. EDITED BY WILLIAM COLE, Honorary Secretary. Contents. PAGE The Essex Field Club. Field Meeting at Broomfield and i3ih Annual Meeting, and Special Meeting at Chelmsford, Saturday, April 15th, 1893 (concluded) Sr Two Forest Lodges. By William Chapman Waller, M.A., F.S.A. (U'iih Plate /., and iivo illustrations) 82 Geological Notes in the Neighbourhood of Ongar, Essex. By Horace W. MoNCKTON, F.L.S., F.G..S 87 The Essex Field Club. Field Meeting and 139th Ordinary Meeting at Ilford, Saturday, April 29th, 92 ; Field Meeting at Chingford, Bury Wood, Sewardstone, etc., May 13th (■with illustration), 95; Excursion to Bicknacre, Danbury, and Maldon, June i-jt\i (luitli two illustrations), 99 ; Field Meeting at Barkingside and Wanstead, July ist, 104 ; Water Excursion on the River Stour, through the V.ale of Dedham and " Constable's Country," ]n\y 2^(^(1011/1 three illustrations) 107 John Constable as a " Naturalist." By Charles E. Benham 112 On the Gravels near Barking Side, Wanstead, and ^Valthamstow, Essex. By Horace W. Monckton, F.L.S., F.G.S 115 Testacella Scutulum, Sowerby. (With illustration) 120 Notes — Original and Selected. Otters breeding in the open at Brightlingsea ; Otters near Brightlingsea ; Reported occurrence of a Seal (? sp.) near Walton-on-Naze ; Ornithological Notes from Mistley; the Brightlingsea Heronry; Cormorant at Brightlingsea; Ruff {,Mculietes pugnax) nearThorrington ; Colias edusa in South Devon ; Entomological Notes from Mersea ; Scarcity of Lepidoptera; A Butterfly on the War-path; Geoinetra papilio- naria in Epping Forest ; Abraxas ultnata and Brephos parthenias in Epping Forest ; Plusia inonctaat.'^'oodfoTA; a Noctua new to Essex ; Lepidoptera at Woodford ; Additions to List of Lepidoptera of Epping Forest district ; Eucalyptus flourishing in the open in Essex; the " Canker- Bloom " of Sh.akespeare ; Drift Rocks in Epping Forest; Ancient Pottery at Clactonon-.Sea ; Romano-British Urn at Willingale-Doe ; an ancient Pit at Little Dunmow ; Chigwell Moat ; the Joslin Museum ; a Harmless Mnemonic ... pp. 123-131 Ancient Entrenchments at Uphall, near Barking, Essex. By Walter Crouch, F.Z.S. (IVith th^ee illustrations) 131 The Essex Field Club.— Joint visit of the Club and the "Sette of Chelmsford Odde Volumes " to Castle Hedingham, August 2nd, 138 ; Visit to the Deneholes in Hangman's Wood, in conjunction with the Geologists' Association, August I nh and i2th 143 The authors alone are responsible for the statements and opinions contained in their respective papers. PUBLISHED BY THE CLUB, BUCKHURST HILL, ESSEX. E. DURRANT & CO., 90, HIGH STREET, CHELMSFORD. Ent. Stationers' Hall.] Communications and Advertisements should be addressed : — The Editor of "THE ESSEX NATURALIST," 7, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. (^Founded January loth, 1880.) [With which is incorporated " The Essex and Chelmsford Museum," established October 7th, 1828.] List of Council and Officers for 1893. |3atron : H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT AND STRATHEARN, K.G. (Ra?ige>- of Epping Forest). ^3rcsibfnt : FREDERIC CHANCELLOR, J.P., F.R.LB.A., F.R.M.S. (ex-offiao). 'yicc-^Jrcsibcuts : E. NORTH BUXTON, J.P., Ald. C.C, D.L. WALTER CROUCH, F.Z.S. RIGHT HON. LORD RAYLEIGH.D.C.L , LL.D., F.R.S. /^Zor. cit., p. 314. — Professor Dawkins' and Mr. Bennett's notes. 11 Whitaker, o^, cit, p. 314. — Professor Dawkins' notes. GEOLOGICAL NOTES IN THE NEIGHISOURHOOD OF ONGAR. 9 1 2. Gravel roughly stratified, composed of flint pebbles and subangular flints with some large unworn flints, many small quartz pebbles and a few pieces of large cjuartz, one three inches in longest diameter, also a little chert and ironstone. Gravel pit dose to Greensted Chi/rc/i. 219 feet O.D.'- 1. At one place there is a patch of red clay i\ feet thick, and at another 2 feet of grey clay. Boulder Clay. 2. Well stratified gravel, 6 feet seen. Glacial Gravel. I'he gravel is composed of flint pebbles, subangular flints, a little quartz, some fragments of ironstone and chert. I could not find quartzites or quartz blocks, or other glacial erratics. Fit in field j furlongs north-west of Greensted Church, near Old Barn, 240 feet O.D. Gravel, 4 feet, very like the Westleton Shingle of Cooper- sale Common at first sight, being of a greyish- white colour, very clayey. Composed as follows : Flint pebbles, very large proportion, many three, some four inches in length. Subangular flints, several in situ, low down in the section, and on the heaps. Quartz, very little, largest pebble one inch long. I could find no glacial erratics. The gravel at Greensted differs from that described at Laver, Moreton and Shelly Bridge in the greater abundance of flint pebbles, and in the scarcity, or perhaps absence, of erratics. The reason, no doubt, is that it is mainly derived from the Pre-Glacial pebble gravels of the neighbourhood ; indeed, if, as I suspect, the Roding Valley had been partially excavated before the Boulder Clay period, it is quite possible that some of the Greensted gravel may be pre-glacial. Gravel Pit ivest of the Lake in Navestock Park, about 140 ft. O.D, Whitaker, op. cit., p. 314 ; Mr. Wood- ward's notes. Gravel, seven feet of a yellow colour with som.e colourless patches, coarse sand in places, roughly stratified and in one place contorted. The gravel is composed of flint pebbles and subangular flints in about equal proportion, quartz pebbles up to half an inch in length occur. I did not find erratics here, but further search is required. I 12 See Whitaker, op. cit., p. 314. — Professor Dawkins' notes. 92 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. may, however, safely say that erratics are very much more abundant at Chiver's Paun, Stondon Massey, Paslow Hall Farm, and at the localities I have described along the Cripsey Brook than at Green- sted or Navestock Park. At Harden Ash there were some very good sections in Boulder Clay, one of them two furlongs N.W. of Harden Ash House, at a level of 200 feet O.D., showed three feet of very white and chalky Boulder Clay, containing pebbles of chalk and unworn flints, one of these latter being eight inches long. I also noted a large broken flint over one foot long, shells of Gryphaa and small quartz pebbles. The question whether the valley of the River Roding is Pre- Glacial or not has given rise to some discussion.^^ On the whole I am inclined to think that to a certain extent it is. There are a most pleasing number of footpaths in the fields round Ongar, and I have therefore been able to explore the boundary of the Boulder-Clay as mapped very carefully, and it seems to me that the Boulder-Clay shows a tendency to descend into the valley to a certain extent on both sides of the river from Abridge to Ongar. Thus, at Theydon Bois the P3oulder-Clay runs down the slope from 254 ft. O.D. to 160 ft. O.D. ; near Shonks Hill it comes down to about 150 ft. O.D. on both sides of the river, and at Harden Ash the bottom of the Boulder-Clay is about 190 ft. O.D. Above Ongar there is nothing to show whether the Roding follows the course of an old Pre-Glacial stream or not, for the glacial deposits have not been cut through by the modern river. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. Field Meeting and 139TH Ordinary Meeting at Ilford. Saturday, April 29th, 1893. On this afternoon an excursion was made in the neighbourhood of Ilford, under the guidance of Mr. Walter Crouch, F.Z.S., Vice-President. The other directors announced on the programme were Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell, F.G.S , and Mr. T. G. Holmes, F.G.S., V.P., but both these at the last were unable to come. Starting from the station about 2.40, the members proceeded to Uphall, where Mr. Crouch pointed out the site of the famous pit?, which have now for some years been worked out and levelled. Here he gave an account of the interesting remains of the mammals found in the brick earth, of Pleistocene age, 13 Whitaker, op. cit., pp. 366-7. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 93 taken during a period of over thirty years by the late Sir Antonio Brady. Some thirteen years ago this Club had visited the pits under the guidance of Sir Antonio himself, when fossil bones were still obtainable. A full account of the first visit of the Club to the Uphall Pits, under the guidance of the late Sir Antonio Brady, Mr. A. R. Wallace, and Mr. Henry Walker, will be found in the "Journal of Proceedings," E.F.C., Vol. i. pp. xxviii. — xxxviii. An excellent popular account of this celebrated locality is Mr. H. Walker's "A Day's Elephant Hunting in Essex " (Trans. E.F.C., Vol. i., pp. 27-58), and reprinted as a pamphlet. Mr. Holmes gave some notes in the last number of The Essex Naturalist (Vol. vii., pp. 47-48). Full details of sections will be found in Mr. Wnitaker's " Geology of London," Vol. i. pp. 410-15. The Geological Survey Map is Sheet i, S.W. (Drift Edition). In the course of his rernarks Mr. Crouch alluded to the various "finds" in the vicinity. In 1812 some bones of elepiiant, ox, and stag had been dug up at Clements (these are noticed in Ogborne's " History of Essex," 18 14, and one of the teeth of the elephant is figured on page 53) ; and others found by Mr. Gibson, of Stratford, in 1824. The UpliuU pits, which are now quite " classic," were begun about the year 1840 ; and it was from these that such extensive and important remains were subsequently unearthed ; not only of the mammalia, but many hundreds of land and river shells. Here, at a depth of 15 to 20 feet, were found the bones of various species of such tropical animals as hippopotamus, rhinocero?, bison, lion, and straight-tusked elephant {^Elephas anliqiius) ; associated with the gigantic extinct ox, Irish elk, wild horse, bear, &c., and ihe mammoth QEkphas primigenhts), a huge hairy elephant with incurved tusks, a purely northern and Arctic form. Perhaps the most interesting discovery was that made in 1863 of a nearly perfect skull and tusks, some 10 feet in length, of this animal, which, with the bulk of the Brady collection, is now in the British Museum of Natural History. Mr. Crouch showed a sepia drawing he had made of this skull, and said it was the only one that had been found in good condition in this country, and, so far as he was aware, there were only three others preserved — two in the museum at Brussels, and the first discovered one, in the Petersburg Museum. The latter was found in 1799, near the river Lena, in Arctic Siberia, the whole carcase being embedded in transparent ice. As the ice broke away the frozen flesh was soon devoured by wild animals, so that when Adams visited the spot in 1806, he (ould only rescue the head and some of the bones; but fortunately secured a portion of the hide, with a quantit}^ of the long woolly hair a foot and a halt in length, and the eye and brain, which were well preserved. Numerous remains have since been found in various parts of Siberia, and a large number of valuable tusks, some over 12 feet in length, released from the ice, are annually collected on the shores and sent for sale. That the mammoth was contemporary with early man, we have undoubted evidence from tht- incised bones found in the caves of Auvergne, on which this animal is clearly depicted. In one of these it is shown with the trunk raised and open mouth in attitude of charging. The bones of the various species of British fossil elephants form the subject of a monograph by Professor Leith Adams, published in 1877-81 b}' the Pakeontographical Society ; and the privately printed catalogue of the Brady collection is full of interesting information regarding the Uphall specimens. Therein is figured the skull and jawbones of Rhinoceros leplor/iiniis, a fine adult 94 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. specimen, with the molar teeth, measuring 33 inches in length. All these Ilford remains were, when found, in a very brittle condition, and great care had to be taken in extracting and hardening them in a solution of gelatine. The careful and delicate work required was arranged by the late W. Davies, F.G.S., a zealous and painstaking assistant in the British Museum. Passing along southward to the pre-historic camp of Uphall, the members were taken to the top of " Lavender Mount," close by the river Roding, by the kind permission of Mr. Hollington. From that point of vantage Mr. Crouch expl lined, with the aid of a detailed plan prepared by him some years ago, the remaining earth works and entrenchments, and the probable course of the old camp, the circumference of which had certainly exceeded a mile in length, enclosing about forty-eight acres ; extending from the river to Barking Lane, and from the farmhouse to Lowbrook. The camp in general contour and size much resembles the well-known one at Pleshy. It is somewhat square in form, and has been sup- posed to be Roman, but only careful excavations could settle the age, and it is hoped that an investigation will be undertaken before the earth works disappear, as so many others near London have done. From its general form and position it was probably a British settlement, subsequently occupied by the Romans, who commonly adopted them as sites for their own camps. So far as he was aware, however, no remains of any kind, such as pottery, coins, or implements, had ever been found there, or at any rate recorded, that would in any way furnish a clue to its origin. The earth works may still be traced for a considerable distance round by the lane, but were much higher and more distinct some thirty years ago when covered with grass. At the present time the action of the plough is gradually reducing their height, and in a few years that portion will, in all probability, have entirely disappeared. '[Vide Mr. Crouch's paper, "Ancient Entrenchments at Uphall, near Barking, Essex," in present number.] Mr. Crouch concluded his brief sketch by saying that it was at all times a pleasure to him to revisit this neighbourhood, having in years past spent many happy days, not only in the house here, but in the Old Manor House at Little Ilford, across the river. Leaving the camp, the party proceeded by Barking Lane and Ley Street to the brick-earth pits nearly a mile eastward of Ilford, now in course of working. Here the interesting sections of fossil iferous brick-earth were inspected, containing abundant " pockets " of " race," concretionary nodules, composed mainly of car- bonate of lime, with a small percentage of phosphate and alumina. The remains found here have been less in number, and more fragmentary than the old " classic " finds at Uphall. A few bones of mammoth, ox, and horse taken here were shown by Mr. Crouch, who had prepared rough sketches to show the actual position of these bones in the skeleton. A few broken portions of bones of mammoth and ox were found on this occasion. At a meeting of the Geologists' Association, held here on March 25th, a search was made for the fossil shells (non-marine) which occur sometim.es in great abundance both here and formerly at the Uphall pits. Only a few were found, of the genera Succinea, Planorhis^ Byilmiia^ and Pisidiuin^ and a block of siliceous stone, tested with the hammer, was pronounced to be a " Sarsen boulder." From the pits, the foot-bridge over the railway was taken leading to the main THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 95 road, and the party then adjourned to the Ilford schools, where the usual high tea had been arranged in the infants' schoolroom by Mrs. George Ingram, of Ilford. An Ordinary Meeting of the Club (the 139th) was subsequently held in the reading-room adjoining, the new President, Mr. F. Chancellor, in the chair. The following were elected members of the Club : Messrs. Percy G. Powell and R. J. Sheldon. The President announced that the Council had elected Prof. Charles Stewart, M.A , Hunterian Curator at the Royal College of Surgeons, and President of the Linnean Society, as an honorary member, in the place of the late Sir Richard Owen. The President also nominated the following members of the Council to act as his Vice-Presidents during his year of offtce : Mr. E. N. Buxton, D.L., J. P., &c. ; the Right Hon. Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. ; Mr. Walter Crouch, F.Z.S., and Mr. J, C. Shenstone. A lecture was then given by Colonel C. Swinhoe, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S., &c., of Oxford, " On Mimicr}' in Lepidoptera and the Uniformity of Pattern in Protected Species," which was well illustrated by a fine series of slides of mimetic butterflies, shown by the oxy-hydrogen lantern. The lecture was of an exceed- ingly interesting character, touching as it did on phases of biological research and evolution which have only been worked at of late years. The details were naturally of a very technical character, and it would be useless in the absence of figures to attempt any reproduction of Col. Swinhoe's remarks. A vote of thanks was moved by Professor Meldola, in a speech which touched upon many of the points in the lecture, upon which he had himself worked, and this was seconded by Mr. Crouch. Col. Swinhoe briefly replied, and promised to give another lecture to the Club at an early date. Thanks were also voted on the motion of Mr. Crouch to Mr. Ashmole, who had so kindly arranged for the free use of the rooms ; and Mr. Hollington, for permission to visit the camp at Uphall, and the meeting soon afterwards broke up. Field Meeting to Chingford, Bury Wood, Sewardstone, etc. Saturday, May 13th. 1893 (Old May-day). The usual spring forest ramble of the Club was taken on this day, under the leadership of Mr. Walter Crouch, F.Z.S., and Mr. William Cole, F.E.S., and was well attended by a goodly number of members. The programme, which was illustrated by a pretty drawing showing " Seward- stone Meads in May-time," by Mr. Henry A. Cole, announced that the route had been carefully chosen as mostly new ground to the Club ; and in the glorious spring afternoon (it was old May-day) it was especially interesting from the abundance of early flowers and insects. The sky was clear, the air warm, and all damp had disappeared from the forest glades. Insects and caterpillars were abundant, and nets, boxes, and vascula were soon plentifully filled. All along the route the lark and cuckoo's song were heard, whilst the wild flowers added their silent beauty to hedge, ditch, and wayside. But the bloom of the hawthorn had already passed its best, and Avas fading away. 96 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. ■*7^'^ ySeWQi ditoTje Jlsse Sewardstone Meads in May-time. Draivn by Henry A. Cole. Leaving Chingford Station about three o'clock, the party proceeded b}' Bury Path to the Woodman and Bury Wood, where a halt was made for the capture of larvae, by beating the bushes into an open umbrella, and some remarks were made by the hon. secretary, Mr. W. Cole. Attention was called to the grievous damage being done to the oaks in the forest by caterpillars, which Mr. Cole pointed out were mainly of two kinds, the greatest culprit being that of the small green oak moth {Tortrix viridand), one of the leaf-rolling caterpillars, which was engaged in speedily defoliating many trees, and covering the branches and trunks with layers of silk. Another very injurious caterpillar was that of the winter moth (JOheimatobia britmata), so called because it comes out in the perfect state in November, one of the " loopers," or Geometrida2. Thousands of these could be seen on the oaks and hornbeams. Mr. Cole also exhibited and talked about some of the spring butterflies and other insects likely to be seen that afternoon. Thence by Davis's Lane, the Sewardstone Road was reached. By the way a pretty but ill-smelling plant, the " Ramsons," or wild garlic, was pointed out, a plant for which Bury Wool is notable, and a station for the " Traveller's-joy " {Clematis) was shown, the plant being rare in this part of the Forest, probably owing to the absence of chalk in the soil ; near Epping, where the Chalky Boulder Clay appears, it is plentiful. A little way past the " Fox and Hounds " the field-path through The Meads THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 97 was traversed, leading to Sewardstone Mill on the river Lea, which divides the county from Middlesex. Here it was pleasant to rest under the cool shade of the willows on the little island formed by the Lea and the old feeding stream of the now disused mill, the latter, with its sluices and the fast deca3nng water wheel) being the sole remnants left ; whilst butterflies flitted by, and bright dragon-flies were seen flashing in the sunlight over the stream. Mr. H. Cole had printed off on transfer papers a little sketch of the wheel, so that each member might have a copy. Here some notes were given on the surroundings and past history by Mr. Crouch, who produced a plan of the district, showing the county boundary formed by the river Lea, and pointed out the Lea navigation channel, and the surround- ing features of the place. We give the following e.xtracts : " In early Saxon days this was probably a tidal estuary,! ^j^j about this spot in 876 the well-known episode took place when the Danes, having brought their war ships here, found themselves outwitted by King Alfred, who had trenches cut to divert the waters. The Danish foe, leaving their stranded vessels, escaped by land to the westward. "From Ogborne's ' History of Essex,' 1814, we learn that: 'The hamlet of Sewardston (in the parish of Waltham Holy Cross), tradition says, was once a separate parish, and so named from Siward, a Saxon, an ancient possessor of it. Here is a small silk Mill, in the occupation of Messrs. Carr and Dobson, Foster Lane, Cheapside, London, and also a flour mill, the property of Mrs. Teush. The inhabitants of the antient demesne in Sewardston have the liberty of cutting wood on the wastes, sufficient for their firing, from All Saints' Day till the festival of St. George, to be drawn away each time, on a sledge only, with two horses.' " In olden times this was a fulling mill, and is named on Chapman and Andre's map, 1777, ' Blue Mill, a fulling mill.' Later on it was used for the manufacture of silk, and subsequently for dyeing and scouring, until about eight years ago, when Mr. Connell gave up the occupancy ; then the large d3-eing sheds, etc., were taken down and the mill dismantled. The old garden adjoining the dwelling- house apparently claims a Dutch origin, being intersected by dykes with little foot-bridges from one portion to the other. It is owned by the New River Company. "This is a well-known haunt of anglers, and the greatest of them all, our dear old friend, Izaak Walton, chatted thus to his pupil of the pleasant country, on just such another May day as this, in the second Charles's time : — " ' But turn out of the way a little, good scholar, towards yonder high honey- suckle hedge ; there we'll sit and sing, whilst this shower falls so gently upon the teeming earth, and gives a yet sweeter smell to the lovely flowers that adorn these verdant meadows. Look ! under that broad beech tree I sat down when I was last this way a-fishing. And the birds in the adjoining grove seemed to have a friendly contention with an echo, whose dead voice seemed to live in a hollow tree, near to the brow of that primrose hill.' " This description apparently suits a spot some two miles south at Chingford Ford, where there is still a house named Mount Echo. " From here is a field path leading over the river near ' Patty pool ' and by Mill Marsh to the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock." I On this question the reader is referred to some interesting remarks by " S. J. A.," appended to the report of this meeting. — Ed. 98 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. The botanists and entomologists of the party found here much employment among the spring flowers and insects. The beautiful Demoiselle dragon-flies and other water-loving creatures were abundant, and every one was glad to see an occasional Wood-lady, or Orange-tipped butterfly, one of the loveliest of its kind, flitting over the flowers. The members returned to the Sewardstone Road by Mill Lane, and thence northward past Sewardstone Lodge and Luthers, to the Royal Oak, a quiet, road- side inn, where the usual high tea had been prepared. This welcome refreshment was partaken of by nearly forty members. The return walk was by the footpath nearly opposite the inn, via Sewardstone Green and the old forest way. Bury Path. On the hill slope a halt was called to view the beautiful prospect of the Lea Valley over into Middlesex, with the Alexandra Palace and many a tall spire denoting the numerous villages on the high river terraces, glistening under the rays of the setting sun. Subsequent to the above meeting, the following remarks by a writer signing " S.J. A." were printed in the "Waltham Abbey Times" for May 26th, having reference to Mr. Crouch's observation, that about Alfred's period the Lea at Waltham was probably a tidal estuary. Under the heading of " The River Lea in Saxon Times " the writer says : — " I have read with much interest your report of the meeting of the Essex Field Club, and particularly that part of it referring to Sewardstone and the River Lea, for the country thereabouts is a favourite haunt of mine, and the historical associations of the spot have an attraction for every student of the doings of men in the distant past, and that famous ' voyage ' to Ware of the Scandinavian cattle-lifters in the days of Alfred the Good was one of the most remarkable. The ' great ' men of history were so seldom good, that when referring to our Saxon King, who 'died much bewailed of his subjects,' I can't make up my mind to call him Alfred the Great, although his military achievements are to be considered among the greatest of his age, and his engineering skill as exhibited in his ' drainage works ' at Sewardstone must, have impressed other people besides the Danes with proper respect for his greatness. " It seems the Danes had constructed at Ware a kind of depot for plunder of all sorts. Whether they were going to or returning from it when they found themselves left high and dry, does not appear ; but the question is, how did they manage to sail to Ware ? The explanation generally given is that in those days the River Lea was a tidal estuary as far as Sewardstone and perhaps beyond ; but unless there has been a vast change in the relative levels of the Sewardstone marsh and the high water mark in the Thames, a tidal estuary at Sewardstone could not have existed — and there is much to show that no such change has taken place within the last thousand years at any rate. Of course we know that in the pre-historic times the bottom of the Lea Valley must have been covered with water, and ages before Roman, Saxon, or Dane was heard of, the pre-historic savage — the very Ancient Briton — dwelt in the woods on the hill sides, or made his home in the tangled jungle by the lake shore. We know he was there, for be- neath (? or rather in the river-gravels. — E.n.) the marsh we find his weapons of flint and bone. But we must not confound him with the Ancient Briton of Cxsar, for he had been dead and gone thousands of years before the legions of Rome were seen on the Kentish hills. But to return to the question of the tidal estuary. Sewardstone marsh, near the mill, is about thirty-six feet above high-water level THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. QQ at the point where the Lea joins the Thames (Bow Creek), and that must have been much the same at the time of the Conquest, for we read that 'the Bastard burnt the village of Southwark ' when the Saxon-cockneys crossed the river to oppose him, and there could have been no 'village of Southwark' if the high- water level in the Thames had been much above what it is at present. Hardi- canute, the Dane, died at Lambeth, Harold was crowned there ; and in 1191, Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, built a chapel on the site of the existing palace, and that is very few feet above high-water level in the river. Moreover, the wooden bridge over the Thames, which was carried away in a violent hurri- cane in the year logo, was probably at a lower level than either of the bridges that succeeded it, and it is pretty certain that the river bank on the Essex Marshes was in existence at that time, for the same storm caused the river to overflow the marshes. Then we have at the Tower, the Traitor's Gate, with the stairs to the water, indicating clearly that the water level was much the same when they were built as it is now. In fact there is nothing to show any material difference in the level of high water at London since the Conquest, and no reason to suppose it was different in the time of Alfred, and so there could have been no tidal estuary at Sewardstone, unless the bottom of it were from thirty to forty feet below that of the mill pool. But the general level of the marsh is much the same now as it was before the Conquest. There can hardly be a doubt about it. The town of Waltham is said to have been built in the time of Canute — the Canute of sea- side fame — and if the tidal estuary extended to Waltham in his time the surface of the water in it, ^t high tide, would be between forty and fifty feet below the level of the town. And so we must give up the theory entirely. How, then, did the Danes sail up to Ware ? Now, before the Lea Navigation was constructed there was of course much more water in the old river than at present ; it was much wider and generally deeper ; but in Saxon times it was still wider and deeper, for the country was covered with a dense forest, and the rainfall must have been much greater than at present. The ' ships ' of the Danes were open boats, with a kind of covered ' bunk ' at each end ; they seem to have been about forty feet long and eight or ten feet wide, and did not probably draw more than three feet of water. On the shallow 'fiords' of Jutland the Danes of our day use a long punting pole, with which they are exceedingly expert, and drive th;ir boats along at a speed that is quite astonishing. Might it not be that they learnt the trick from their ancestors, and might it not be that their ancestors, or some of them, ' sailed ' up to Ware by the help of punting poles ? " — S. J. A. Excursion to Bicknacre, Danbury, and to Maldon. Saturday, June 17th, 1893. A very pleasant whole-day Field Meeting was held on this date, under the direction of the President, Mr. F. Chancellor, and of Messrs. E. A. Fitch, J. P., F.L.S., Charles Smoothy, Walter Crouch, F.Z.S., Edmund Durrant, and H. A. Cole (in the absence of his brother, Mr. W. Cole, the Hon. Secretary, through illness). Leaving Chelmsford railway station in brakes, the party proceeded first to Great Baddow. Here, in the few minutes allowed, Mr. Chancellor pointed out the chief points of interest about St. Mary's Church, stating that the tower, nave, aisles, and chancel were probably built in the time of Edward IL, but later H 2 lOO THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. windowing of the Perpendicular Period was introduced in the north aisle. He particularly drew attention to the work in red brick executed late in the fifteenth or early in the sixteenth century by the addition of another bay to each aisle, clerestory and battlements to nave, and dormers, gable, and buttressing to chancel. The tower is large, and bears a lofty spire. Of this church Alexander Barclay was an early rector (1546), well known as a writer, and for his paraphrase of Brant's emblem-book " Stultifera nauis,' entitled " The Shyp of Folys of the Worlde," folio, printed by Richard Pynson in 1509 (first edition), an exceedingly rare and valuable work.' The name of an early owner here. Sir Hugh de Badew (temp. Ed. Ill,) still occurs about a mile S. of Howe Green, where two houses are entitled " Great " and " Little Sir Hugh's." The party then proceeded by Howe Green to the Hamlet of Bicknacre (Parish of Woodham Ferrers), where the carriages were dismissed and some time occupied in visiting all that now remains of the old Priory. Mr. Chancellor pointed out that the fragment, which consists of two piers with shafts and moulded arch, probably formed part of the central tower of the old Priory Church, its date being of the thirteenth century. Attention was drawn to the fact that but little was known of the history of Bicknacre Priory, although for 400 years the Priors and Canons, possessed as they were of very considerable estates in Danbury, Woodham Ferrers, and elsewhere, and the largest ecclesiastical building in the district, must have exercised considerable influence over our fore- fathers in Chelmsford, Danbury, and surrounding parishes. The original Priory was founded by King Henry II., at the instigation of Maurice Fitz-Geoffrey, Sheriff of Essex from 1157 to 1164, who built and endowed this Priory for the Canons of S. Augustine, and which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary and S. John the Baptist. There were seventeen Priors who in succession ruled the establish- ment from its foundation to the latter part of the reign of Henry VII., when Edmund Coding, the last Prior, died. "At this time, through the carelessness of the Priors, and other occasions being grown poor, and Edmund Coding, the last Prior being dead, and but one Canon left in the House, became in a manner wholly neglected, upon which the Prior and Convent of the Blessed Virgin Mary without Bishopsgate procured of the said King to grant them his royal license bearinc date 2i April, 1507, to have this Priory of Byknacre, with all its lands, rights, and appurtenances to be united and appropriated to their hospital." By an inquisition, taken after the death of the last Prior, the possessions are de- scribed as the Manor of Bicknacre, with 30 messuages, 300 acres of arable, 40 of meadow, 60 of wood, 500 of pasture, 62 of marsh, and ^5 yearly rent, with a Court Leet and view of frank pledge in Woodham Ferrers, Danbury, Norton, Steeple, Chelmsford, Mayland, Stow, East and West Hanningfield, Purleigh, Burnham, and Downham. Upon the suppression. King Henry VIII. granted, 3 Feb., 1539, the site of the I At the end is this curious rhymed note : Our Shyp here leuyth the sees brode By helpe of God ahnyght and quyetly At Anker we lye within the rode But who that lysteth of them to bye In Flete Streete shall them fynde truly At the George : in Richade Pynsones place Prynter unto the Kyngs noble grace. Deo gralias. THE ESSEX FIELD CI, UP., Priory, with manor and its appurtenances, to Henry Foisted and i\lice his wife. On 20 Sept., 1548, Foisted sold it to Sir Walter Mildmay. His grandson sold it to Gobert Barrington. Slowly but too surely the various buildings have dis- appeared, and the land has been ploughed up so as to destroy nearly all traces of the once powerful settlement. For a slietch of this interesting ruin in 18 19, vide •'Excursions in Essex," vol. i, p. 39, plate and p. 136. Sl't- Daniu TJ/ Cainp Essejc. FC.JiSpurrell. Plan of Dan bury C.\.mp. From a snr^'ey hy Mr. F, C.J. Spurrell (front The Essex Naturalist, -'c/. iv.). After a short stay at the remains of the Friory, the members were led up to the extensive furze-covered common to Danbury. The temperature was too high to admit of much collecting in this interesting locality, and the natural history I I02 THE ESSEX FIELD CI.UP.. notes and records made were very meagre. At Danbury are the remains of an old (Danish ?) Camp, of which a plan was given, and the earthwork described, by Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell, F.G.S., in The Essex Naturalist, vol. iv., p. 138. Mr. Spurrell points out its strong likeness to " Withambury " (of which a plan was given in the E. N., vol. i., p. 19), but he says that the works are difficult to under- stand ; the Camp is not mentioned in any early work, and its history is unknown. No attempt has yet been made, by exploring the ramparts, to ascertain its age, and mere conjecture in these cases is useless. The views from Danbury Hill are extremely fine and extensive. It has been commonly reputed to be the highest spot in Essex, but this is an error (see The Essex Naturalist, vol. v., p. 172). Its highest point is 332 feet above O.D. It is worthy of note that an old house about a mile to the S.E. named " Gay Bowers " is the scene of a legendary romance, " Queenhoo Hall," written by Joseph Strutt, completed by Sir Walter Scott, and published (after Strutt's death) in 1808. He was an engraver, son of an Essex miller, and a connection of Elizabeth Ogborne, and author of a " Biographical Dictionary of Engravers," " Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of England," "Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," etc., etc. At Danbury some other members joined the party, and a brief visit was made to the Church, where Mr. Chancellor drew attention to the most interesting features in the Church (see " Essex Review " for January, 1893). The tower was ascended, from which an excellent view was obtained of the general contour of the Camp. The party then adjourned to the well-known hostelry called " The Griffin," where a cold lunch was served. In the afternoon, the northern side of Danbury Hill was traversed, over Ling- wood Common to Old Riffhams, the residence of Mr. Charles Smooth)', by whom the members were kindly received. Mr. Smoothy then led the party through Holly Wood, where the White Climbing Fumitory (Corydalis claviadata) was abundant and in fine bloom. As is usual near Danbury in July, the Foxglove, perhaps the most beautiful of our native plants, was in profusion, but owing to the great drought not so conspicuous and showy as we have seen it, few of the flowering stems being taller than four feet. A variety was found in this wood in which all the flowers on the raceme were quite white, and yellow varieties had previously been found behind Old Riffhams. After traversing Long Wood, the party passed along the path between Pheasant House and Fir-Tree Woods, and it was here that several large Fritillary Butterflies (probably Argynnis adippe) were seen, but not captured. Tracks were then made through the thick oak-scrub of Woodham Walter Common, and so across the downs of the Warren Farm to Woodham Walter Church, which Mr. Chancellor described as having been built in 1563 — 64, by Thomas, Earl of Sussex, who obtained a licence from Queen Elizabeth to pull down the old church and build a new one on the present site, as being more convenient for the inhabitants. A short walk brought the party to the relics of Woodham Walter Hall, the baronial residence of the Fitzwalters ; a few fragments of rubble walling, abutting upon the road, being all that remains of this historic mansion. The "Wilderness" and "Queen Anne's Cellars" were also inspected, and here in the open a stoat in summer fur was captured. It is said that the local name. Queen Anne's Cellar, refers to some connection with that noted Essex character, the unfortunate Anne Boleyn, born at Rochford \ THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 103 Hall — [her heart is said to be enclosed in an altar-tomb at East Horndon] — but more probably it is of a later date, and in some way connected with the pulling down of Woodham Walter Hall, about 1700, by William Fytch, an Alderman of Maldon, who presented the portrait of Queen Anne which still hangs in the Council Chamber of the Moot Hall. The supposed site of the Old Church, about 150 yards to the N. of the remains of the Hall, was pointed out, as also the building, the last place where the Duke of St. Albans, as Lord High Falconer of England, had his Hawks' iVIews. A short rest, and then the walk (too long, perhaps, on such a sultry day) was continued to the ancient town of Maldon. ' A struggling burgh of ancient charter known And dignified by battlements and towers." -Wordsworth. And after a welcome cup of tea, the return to various stations in Essex was made by the seven o'clock train. YouxG Night-jars in Long Wood, Danburv. Sketched by H. A. Cole. Many birds and insects were noticed during the excursion, but none that call for special mention, excepting the pair of young fledgling Night-jars (" Goat- suckers " or " Fern-owls," Caprimulgus europcvus) that Mr. Smoothy pointed out upon the ground in Long Wood. A few weeks before, when the spot had been visited by Messrs. Fitch, Crouch, Durrant, and John Freeman, the eggs had been shown, lying quite exposed on a bare " nest " on the ground, yet perfectly pro- tected by the similarity of colouring to the surrounding soil ; now it was with considerable difficulty that some of our members, not accustomed to bird observa- tion, could be shown this attractive sight, so well were the young birds protected by resemblance to the ground on which they lay. They were upon the bare ground, with no attempt at a nest, although the broken egg-shells out of which they had hatched were still lying beside them. The crouching attitude of the young fledglings, and the solicitous wheeling around of the parent birds, much troubled at our intrusion, were the admiration of all for some minutes. i04 the essex field club. Field Meeting at Barkingside and Wanstead. Saturday, July ist, 1893. The chief object of this afternoon excursion was to examine the fine and exten- sive sections of River Drift gravel on St. Swithin's farm, Barkingside, by the kind permission of the owner, Mr. Llewellyn Hatton, of Carswell. Starting from Snaresbrook station, the party, numbering about forty, under the direction of Messrs. Walter Crouch, F.Z.S., V.-P., and H. W. Monckton, F.G.S., F".L.S., passed through the old grounds of " The Grove " estate to the meadows of the river Roding, over the footbridge, and then by the lane past Fern Hall to the gravel pit. The way was neither long nor tedious, but the weather was decidedly warm, and the delightful breeze which sprang up across the meadows was very welcome. Some notes were given en route by Mr. Crouch. He mentioned that " The Grove," Wanstead, had on a previous occasion been visited by the Club, on April 2 Ist, 1888 (vide Essex Naturalist, vol. ii., p. 80). The mansion was then unin- habited, but has since been pulled down, the grounds laid out with roads, the long lake filled up, and many houses erected. A series of four interesting lithographs of this place on Indian paper, from drawings by the Hon. Anne Rushout, and copies of miniatures by Plimer of herself and two sisters and their mother. Lady Northwick (jie'e Bowles), were exhibited at the evening meeting. The Roding meadows lie low, and the centre of the river is for a long distance the boundary of the parishes of Wanstead and Ilford. The footbridge was rebuilt in 1891, at the joint expense of the two Local Boards, costing over j^8o, the old, narrow, but more picturesque one being in bad repair, and indeed dangerous. On gaining the lane a hollow may be seen opposite Red Bridge House ; here some hundred years ago was a tile and brick kiln, hut the earth has long ago been worked out. In olden times this place was known by the name of " Hockley at the Watering." St. Swithin's Farm is now in the occupation of Mr. James Ingram, of Hedge- mans. The farm house, which has recently undergone extensive repairs, is now in private occupation. It was built over 200 years ago. The oaken beams are very thick, and the drawing room is covered with small oak panels, much like the work at Gaysham Hall {vide EssEX NATURALIST, vol. v., p. 184), but here, unfortunately, it is all covered with paint. The house stands high, and is covered with a well grown "Wistaria " {Milkttid). The residence, " Carswell," is only about 100 years old. The ancient man- sion of that name stood nearer the farm house on much higher ground, from whence a good view extends over the valley of the Roding from Claybury to Buckhurst Hill, Woodford, and Wanstead. The site is now called " The Hill}- Hoppst," and, until recently, an old man was living who remembered the remains of the old house, which was used as a quarry for building cottages, etc. The foundations are yet close under the surface. This mansion was of great age, the earliest record to be found being in the draft will of Henry Fanshawe (the Queen's Remembrancer, Ob. 1568), of Clay Hall. — " I will Willm. Hopkyns, my father in lawe, to dwell in the house at Carsewell, where he now dwelleth, during his lyfe, paying yerely to myne executor fortie shillings and no more." Thomasine, his first wife, who died in 1562, was daughter of W. Hopkyns {i>ide Essex Naturalist, vol. vi., p. 152). THE ESSEX FIET.D CLUB. 105 At the gravel pit, which now extends over an acre, the sections were examined, and a paper read by Mr. Monckton, " On the Gravels near Barkingside, Wanstead, and Walthamstow," treating on River-gravel in general, and these and similar deposits, which had been carefully noted both by Mr. Monckton and Mr. T. V. Holmes, F.G.S. (Mr. Monckton's paper is printed in the present number, pp. 115- 1 20.) Time, however, would not allow of a visit to the latter sections. The gravel-pit on the south side of Wanstead Park forms part of the parish sewage farm. These sections of gravel and sand lie much lower, and a quantity of London Clay occurs. On this ground the new Cottage Hospital for Wanstead Parish is now being erected. Mr. Crouch remarked that the greater part of the gravel and sand had been excavated during the past few years, for the construction of the roads and buildings of the new Middlesex Lunatic Asylum at Claybury, about two miles away. A note of this was given by Mr. Crouch, at the Field Meeting in Hainault Forest, in 1891 {rnde Essex Naturalist, vol. v., p. 184), and the Asylum was opened on 17th June last. He also pointed out the spot where, during the excavations, a quantity of old pottery and other remains had been found, which he would exhibit and remark upon at the evening meeting (see below). A few words on the parish were also given b}- the Rev. W. S. Lach-Sz3'rma, the vicar. The members then passed into the garden at Carswell, where the members had an opportunity of examining the fine pair of Pallas's sand grouse {Syrrhaptes paradoxus), shot there out of a covey of sixteen in June, 1888, during the extraordinary irruption of these rare and singular birds (see Essex Naturalist for 1888, vol. ii., p. 63), Here also Mr. Hatton had provided some light refreshment, in the shape of wine and fruit and biscuits, which proved exceedingly welcome, owing to the intense heat of the day ; and for this, and permission to visit the pit, a vote of thanks was duly passed on the motion of Professor Meldola, After a rest the walk was continued up the downs, where other good views were seen over Wanstead Park, Ilford, Shooter's Hill, etc. Not far off is the curious triangular tower, erected by Sir Charles Raymond, of Valentines, in 1765, as a mausoleum, but never consecrated. For years it was called " Rajmond's Folly," but is now generally known as Ilford Castle. It stands on the old estate of Highlands. The roof is now in bad condition, and scarcely safe for a party to ascend. The return to Wanstead was made by field-path and road, past the Rectory to Little Blake Hall, where by the kind permission of Mr. and Mrs. Pemberton- Barnes, the usual high tea was served on the lawn, under the shelter of the fine trees. The aviaries here, containing a large numberof peacocks (including specimens of the white variety), golden pheasants, foxes, monkeys, etc., claimed a great deal of attention. Amongst the trees, many of which are lofty and well grown, perhaps the most noticeable is a good specimen of the Gingko or maidenhair tree {SalisLuria adiantifoIia~). This tree is not often seen, though one, which many years ago grew close to Ham House, may still be seen in West Ham Park. An Ordinary Meeting of the Club (the 140th) was subsequently held in the drawing-room. Prof. R. Meldola, P\R.S. (^Vice-Presidenf), in the chair. The following were elected Members of the Club : — Messrs. H. Havelock Brown, M.B., and Joseph Wheatley and Miss E. M. Bruton. I06 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. Mr. W. Cole {^Hon. Secretary) exhibited a series of specimens illustrating the attacks of a farmer's pest, which had not appeared in Essex for many years, viz., Chlorops tceniopus oi Curtis, an insect extremely injurious to barley. Mr. Cole's attention was first called to the subject by the following paragraph which appeared in the " Essex County Chronicle" for June 23rd, under the heading of " Another Pest for Farmers " : " On Friday Mr. Herbert Dowsett, of Park Farm, Pleshey, brought for our inspection three ears of barley which had small maggots eating into them. He says that he has on his farm about fifty acres of barley, and about one-fourth of the crop is infested with these maggots, which will, of course, destroy all the ears in which they get a lodgment. Neighbouring farmers have found their crops attacked in the same way. We have submitted the samples Mr. Dowsett brought us to the Essex Field Club and the County Technical Instruction Committee." Subsequently Mr. Cole received a good supply of infected barley plants from Mr. Dowsett, and reported as follows in the next issue of the same newspaper : " The attacking insect is clearly Chlorops tceniopus, of Curtis, a small two- winged fly, black striped with yellow, which may often be found in numbers in and around barley stacks. The insect has been known for fifty years, but the injury is often overlooked, as it bears a close resemblance to distortions caused by fungi or abnormal growth. The plants sent me by Mr. Dowsett are stunted in growth, the ears still in sheath, and the leaves often twisted and distorted in a grievous fashion. On cutting open the sheaths, the cause of the injury is easily seen in the shape of a small white, legless, sluggish maggot, snugly ensconced between the sheath and the ear, which latter is in most cases partly destroyed, distorted, and aborted. In many cases the maggot is already laid up in its last skin for the purpose of turning into the chrysalis or pupa stage, the skin forming an elongated brown case, called by entomologists a pupariutn. In Mr. Dowsett's case, the injuries are certainly most serious. He tells me that he used his own seed-corn (which came to over nine quarters per acre) with the exception of two acres, which were sown with barley bought at los. per bushel from a well-known firm. During forty years' experience, Mr. Dowsett has never seen a like destruction ; he estimates that one-fourth of his entire crop will never ear out. " Mr. R. W. Christy sends me this morning a bundle of plants similarly affected from Little Boyton Hall Farm, Chelmsford, and other reports have reached me. " The fly lays her eggs in the autumn corn plants, and from these maggots the flies come out at the right season in early summer to deposit eggs in the young barley. But little is known of its habits in England during the winter, and further observation is much needed. The only practical remedy proposed is the pulling up of the injured plants by hand — they are easily recognised from their swollen, stunted appearance, hence the word ' gout ' significantly applied to the injury. Further knowledge of the habits of the fly will doubtless furnish remedies. It is quite clear that some means should be found to destroy the fly or the pupoe or maggots in the autumn or winter, and so prevent the egg- laying in the early barley in the spring. " Mr. Christy speaks of the Hessian Fly attacking his barley, but I could find none in the specimens he sent — only Chlorops. I shall be glad to receive specimens of infested crops from other parts of the county — I fear that the pest is wide-spread." Infected plants have since been noticed at Stonage Farm, Little Waltham, and at Black Hall, Great Canfield. Mr. Cole exhibited the larva, pupa, and dissections of the barley plants, showing the mode of life of the maggot, and the injury it does to the young ears. Mr. Cole also exhibited some uncommon moths from various parts of Essex, I THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 107 including a tine series of the rare Gcometra papiliotiaria (the " Large Emerald IVIoth") from Epping Forest, the first time he had met with the insect in Essex (see " Notes," /o^/). Mr. Oldham exhibited a specimen of the new English moth, Pliisia inoneta^ taken in his garden at Woodford in June, and Abraxas ulmata from Epping Forest, the second known Essex specimen (see " Notes," /05/). Mr. G. B. Cole showed a fine aberration of the common " Magpie-moth," Abraxas grossulariata^ found that morning at Buckhurst Hill. Quite a small museum had been arranged in the room by Mr. Crouch, and among his exhibits were some local views, etc., and a very large photograph, presented to the Club by Mr. G. E. Pritchett, F.S.A., of a huge block of con- glomerate from Farnham, Essex, in the grounds of his residence. Oak Hall, near Bishops Stortford (see Essex Naturalist, vol. iii., p. 89, and iv., p. 225). The most important show, however, was a number of large cases containing a quantity of Roman and Romano-British pottery, and other remains, found in the gravel pit on St. Swithin's from 1888 to 1891. They are all in a fragmentary condition. On these a running comment was made by Mr. Crouch, who handed round the most interesting and typical specimens. Amongst these were : — a rim of a Roman mortarium with potter's label, SOLLVS. F., some frag- ments of incised Upchurch ware, portions of a huge amphora, which was probably about the size of the perfect one in the Club's Museum, about three feet in height, but far the greater portion were pieces of rude and coarse British pottery, which occurred in vast quantity. Only one piece of bronze — a Roman key — has been taken ; but portions of dried clay have occurred, part of the " wattle and daub"' of early dwellings, such as those mentioned by Strabo and Coesar. From the high position of the field it is probable that a pre-historic camp was once here, but of this w'e have no direct evidence, the land having been for so many centuries under cultivation. Only one Palasolithic implement has been found (by Mr. W. Cole), which has been already recorded in The Essex Naturalist, 1888, vol. ii, p. 262. These finds have been confined to a limited area, and during the past two years scarcely anything has been found. Various specimens of the constituent minerals and composition of the gravel, pebbles, derived fossils, etc., and some remains of bones and teeth of ox, horse, etc., were also mentioned and shown. On the motion of Prof. Meldola, a very cordial vote of thanks was passed to Mr. and Mrs. Pemberton-Barnes for their kindness in allowing the use of their house and grounds for the meeting, which was suitably acknowledged by Mr. Barnes ; and after another visit to the birds and animals, the members dispersed about nine o'clock, well pleased with the most enjoyable visit. Water Excursion on the River Stour, through the Vale of Dedham and "Constable's Country." Saturday, July 29th, 1893. The valley of the river Stour, which forms the boundary for many miles of our county, is famous for its rural beauty, and contams some of the most charm- ing scenery in Essex. To the artistic mind it recalls at once the name of John io8 THE ESSEX FIET.D CLUB. Constable, R.A., who was born there, and sought amidst its surroundings subjects for the most important of his pictures. In the same valley, though higher up the river, on the Suffolk side, it was that Gainsborough painted some of his masterpieces. The Sun Inn and Church Tower, Dedham. Di-aivn by C , E. Benhatn. To enable members to enjoy this natural scenery this trip was organised, and a well-illustrated programme prepared : the directors for the day being Messrs. C. E. Benham and Walter Crouch, F.Z.S. Mr. Charles A. Wright, F.L.S., acted as botanical adviser. The hon. Secretary, Mr. W. Cole, was, greatly to his regret, unavoidably absent, and he is indebted to Mr. Crouch for the main details of the day's proceedings. The consent of the Navigation Company and the various millers having been obtained to use the locks, the river was traversed to Brantham Lock, near Man- ningtree, about ii or I2 miles, passing the parishes of Stoke-by-Nayland, Bo.xted, Higham, Stratford St. Mary, Langham, Dedham, and East Bergholt. From various causes there was not so large an attendance as had been antici- pated, but about forty members and friends were present, including Mr. F. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. lOQ Chancellor, J. P. (President), the Mayor and Mayoress of Chelmsford, and the Mayor of Colchester. Unfortunately, several well-known scientific members were unable at the last moment to attend, including the Vice-Presidents, Mr. E. A. Fitch, and Dr. H. Laver ; Mr. Shenstone came on board for a short time at Dedham. Starting from Colchester station about 10.40 in dull weather, which was ex- pected by the weather-wise to clear up, the party drove in three brakes to Nayland. It was a pleasant drive through Myland — with the far-famed Col- chester rose gardens on either side of the way — and through the long village of Great Horkesley. There was not much in the way of scenery, however, until the hill above Nayland was reached. From that point a glorious view of the valley of the Stour is obtained, stretching out as far as the eye can see on either hand, and bounded in front by w-ooded slopes, WMth the square tower of Stoke-by-Nayland Church standing out boldly amidst the dark green foliage. This was the finest panoramic glimpse obtained during the day of " Constable's country," and it was presented under just such a sky as the great artist himself loved to paint. Descending the hill about a mile, the party alighted at the Anchor Bridge, where two of Mr. Stannard's barges were in readiness for the voyage down the Stour. Before starting, attention was called to the ke3-stone of this bridge, the curious point being that it is carved with the letter A and a Bell, with date 1775, a rebus on the name of the builder, a man named " Abel." Mr. Crouch men. tioned that for the upkeep of this bridge the rent of a small farm in Layer is used. It was for a long time in the hands of trustees, but now the rent is divided between the two counties, who jointly repair it. Nayland village is in Suffolk, and was not visited, but mention may be made here of an oil painting by John Constable, R.A., which is over the Communion Table in the Church. The subject is Christ with outspread hands blessing the bread and wine, and the general effect is pleasing. It was painted in i8og. The only other subject of the kind he painted was in 1804, as an altar-piece for Brantham Church, and depicts Christ blessing little children. In this the figures are life-size, all standing, except the infant in His arms. At one time some fine brasses were here, the matrices of six large ones may still be seen, one with 20 children, each separate brass figures — but only two effigies, the head of a lady with " butterfly head dress " and some crotcheted canopies remain. The barge was neatly-lined with "Hessian,'' and with an awning, supported by poles draped in red, afforded very comfortable accommodation for the party. The barges used on the Stour Navigation, and some peculiarities of the method of towing, excited much interest amongst visitors from a distance. These nearly flat-bottomed craft, which fit the locks to a hair's breadth almost, are built to go in pairs, end on to each other. The towing horse was attached not to the barge containing the company but to another chained in front. From the sternmost boat a long kind of bowsprit projects over three-parts of the length of the boat in front, and this is used as a steering-pole — such being its name in fact — for both vessels. It seemed a marvel, as one observed, that the tail doesn't sometimes wag the dog ; but, as a matter of fact, an immense amount of leverage is required to get round the sharp turns of the river, and the arrangement is an interesting adaptation of means to ends. As far as the towing is concerned, most honourable mention must be made of the horse — a grand Shirebred — employed in that work. no THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. At different places the towing path changes from one side of the river to the other ; at these points the animal jumped on board the leading barge, and was thus ferried across ; and the way in which he cleared the low stiles on the towing- path, with a boy on his back, would have done credit to a heavy-weight hunter. Altogether that horse was almost the hero of the adventure, and reminded us of the picture " The Jumping Horse," exhibited by Constable at the Royal Academy in 1825 — a boy on the top of a chestnut horse, with crimson fringe on the harness, leaping over one of these barriers along the Stour. At the first lock Mr. Stannard came on board. He had lent the barges for the occasion, and his good company was not less valued than his kindness. Not long after this, the rain came down in earnest, so heavily that one of the party facetiously congratulated the company on the extraordinary appropriateness of the weather, which thoroughly exemplified the kind of atmospheric conditions that Constable was so fond of introducing into his paintings. A cleverly-contrived awning was then put up for the protection of the ladies, but it was a drenching wet voyage during the next hour or more, and the lovely glades of Tendring Park were seen through a mist, dimly. Sir Joshua Rowley's splendid herd of red polls was down on the marshes. Where to have luncheon soon became an anxious question. There was no room on the barge, the tables were wet, and a picnic on the bank was now impossible. In this difficulty, Mr. Stannard rendered the party good service before leaving them for Colchester Market. He went forward and opened negotiations with Mr. Johnson, at Boxted Mill; that gentleman responded in the most generous way, and the upshot was that the mid-day meal was served in the lower story of the mill. Little room could be found for tables, and the company sat down on flour and meal bags, in dark out-of-the-way corners, holding plates on their " laps," and foraging round for what could be got. Under these extraordinary conditions, Mr. R. W. Mutton, of the George Hotel, Colchester — who had brought the necessaries along in the barge — gave immense satisfaction, and one and all were pleased. By this time the rain had ceased, and looking round with a Mark Tapley eye, so to speak, Mr. Crouch summed up the situation in a little story. It was that of a village doctor, who met one of his poorer patients and asked him how he was getting on. " Well, I don't know," was the dubious reply, " I've taken all your nasty stuff ; thank goodness ! I'm none the wuss.'' The party felt none the worse for their adventure up to this time, and thanked Mr. Johnson with three cheers as they joined the barge, and passed out of his lock. The rain and the delay, however, had prevented the possibility of botanising or other natural history collecting. Thenceforth the barges proceeded at a fair speed down the river, the banks of which were covered with big clumps of yellow tansy, hemp agrimony, comfrey, and the ever-present and pleasing Epilobium in full bloom. Mr. Wright, always ready to impart botanical information, made the journey pleasant and instructive to many of those present. The tower of Langham Church, from the summit of which Constable painted his famous picture of the " Vale of Dedham," remained in sight for a long time ; there is a lock here, and also at Stratford, where a comely damsel handed on board a well-filled basket of flowers and fruit from Mr. Rowland Cobbold, of Dedham Lodge, who enter- tained the Club so hospitably some two or three years ago. Landing at Dedham Lock (Mr. E. Clover's) a short time was spent in the town ; the picturesque " Sun Inn," with its quaint yard-gateway was seen ; and a visit made to Southfields, an interesting group of cottages, converted from an old THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. Bay and Say Mill, formerly the centre of an important industry of the place. Remarks on this were given by Mr. Benham. In the seventeenth century, Dedham was a noted seat of the once famous woollen trade, which, in spite of the attempt to maintain it by the dernier ressort of " burial in woollen," has now com- pletely decayed. In the church are the memorials, merchant marks, etc., of Thomas and John Webbe, woollen manufacturers, who here carried on an exten- sive trade in their day, and in the chancel a quaint monument to " Roaring Rogers," a veritable Boanerges, who was such a noisy preacher he made the win- dows rattle, and his congregation adjourned to the churchyard to listen. A brief inspection of the church was made, with its fine tower, and the open porch (or galilee) at its base. Flatford Mill was the next halting-place, and in the lock there tea was partaken of ; the miller, Mr. Benneworth, having kindly under- taken to provide hot water. At this point Mr. C. E. Benham pointed out some of the spots associated with Constable — the Mill house in which he lived, though he was not, as has often been stated, born there, but at East Bergholt. The thatched cottage, the little bridge, the scene of the " Barge Builders " picture, the Water Lane (scene of the " Haywain "), the lock, Willy Lett's house, and other places associated with the great painter were indicated, and it was remarked that while Suffolk might claim the honour of Constable's birth, it was towards Essex that he preferred to turn when painting, his choice being the effect of the southern sky in front. In one of his writings he says : " I associate my careless boyhood with all that lies on the banks of the Stour — those scenes made me a painter, and I am grateful." And in another passage : " The landscape painter must walk in the field with an humble mind. No arrogant man was ever permitted to see Nature in all her beauty." With regard to many of his paintings it was shown that he so far made free in point of composition that often it was impossible to identify the e.xact 112 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. scene of his brush, the Church tower of Dedham, for instance, being introduced in impossible situations. As the barge went on, Mr. Benham read a brief paper on Constable : — JOHN CONSTABLE AS A "NATURALIST." Bv Charles E. Benham. " Full details of Constable's life have over and over again been published, and some outline of his career has already been given to the members of this Club. I will therefore endeavour to impart some novelty to the subject, after I have briefly recalled a few biographical details, by pointing out how essentially were his alms identical with those of the true naturalist. As a landscape painter his life's motto and the moral of his works may be said to be ' fidelity to nature ' — a principle which the naturalist must approve. It was his determined devotion to nature, unadorned by conventional ideas, which caused his paintings to be so warmly appreciated after his death and so coldly unappreciated during the greater portion of his life. "John Constable was born at East Bergholt, June, 1776. His father, Golding Constable, inherited considerable wealth, including Flatford Mill, Ded- ham Mill, and two windmills at East Bergholt. John was the second son in order of time, but, of course, the first in order of distinction. He was a puny infant and not e.xpected to live, but it seemed as if the great Reaper caught a glimpse of his promising gleams of genius and drew back his sickle, for to the astonishment of his parents he not only survived his infancy, but developed into a stalwart and healthy youth. At seven years old he was sent to a school at Lavenham — not a very satisfactory school, for the master spent his time in love- making, and the usher spent most of his in flogging the boys, which evoked rather revolutionary feelings in the breast of Constable. From Lavenham he was removed to Dedham Grammar School. Here, though he distinguished himself but little except in penmanship, the master had a clear perception that his pupil was a genius. It was at this time that he first acquired the love of art, and he was much assisted and encouraged by a neighbour, the artist John Dunthorne, whose memory is none the less distinguished from the fact that he was actually Con- stable's first tutor in sketching and painting. Constable's parents were a little proud and a little ashamed of their son's tendencies towards the fine arts. In their narrow-minded simplicity they looked upon artists as people of questionable morals and doubtful respectability, as compared with those who adopted the more orthodox and highly lucrative profession of grinding corn. And yet his mother, with natural maternal pride, obtained through the Dowager Lady Beaumont, who lived at Dedham, an introduction to Sir G. Beaumont, who in that day was the leviathan of art critics — the authoritative autocrat on style and propriety in art. He was a pedantic old fellow, no doubt, but he had good sense enough to see great merit in Constable's efforts, and good nature enough to help him with advice and with studies for his guidance. This valuable patronage even induced his father, somewhat half-hearcedly, :o let the young man try his fortunes as an art student in London. There Constable made some valued friends and was getting on well, but circumstances necessitated his return to the uncongenial work of the mill at Flatford, to the great delight of his parents, who augured from the circum- stance that there was, after all, a prospect of his ensuring respectability and com- fort. A very few years later, however, his father was wise enough to realise that where the young man's heart was there his treasure was more likely to be also. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 113 and in 1799 John returned to London, and devoted himself for life to the profes- sion for which he was so evidently destined. He worked with great earnestness, for he possessed the rarely combined faculty of perseverance and natural talent. Plenty of men can fag, and plenty of men have natural gifts, but as a rule the fagging man has not the talent, and the talented man will not submit to the fag- ging. Constable, like most geniuses, was an example of both, and by dint of these two levers he so far succeeded that in 1802 he made his first exhibit at the Royal Acadeni}-, and from that date he exhibited every 3'ear, with one exception, till 1837, 134 of his paintings having been hung in that time. It is noteworthy that the Hanging Committee declined his Flatford Mill, to his great disappoint- ment. It was, however, exhibited in 1812. It was in 1S02 that Constable made tlie great resolve which was the secret of the charm of his landscapes. He deter- mined thenceforward to follow nature uncompromisingly, and to pay no attention to artificial ideas about style. 'There is room,' he said, 'for a natural painter, ' Constable's House, Flatford Mill. Dratvn by C. E. Benhaiii, and that title was thenceforward his goal. Landscape, however, was not his only theme. Sea pieces and portraits were also in his programme, and, though perhaps with less success, he by no means fai'ed in his scriptural subjects. In 1809 he painted an altar piece for Nayland Church, ' Christ Blessing the Bread and Wine.' This painting suffered much from neglect, or, to put it euphemistically, from damp, and in 1880 it had to be sent to London to be restored. He also painted a picture which is in Brantham Church, though unfortunately the name of the artist has been effaced from some singular 'religious' motive. After his father's death Constable married a Miss Bicknell, whom he had unsuccess- fully courted long before, the obstacle having been his doubtful prospects of income. He was never in actual financial difficulties ; though but for fortunate legacies which came to the lot of himself and his wife he probably would have been. Not till nearly the end of his life was he sufficiently recognised to be elected Ro3'al Academician. About the same time he executed his work on I 114 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. English Landscape, which summarises the secrets which he had wrested from his art by his life's labour. In the frontispiece of this work is a representation of the house at Bergholt where he was born (now pulled down). His death, which occurred in London suddenly, March 30, 1837, was undoubtedly the result of his constitution being thoroughly undermined by the intense application with which he pursued his labours. " His principal pictures are too well known to need much comment, and I will only refer to one or two of his local ones. The Locks of the neighbourhood were, of course, favourite subjects of his brush. His ' Scene on the Stour,' was exhibited at the Academy in 18 19. It i; now known as the White Horse, from a white horse in a barge in the foreground. ' Stratford Mill,' Academy 1820 ; ' D^dham Vale,' 1811. These two pictures realised lOO guineas each, and here I may mention, by way of contrast, that on June 3rd, this year, his ' Hampstead Heath' fetched 2,550 guineas at the sale of Lord Rcvelstoke's pictures. 'The Ha3'wain,' painted in 1821, was a scene at Flatford. This picttire introduced Constable to France. It was bought by a Frenchman, and Constable was encouraged to visit Paris, where he was met with enthusiasm and great distinc- tion at the Louvre Exhibitions. The 'Jumping Horse' was a picture well illustrating the nimble way in which the barge horses surmount the little barriers which do duty for gates on the towing-path. The famous ' Valley Farm ' was painted in 1834. The house is called ' Willy Lett's house,' after an eccentric occupier, who, so it is said, for 80 years never left his house for four days. This picture is in the National Gallery, and also his local paintings, the ' Country Lane,' ' The Cornfield,' and 'The Haywain.' A large number of his other sketches have recently been added to the National Collection. " Having dealt thus very cursorily with Constable's place in the history of his time, I should like to add a few words on his place in the history of art. ' I love,' he said, ' every stile, every stump, and lane in the village ; as long as I am able to hold my brush I shall never cease to paint them.' It is true he altered the composition of his scenes so that it is impossible, sometimes, to identify them now, but, in another sense, he was Nature's most faithful slave, and as such the Field Club should especially honour his memory. This is best illustrated by realising the parallel between his work as an artist and that of Wordsworth and the Lake School as poets. The eighteenth century was a period of abnormal artificial- ness. In poetry there were certain forms of diction considered orthodox, and all outside this prescribed pale was not recognised as elegant, even though it might be true. Just as Wordsworth and his school of poets broke this literary conven- tionality and burst the bubble of diction, so Constable was the pioneer in exterminating a similar spirit of artificial conventionality in eighteenth century art. Among the art canons of his time were such rid'culous ideas as that ' A good picture, like a good fiddle, must be brown,' that every landscape must have its ' brown tree,' and that the merits of painting largely depended upon where the essential brown tree was placed. Constable went boldly in defiance of these autocratic decrees of fashion, confident that sooner or later truth to nature would triumph over the canons of bad taste. It may seem hard that for a great part of his life prejudice was too strong for his gospel to be generally accepted, but on the other hand it is a grand victory for his cause that within a century the genuine has superseded almost all the dictums and canons of an absurd period in art. The danger would appear now to be that painters, failing to appreciate Constable's mission, and yet recognising the GRAVELS NEAR I^ARKING SIDE, WANSTED AND WALTHAMSTOW. II5 beauty of his work, should endeavour to imitate Constable's style and so build up for themselves a new conventionality actually based upon the very works in- tended to protest against such a principle. Constable, like every other man, must needs have shown his personal individuality and a certain amount of personal mannerism. To imitate these is to run counter to the very spirit which he pioneered, and to revive in a new and subtle form the anti-natural convention- ality which he spent his life trying to break through." The barge was finally moored near Brantham Lock instead of Manningtree Lock, as announced in the programme, which is within half a mile of Manning- tree Station ; but the visitors were able to reach the station in time, having half an hour to spare, and were ready to forgive the extra walk in view of the very pleasant outing which the directors, and Mr. Walter Crouch in particular, had so successfully organised in this charming district. [We are much indebted to Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen, of Covent Garden, for the kind loan of the block of the Old Bay and Say Mill, from Mr. Barrett's "Essex Highways, Byways, and Waterwa} s, 1892."] ON THE GRAVELS NEAR BARKING SIDE, WANSTEAD AND WALTHAMSTOW, ESSEX. Bv HORACE W. MONCKTON, F.L.S., F.G.S. [Read at the meeting at Barking Side, Ju'y 1st, rSgj.] /^■^ARSWELL, the residence of Mr. Llewellyn Hatton, at which ^-^ the following paper was read, is situated on the east of the River Roding, about a mile and a-half from Barking Side Church. Its level is a little more than 50 feet above the sea, and from it the ground slopes gradually up to a level of 118 feet at Clayhall. The solid geology of the district is extremely simple. On the high ground to the N.E. at Lambourne End there is a small patch of Bagshot Sand and below it down to the Barking Reach of the River Thames there is a wide stretch of London Clay. Well sections tell us that below the London Clay are the clayey Woolwich and Read- ing Beds, the Thanet Sands and the Chalk, which last was reached by a well at the Britannia Works, Ilford, at a depth of 163^ feet (Whitaker, " Geol. of London," vol. ii., p. 23). Upon the London Clay are a variety of beds of Boulder Clay, Gravel and Sand which are not so easy to understand as the solid geology. The oldest of these Drifts in this neighbourhood is probably the patch of gravel at Lambourne End at a level of 335 feet O.D. I found a small section there in July, 1890, of which the following are the details : I 2 Il6 ON THE GRAVELS NEAR BARKING SIDE, j'l. Pebbles in patches up to 2 feet thick, mottled red I and white in places. Two or three subangular Drift -: flints, several small quartz pebbles up to \ inch longest diameter. 1^2. Loamy reddish sand, 4 feet. Bagshot ("3. Sand yellow with a layer of white clay i foot. Sand \\. Yellow sand, 2 feet. This section was on the patch mapped " Hill Gravel of doubtful age." I should be inclined to call it a I're-Glacial Hill Gravel.^ Patches of Boulder Clay and Loam belonging to the Glacial Formation are mapped at Chigwell Row (266 feet O.I).), and on the slopes of the hill below are some small patches of gravel. Then we come to the large patch on which Barking Side stands. It is described by Mr. Whitaker {op. cit. p. 410) as one of several detached masses of a high terrace of River Drift " separated from the rather lower sheet to the south by an outcrop of London Clay, partly very narrow." He adds that this " large mass stretches irregu- larly eastward from near the Roding, opposite Wanstead, by Barking Side and Aldborough to the south-eastern part of what used to be Hainault Forest by Padnal Gate, and northward to Fairlop Plain. It seemed as if the London Clay came up through the gravel in places, as half-a-mile and more south-westward of Barking Side, between that village and xVldborough and round Aldborough Gate." This gravel is mapped as extending from a level of about 120 down to 50 feet above the sea, and there is a gravel pit at Carswell at the lower end of the patch. The section shows some 15 feet of well stratified gravel and sand. Mr. Crouch tells me that the greatest thickness of gravel is 21 feet, and when Mr. T. V. Holmes and I visited the pit on June 15th last, he showed us a place where the London Clay was being dug into below the gravel. Patches and lines of sand, sometimes rather loamy, occur occasionally. Here and there the gravel is slightly contorted and in two or three places small faults, or more probably slips, are to be seen. The gravel consists mainly of flint pebbles and subangular flints. I also noted a few fragments of Lower Greensand Chert, some, not very much, small cjuartz, and the following stones which are probably erratics derived from the Glacial Drift : I See S. V. Wood, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. 1868, vol. xxiv , p. 466; Whitaker. Geol. of Loud. vol. i , p. 297. \vanstp:ad and walthamstow, essex. 117 Large flints, very little waterworn, from the Chalk. Cherty looking stone, perhaps carboniferous. Red very hard sandstone, and brown and grey sandstones. Brown quartzite boulders — common. Purplish-grey quartzite, somewhat glassy. Large quartz pebbles or boulders, one measured 3 x i| x 1 j inches. Conglomerate or coarse grit of quartz and felspar. One pebble which I think is an igneous rock. The Barking Side patch of gravel is one of several at about 100 feet level. It may well be of much the same age as the gravel at Ilornchurch, which Mr. T. V. Holmes has described as overlying Boulder Clay (Essex Nat. vii., pp. 1-14). Below these gravel patches we find the great spread of Thames Gravel which underlies the brickearth, in which mammalian remains and shells have been found. One cannot depend on slight differences of altitude as a conclusive test of the age of river gravels, for a river will often cut a channel and then fill it up again to a greater or less extent. Thus at Dartford we find a great thickness of gravel underlying the gravel of Dartford Heath. A magnificent section showing this was recently visited by the Geologists' Association, but as I hope that Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell will soon publish a full account of it, I refrain from entering on any details now. Mr. B. B. Woodward has also pointed out that under certain circumstances the gravel at higher levels may be newer than the gravel at lower levels in a valley.-' In the west Essex part of the Thames Valley, however, I am inclined to believe that the succession of the Drift formations is as follows, beginning with the oldest : — 1. The Pebbly Gravels of the Epping Ridge and Lam- bourne End. 2. The Gravel of Buckhurst Hill ; a few patches of gravel near Loughton. 3. The Chalky Boulder-Clay. 4. The Gravel of Hornchurch overlying the Chalky Boulder- Clay and the gravels at about 100 feet O.D, of Rom- ford and Barking Side. 5. The great sheet of gravel at Barking, Ilford, and Wal- thamstow, which is for the most part below 50 feet O.D. 6. The brickearth of Ilford, with mammalian remains, etc." 2 Proc. Geol. Assoc. 1889-90, vol. xi., p. 386. 3 See on this question T. V. Holmes, 1893, Essex Nat., vol. vii. ?. i. liB ON THE GRAVELS NEAR HARKING SIDE, A very good section in a Gravel Pit at the Parish Sewage Farm south of Wanstead Park was shown to me l)y Mr. Crouch. It is composed of somewhat coarse material (flints, quartzites, Lower Greensand chert, sarsen, sandstone, quartz, etc.), and is roughly, but evenly, stratitied. Its level is about 25 feet O.D.* In a neighbouring mass of this low level gravel, which borders the marshes of the Lea from Leyton up to the reservoirs of the East London Waterworks near Walthamstow, a series of excellent sections have been opened up during the construction of the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway. I have had the advantage of visiting these sections in company with Mr. Whitaker and Mr. T. V. Holmes, an. cit., p. 409. 5 Proc. Geol. Assoc. 1892, vol. xii , p. 338 ; Essex Nat. 1892, vol. vi., p. 97. WANSTEAI) AND WALTHAMSTOW, ESSKX. II9 and near South Ockenden, and in gravels south of the Thames at Tilehurst near Reading, on the hills above Bisham and Cookham, and on Dartford Heath. The second is a fragment of a large pebble which was found by Mr. James Baker during the excursion of the Geologists' Association to Walthamstow on May yth, 1892. It was in the gravel of the cut- ting on the railway at Stoneydown. On being broken up it was found to be composed of a very hard brownish-red quartzite, with scattered particles of a glistening mineral, probably mica, and to con- tain a number of casts and impressions of a small Brachiopod shell, Orihis hudleighensis (Dav.).'"' This shell is of Lower Silurian age. It is said to fill whole beds at May and other places in Normandy and to occur in Brittany. It has also been recorded from the quartzites near Gorran Haven, in Cornwall. It has been found in pebbles in the Triassic pebble bed of Budleigh Salterton on the south coast of Devonshire. The origin of these pebbles is doubtful, and the ques- tion has given rise to great discussion, but the best opinion seems to be that they were to a large extent derived from Cambrian and Silurian rocks which were destroyed during the formation of the English Channel. Pebbles containing this shell have been found in the Bunter Pebble Beds of Staffordshire, and are recorded from the Drift near Birmingham, Warwick, Leicester, and Nottingham. Professor Bonney showed me one which he found in Staffordshire — a whitish quartzite, full of casts of the shell in question. The place from which these pebbles were derived is uncertain, but there can, I think, be little doubt that the Walthamstow pebble was derived from a northern source.' Besides these pebbles of pink quartzite and brownish-red quartzite with fossils, which very probably are derived from the Bunter con- glomerate, many of the other quartzite and quartz pebbles found in the Thames Gravels have probably come from the same source. As to the sandstone pebbles, it was suggested by Mr. J. W. Davis that they may very likely be Coal Measure sandstone. The Lower Greensand chert, I believe, came originally from the south. The proportion varies a good deal in the different gravels. 6 See the report of the excursion by J. \V. Gregory, F.G.S., Pros. Geol. Assoc, 1832, vol. xii., p. 338 ; and also Essex Nat., vol. vi., p. g7. 7 My authorities for the above are Davidson's "Brit. Foss. Brachiopoda," vol. iv., p. 317 ; Bonney, "Geol. Mag.," 1880, vol. vii., p. 404 ; H. B. Woodward, "Geol. of Eng. and Wales," 2nd edit., 1887, pp. 75, 225, etc. I20 TF.STACELT-A SCUTULUM, SOWKUr.Y. When examining gravel pits and sections I have very frequently taken away with me a sample of the smaller stuff for examination at home, and I found the proportion of Lower Greensand chert in these samples was as follows : — Glacial Gravel, Hendon, 6"5 "/„ ; the large pit at Gray's Brickfield, from a bed which, I believe, to be under the Corbicula fluminaiisho.^, 5*5 %; Westleton Shingle, Coopersale Common, 37 % ^ Thames Gravel, Up- minster Railway, south of Back Lane Bridge, 2*9 °'„; Hornchurch Railway gravel above the Boulder Clay, 2'o"/o; Glacial Gravel, Rolstons, near Writtle, o"8 "/o ; Thames Gravel, Walthamstow Railway, o'6 % ; Glacial Gravel, Greensted Church, 0*5 "/(,. These figures seem to show that in pre-glacial or early glacial times there was a considerable flow of water from the south towards the north, unless indeed it can be shown that this chert cauie from the Lower Greensand of the north. I am not, however, at present able to find any record of such a rock occurring in the Lower Greensand north of London, but the matter requires further investigation. TESTACELLA SCUTULUM, SOWERBY. HP HE specimens of this worm-eating slug, recently exhibited at a meeting of the Essex Field Club,' have furnished the material for some experiments and called forth a paper in the " Zoologist " from our member, Mr. W. M. Webb, F.L.S.,- dealing with the way in which this highly specialised mollusc catches and swallows its prey. The first part of the paper is taken up by a review of the pre- vious accounts of the matter, which, however, tend to the formation of somewhat exaggerated and indefinite ideas on the subject. A description is then given of the writer's experiments ; he found that certain stimuli, such as the touching of the retracted anterior end of the slug by a living earthworm, or with a camel's hair brush, or again with a drop of water in the case of Testacella maiigei, Fer., gave rise 1 Essex Naturalist, vol. vii. (1893), p. 46. 2 On the Manner of Feeding in Testacella scutulum, by Wilfred Mark Webb, F.L.S, St.3nlinuation of the remarks in the present volume (ante, p. 69), we are very pleased to learn from a recent notice circulated by the Committee that this valuable collection will now be secured for the Colchester Museum. Mr. Joslin originally asked ^^2,000 for his treasures, but in the event of their being purchased for Colchester promised a donation of /'300. He has since reduced his terms to ^"1,300 nett cash, and will hand over the collection to the Committee on payment of that sum, subject to a further ;^200 being paid in four years' time at the rate of ;^S0 per annum. Of the amount immediately required upwards of ^1,100 has already been promised, and as active measures are being taken to secure the balance the Committee expect to be in a position to complete the purchase within the year of office of the present Mayor, Mr. Gurney Benham, who has taken so active an interest in the effort to secure this mag- nificent addition to the treasures of the Castle Museum. We heartily con- gratulate the Committee on the approaching success of their labours. To adapt a journalistic phrase, " other towns in Essex, please copy " ! — Ed. A Harmless Mnemonic— A useful hint was given me by an esteemed botanist at a recent meeting of the Essex Field Club, and I think it would be well to publish the idea in The Essex Naturalist for the benefit of others. In common, no doubt with many, to whom natural history is an occasional rather than a constant study, I have found that the names of plants have an inconvenient way of being edged out of my brain by the crowd of everyday matters which have to do business in that centre. The suggestion made to me was that the best mnemonic was a study of the meanings of the names as far as possible. I have applied this principle with gratifying success, and find it of great assistance, while it also adds considerable interest to the stud}^ of botany and tends to prevent, moreover, those glaring " false quantities " and mispronunciations which even fairly good botanists sometimes let slip. Who, for example, could forget that ANCIENT ENTRENCHMENTS AT UPHALF,, NEAR HARKING. 131 Cress is called Naslnrtium when he has apprehended the nasi iortiutn, or nose twisting, which its bitter flavour was supposed to excite ? Who would go on talking about "C/einutis," when he has once associated the plant with the " brush- wood " which the Greeks called /vXij/xaxt's ? And so on ; for it would be easy to quote one example after another in which the dry bones of the dead languages may be revived in the memory of the botanical student, bringing with them inter- esting scraps of folk-lore, strange old herbalist notions, and quaint fragments of bygone superstition. With the aid of a Greek lexicon, a Latin dictionary, and a good et3'mological English one, I have simply disfigured the beautiful margins of Sowerby's useful " British Wild Flowers " with notes, in a way which I heartily recommend other students to adopt, and no doubt entomologists might find the hint worth while remembering in their departments also. — X. Y. Z. ANCIENT ENTRENCHMENTS AT UPHALL, NEAR BARKING, ESSEX. By WALTER CROUCH, F.Z.S. {Vice-President). {Read on the top 0/ Lavender Mount, April 2Qih, iSg3.\ " I doe love these auncient ruynes : We never tread upon them but we set Oure foote upon some Reverend Historie." npHE earliest notice I have been able to find of these old earth- works is in the Rev. P. Morant's " History and Antiquities of Essex, 1768," Vol. I., p. 1-2, where he gives the following : " Berking. — Near the Road leading from Ilford to Berking, on the north west side of the Brook which runs across it, are the Remains of an ancient Entrenchment : one side of which is parallel with the lane that goes to a Farm called Uphall ; a second side is parallel with the Rodon, and lies near it ; the third side looks towards the Thames ; the side which runs parallel with the road itself has been almost destroyed by cultivation, though evident traces of it are still discernible. We do not hear, that any other Fortifications or remains of Antiquity, have been discovered here." Although I have carefully examined the numerous MSS. of Jekyll and Holman, now in the British Museum, no mention of a camp here occurs in any of the seventeen volumes. They form, however, only a small portion of the materials for the history of Essex collected by those writers. Gough mentions over forty volumes of MSS. by Thomas Jekyll, of Booking (i 570-1653). William Holman, of Halstead (Ob. 1730), extracted largely from those in his possession, of which he made a catalogue in 17 15, a K 2 ANCIENT ENTRENCHMENTS AT copy of which is in the British Museum (Egerton, 2382, f. 153). Some twenty to twenty-five volumes were given to the Corporation of Colchester by the Hill family, of Earls Colne, but in none of these is there any note of the camp. IMOUND AND RAIMI'AKT AT Ul'HAI.I., SEITN FROM THE RIVER KODINC;. {Dracii by H. A. Cokjidy, iSgs.) Morant mentions 400 volumes of MSS. by this writer, so it is just probable that he obtainediiis information from the Holman MSS. It is certainly curious to find that the emineiit Roman antiquary. Dr. Stukeley, w^hose great friend, the Rev. J. Sims, was vicar of the adjoining parish of East Ham, and who, by his own desire, w\as buried there,^ does not appear, so far as his published works go, to have I The following note of his burial-place was given by my friend, Mr. King, at the meeting of the Essex Arch. Soc, at EaU Ham, in 1S5Q, but being accidentally omitted from their Report, h.\s never hitherto been published. It is copied from his own MSS. in my copy of the Trans- actions. " But in the churchyard lie the remains of one whose name will be held in higher veneration by ourselves as archjeologists than any of whom I have spoken, that di-i ingu'shed antiquary, the Kev. Dr. Stukeley. He chose for the place of his interment this churchyard, selected the spjt where his body should rest, and desired that no memorial .should be erected, but that the turf should be smoothly spread over his grave. His request was complie.l with ; but though no sepulchral memorial marks the spot, he has left an imperishable name, and a monument more enduring than either stone or brass. " H. W. King, scripsit." Note of his burial in the Register : — " 1765, Mar. 9, Rev. Dr. .Stukeley, late Rector of St. George, Queens Square." He was buried on the north side of the church, and so.me years later (1776) the Rev. Joseph .Sims was, by his own wish, buried close by the spot. UPHALL, NEAR BARKING, ESSEX. 1 33; known of these earth-works, although he wrote of, amongst other Essex remains, the antiquities at Leyton, the Roman pavement dis- covered at Wanstead Park, and the Alate Temple of the Druids on Navestock Common ; the latter visited by him in 1725, and again in 1749, whilst on a visit to Smart Lethieullier, of Aldersbrook, within a mile, and even in sight of the Uphall Mound. No mention occurs either in his "Diaries and Letters," published by the Surtees Society, 1883; nor in "Magna Britannia," by Cox, 17203 Salmon's "History of Essex," 1740;- "Britannia Romana," by Horsley, 1732; nor in any early editions of Camden's "Britannia" ; Grose's "Antiquities of England and Wales," 1773; "The Anti- quarian Repertory," by Grose and Astle, 1809 ; nor are they shown on the large Map of Essex, by Chapman and Andre, 1777. The Camp is, however, mentioned in " A new and Complete History of Essex, by a Gentleman '' (P. ISluilman), 1771 ; vol. iv., p. 271, evidently copied from Morant. Again in the additions by Richard Gough, E.S A. and F.R.S. 1789,10 Camden's "Britannia," where at p. 51, speaking of the ancient entrenchments at Barking, he adds : " Whence the latter town undoubtedly had its name Berg-ing q. d. the Fortification in the Meadows. The north side of it is pretty entire— the side parallel with the road has been ploughed down." The next reference is in "The Environs of London," by Rev. S. Lysons, 1796, vol. iv., p. 57, where he gives the following account, quoting from a MSS. History of Barking, written by Smart Lethi- eullier, of Aldersbrook, in Little Ilford, about 1750."' " In the fields adjoining to a farm called Uphall, about a quarter of a mile to the north of Barking-Town, is a very remarkable ancient entrenchment : its form is not regular, but tending to a square ; the circumference is 1792 yards {i.e. one mile and 32 yards), enclosing an area of forty-eight acres, one rood, and thirty-four perches. On the north, east, and south sides it is single trenched ; on the north and east sides the ground is dry and level (being arable land), and the trench, from frequent ploughing, almost filled up; on the south side is a deep morass ; on the west side, which runs parallel with 2 He mentions that "the Rothing hitherto navigable but to Barking is lately made so to Ilford Bridge." 3 This MSS. History, from which Lysons quoted so freely, so far as the scope of his work extended, was at that time in the possession of Edward (afterwards Sir E.) Hulse, who had married Mr. S. Lelhieullier's niece, Mary, the only daughter of his late brollier Charles, who inherited her uncle's estates at Aldersbrook and elsewhere. This MSS. and ulhers were subse- quently removed to Breamore House, near Salisbury, the seat of the Hulse family, and were all unfortunately destroyed in the fire which occurred at that mansion in 1856, Froni this source, through Lyson's, we possess information of places in the Hundred of Beccntree which is of the utmost value and inlerest. The remainder is now entirely lost. 134 ANCIENT ENTRENCHMENTS AT the river Roding, and at a short distance from it, is a double trench and bank ; at the north-west corner was an outlet to a very fine spring of water, which was guarded by an inner work, and a high keep or mound of earth. Mr. Lethieullier thinks that this entrench- ment was too large for a camp ; his opinion therefore is that it was the site of a Roman town. He confesses that no traces of buildings have been found on that spot, which he accounts for on the supposi- tion that the materials were used for building Barking Abbey, and for repairing it after it was burnt by the Danes. As a confirmation of this opinion he relates that upon viewing the ruins of the Abbey Church in 1750 he found the foundations of one of the great pillars composed in part of Roman bricks. A coin of Magnentius was found also among the ruins." This record is quoted in all later works, either in full or in a modified form, such as : " The Beauties of England and Wales," 1803; "The History of Essex," by Wright, 1831-5 ; "The People's History of Essex," by D. W. CoUer, 1861, and many books of later date. The only addition we find is in Mrs. E. Ogborne's " History of Essex" (1814). She says that the Mount was then "about 94 yards round the base, and about nine in height on the side of the river," and adds: " The extent and shape are nearly the same as that at Pleshy, in this county, which Mr. Strutt describes (" Strutt's Chron.," vol. i.), 'as a full mile in circumference not far wide of the long square, with the corners gently rounded off; and of this form are the greater part of the Roman Camps discovered in England.' " On page 42 is the only view hitherto published, a pretty vignette of the Mound as it then appeared with trees growing upon it, which was drawn and engraved by her husband, John Ogborne. This is now reproduced as an illustration. Coming down to recent times, I cannot find that any plan has ever been published, except those on the Ordnance Survey Maps, on which mine is based. No investigation has ever been made, nor am I aware that any finds of pottery, coins, or implements of any kind have been found, or, at any rate, recorded, that would in any way furnish a distinct clue to its origin. Excavations would be necessary to determine this with any accuracy. Although it was visited by the Essex Archaeological Society on June 2ist, 1859, no record is preserved in their Transactions, though incidentally it is mentioned as a Roma7i Camp. On that occasion UPHALL, NEAR BARKING, ESSEX. 135 136 ANCIF.NT ENTRENCHMENTS AT the members had a cold collation in a marquee erected in the field close by, by the kindness of my friend, the late Mrs. Hunsdon, of Manor House, Little Ilford. It was also visited by the Essex Field Club on April i8th, 1885, on their return drive from Barking and Eastbury House {inde Jour, of Proc, vol. iv., p. cxlviii.). These earth-works have been familiar to me since the year i860, and I may mention that I prepared a MS. account of this camp with a measured plan in the year 1868. The notes I took at that time in my perambulation have been of the greatest use in preparing the present paper. The mound and rampart at the north-west corner are much in the same condition as then, being protected by a covering of grass, and are by far the best portion remaining. The height of the mound on the river side is about 28 feet. The continuation of the rampart has been cut away at some time, doubtless to allow access to the river. Yox the drawing of these as they now appear, taken from the north side, our best thanks are due to Mr. H. A. Cole, who made the sketch on July 25th, 1893. For the last century or more this mound has been known as " Lavender Mount," from the name of one who occupied the holding o)ite 1809, when it was taken over by Mr. Hunsdon, who was born at Bennett's Castle. Beyond the mound and ramparts on the north side, by the wall of the farm garden, traces may be seen up to the footpath stile, whereon is the Ordnance Benchmark, 28^9 ; close inside is the pond, which lies about 14 feet below. The form of the rampart may also be seen farther along (east- ward) gradually rising to the rounded corner, where the highest part is ai^out 12 feet higher than the outer ground, with a slope of 4 feet on the inner. The continuation southward, down to the first hedge, cut only by the Chase leading to the Homestead, is traceable, but only some 18 or 20 inches above the level. Beyond the hedge, towards Loxford Cottage, it can just be discerned, but gradually levels down. This portion was much higher and more conspicuous until the last fifteen or twenty years, being preserved by the grass which covered it, but it is since under the plough, and becomes more indistinct each year. In a short time, in all probability, all traces will have entirely disappeared. The levelling has also been helped by the removal of soil to fill up the irregular ground marked on the plan, from which gia\el had been taken. UPHALL, NEAR BARKINC;, ESSP:X. 137 The course of the rampart hne on the south side, and continua- tion on the west up to the mound, had already disappeared before the time of Morant ; but there can be little doubt of the track, as there is a trend of the land along the south side,^ varying from 3 to 5 1 feet, which is shown on the plan I have drawn, a reduced copy of which illustrates this account. Near Lowbrook Cottage the ground slopes gently southward towards the railway and marsh. The land at Uphall is naturally so much higher than on the other 4 This now forms the boundary line of the parishes of Barking and Great Ilford, which were divided by Act of Parliament on September 29th, 1888, the boundary stones (which were put up in March, 1890) on the east side being close by the lane a little south of Lo\ford Cottage, and on the west side near the river, about three chains north of the railway. I omitted to mark these boundaries on the plan. 13^ I'HE ESSEX FIELD CT.UB. side of the river, being some 20 feet above it, that no " wall " is needed ; but the high tides are only prevented from flooding the west bank by a river wall or "innings" about 15 feet in height, thrown up to prevent the " drowning " of the Manor Farm meadows.' From its general form and position, and by comparison with other early works, we may well conjecture that this Camp is of pre- historic origin, and was in all probability a British settlement, sub- sequently occupied by the Romans, who commonly adopted such sites for their own camps. The opinion has also been expressed that it owes its origin to the Norman Conqueror, who made the adjacent Abbey of Barking his residence until the conquered had quieted down, or the Tower of London had been built (or rebuilt) ; but this is, in the writer's opinion, extremely improbable, although he may have pitched the camp of his army during that period upon this ground. Ill conclusion, I may be allowed to say a few words as an expres- sion of the pleasure it gives me at all times to revisit this neighbour- hood, having in past years spent so many happy days in the Manor House of Little Ilford across the river, and here also, after my friend's removal to the farmhouse within this Camp. //tec oltni meminisse juvahit. — ViRGIL. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. Joint Visit of the Club and "The Sette of Chelmsford Odde Volumes" to Castle Hedingham. Wednesday, August 2nd, 1893. An exceedingly agreeable joint excursion was made on the above date to this interesting locality. The programme, or "index of proceedings" as it was termed, was divided into chapters, gastronomical, ecclesiastical, axtislic, topo- graphical, antiquarian, and botanical, and under these lieadings a. fancifully worded description was given. The conductors or directors were, Messrs. Fred Chancellor, J. P., E. A. Fitch, F.L.S., J. F., Walter Ciouch, F.Z.S., A. C. Freeman, W. Cole, F.E.S., and Mr. E. Durrant. Leaving London by train at II.7, and Chelmsford at 12. 5, the company, which numbered between sixty and seventy, arrived at their destination shortly before two o'clock. They at once proceeded from Castle Hedingham railway station to the " Bell Hotel " in the village, for luncheon. Included in the bill of fare was 5 References to these " innings " may be seen in my p.iper on "Dagenham Kreach," Essex Nat., vol. vi., pp. 157-8. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 1 39 the mysterious "Pate Herrison," prepared by Mrs. Durrant, an " odd pye " made of the homely and succulent hedgehog i^Erinaceus)^ which was partaken of by some of the party. Luncheon over, the company proceeded to tlie lane near the \^icarage to inspect the Castle Hedingham pottery, where Mr Bingham and his son, working alone and unassisted by any other hands, have for many 3'ears turned out vases, puzzle-jugs, copies of antiques, plaques, models of the old Norman keep, etc., articles of beautiful and quaint design and of peculiar colouring that have attracted the sympathetic attention of collectors and connoisseurs, and other works of more general use. In one of the rooms of Mr. Bingham's house, "Volume xxxv." (Mr. A. C. Freeman) read a paper, which was at once witty and informational, upon art pottery, and Mr. Bingham himself gave a modest little sketch of the rise and progress of his business. So much interest was manifested by the members present in the inspection of this little old-world-like factory that probably those who were absent will welcome the reproduction of the following narrative, worthy of permanent record, of a visit to the Pottery, copies of which, reprinted from the "Chelmsford Chronicle" of October 29th, 1886, were handed to the visitors : — " Castle Hedingham Pottery. " Many visitors doubtless come to Hedingham and go away again ignorant of the existence of one feature of interest which, though it cannot boast a place among the antiquities, is yet not unconnected with things antique. The Heding- ham Pottery Works will amply repay a visit. " Having determined to give the worthy proprietor a call, and to inspect the work carried on in this old-world little pottery, we enter the little gate in the lane near the A^icarage, and are immediately confronted by a small glass-fronted show case, in which are a few specimens of the articles produced in the works. We make our way along a path beneath well-laden fruit trees, and, stopping before the dwelling-house of the proprietor, ring a bell which we find outside. While waiting for the appearance of some member of the household we glance around, and on our left note an outhouse in which are specimens of the coarser kinds of ware ; on our right, through an open door, we catch glimpses of pieces of ware of a superior order. A large garden surrounds the buildings, and on an eminence at the farther end we notice a collection of primitive looking buildings, which we surmise to be the sheds in which the work of the potters is carried on. But the bell has brought to our service a female member of the potter's family, who, in answer to our inquiry for Mr. Bingham, the proprietor, politely requests us to 'follow the path to the right' (words, we afterwards think, which seem to be the keynote of all that is attempted in the private and professional life of this family of potters). The path to the right leads to a long, low building, the door of which we open, and are almost rude enough to stand and gaze at the quaint pic- ture that meets our eye before we return the courteous greeting of the proprietor, who is engaged in adding some chastely-moulded ornament to a vase standing before him. The walls of the shed and the beams seem every inch of them to be covered with texts of Scripture having reference to potters and pottery, and roughly written in chalk or on slips of paper ; with sketches embracing specimens of pottery of all times and kinds ; with copies of old and curious inscriptions. Several ancient engravings, dated 1610, of ancient Roman ware, catch the eye over a doorway leading towards the kiln. At a wheel near the entrance sits Mr. 140 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUI!. Edward W. Bingham, the eldest son of the proprietor, who seems to have devel- oped a natural aptitude for the finer and more artistic pottery work. A beautifully- formed ewer of blue Majolica ware nears completion under his careful treatment, and on a shelf behind him are finished specimens of a similar kind awaiting their transfer to the kiln. At another wheel a younger son, Richard, is forming various tiny vessels of many shapes, which he appropriately calls 'The Gem Ware,' and their use would seem to be to fill odd corners of bric-a-brac cabinets. These are the sole workers in clay in the Hedingham Pottery, all the processes being carried on by the Bingham family. Mr. Edward W. Bingham models all the articles here made, articles which vary in size from that of a child's thimble to substantial specimens of twenty or thirty inches in height or diameter. Almost everything is modelled by hand, moulds being only used for the cheaper kinds of ware. This necessarily makes the processes slow, but adds to the value of the objects so pro- duced. We glance around at some of the quaint clay vessels that stand on the shelves. Here is a collection of vases and ewers, forms of which the eye would never tire, in Majolica ware. Hard by stands a specimen in imitation of the curious ' Puzzle Jugs ' of 1670. A model of the celebrated Colchester Vase, the most perfect Roman vase kncwn, is shown us. In close proximity are several objects of a different character, in terra-cotta. Among them is a plaque of original design, containing a representation of Hedingham Castle, surrounded by scroll work, on which are written a number of his'orical facts connected with the old Norman stronghold. The old 'slip work 'prevailshere too, and a numberof incis d terra-cotta specimens in two shades are worthy of notice. Here, again, is a solitary specimen of a recent development, original in design. This is what the proprietor terras ' The Essex Jug.' It is a study in itself, and has deservedly won th2 admira- tion of visitors and collectors. Having noted these and many other pieces of art pottery, we are invited to enter the next compartment of the building, used as a drying shed and as a sort of storeroom for the utensils and materials employed in the manufacture and burning of the vessels. Here, again, one is struck with the old-world appearance of everything about the place The building is old; the implements, the tools, utensils, etc., if not old, have all an ancient appear- ance. Here stands a primitive-looking, but now rarely used, machine for forcing the clay into the form required in certain classes of work. An old-world light, too, seems to pervade the place. 'What a light for a Rembrandt! ' as an artist visitor exclaimed on entering the building one day. Here is a pile of 'seggars,' or utensils of peculiar form, in which each object is carefully set when placed in the kiln. These ' seggars,' as well as their contents, are made on the premises. At the end of the shed we arrive at the kiln— a little erection of which the archi- tect is the owner, he and his sons doing all themselves, and adopting, as far as in them lies, the styles and ideas of the Staffordshire Potteries. We are next directed to the show room which we passed on our way through the garden; Here are duplicates of the works which we noticed in their more crude state on shelves in the pottery. The specimens here, however, are in their finished slate, glazed and cclcured. On entering one's attention is instantly directed to a large plaque of some thirty inches in diameter, having on it the arms and badges of the De Veres, and which would have an imposing effect in a hall or librarj'. Another style of large-sized plaque is one with flowers and foliage interspersed with small reptiles, insects, etc., all in high relief. Large and handsome ewers, shaped after Orazia Fontana's and ether early Italian specimens, are prominent objects. Vases of rare old Babylonian shapes ; quaint Egyptian, Greek, and THE ESSEX KIF.I.D fl.Un. 141 Roman jugs ; plates from Palissy's designs ; others from choice old stoneware patterns ; more specimens of the original ' Essex Jug ' which we have before referred to, and on which appear medallions of county scenes, representations of family and borough shields, natural productions, castles, and coins, all having •reference to the county ; specimens of a rich mottled blue ware, in which elegant ewers, etc., of old French and Venetian shapes are made ; modals and historical plaques of the Castle ; a number of copies of old pottery in a rich mottled brown ware, originated by Mr. Bingham's father in 1822 ; various little articles in incised terra-cotta, of which the late Sir Henry Cole, of South Kensington, when on a visit to the little pottery, expressed his unqualified approval, and said it was 'refreshing to his e)^es ' ; terra-cotta flower vases of various sizes and shapes, including one pattern of pretty trellis-work, with trailing hops aid vines — these special pieces and many others have brought the Hedinghan:| Pottery into much repute. "While exploring and examining, under the courteous conduct of Mr. Bing- ham, ' the mister potter,' we glean some interesting facts connected with the history of Hedingham and its Castle, for the potter has been a diligent student of history and matte.s antiquarian, and his little museum of old china, coins, books, etc., proclaim him to be, as he ever has been, a diligent searcher after knowledge. We learn, too, what is more to the p )int for this article, some facts in the history of Hedingham potters and pottery, as far as they relate to the Bingham family. The Pottery Works were taken by Mr. Bingham's father some fifty years ago for the manufacture of common earthenware. Mr. Bingham, sen., was an excellent workman, an i being vigorous both in mind and body he made the native clays and their glazing his special study, with the result that he discovered some valu- able secrets, which are now benefiting his posterity. These, with a few craft traditions he had long before acquired with great trouble from old Delft and German workmen at his uncle's works at Lambeth (and in those early days of trade jealousy and mystery this was no small matter to obtain, either by love or money), formed the stock of knowledge which led his son, the present head of the works, on to his earliest studies in artwork. The Exhibition of 1851 gave a stimulus to the son, and he acquired ideas sufficiently definite to bring out his trellis work and other terra-cotta vases, which still hold their own and find a fair demand. Improving as years went on, and being about 1865 well patronised by the elite of the neighbjurhood, many of them were good enough to lend Mr. Bingham quaint specimens of pottery and costly works of good authors. The lives of Palissy and Wedgwood, with their difficulties and successes, stimulated him afresh, and a few years as sub-postmaster afforded him (as some years before a boys' school had done) some spare time and cash for experiments. He soon obtained confidence for a restart, this time as a glazed ornamental-ware potter. This was in the )-ear 1875. The material Mr. Bingham used in his manufacture was, as it now is, composed of Essex clays, deftly combined with other clays, metals, minerals, etc., in order to produce the blue and browns which have given the Hedingham productions a status. The potter's success was for a time but indifferent. Loss upon loss nearly disheartened him, until he was convinced that the hop3 of much of the profits he had looked forward 10 must be abandoned, and that he must provide materials without regard to expense. Results then gave satisfaction, but the manufacture became more select and unique, the output being confined to the works of himself and his famil}-. Mr. Bingham soon found his wares contracting a peculiarity of style. This was traceable to the want of 142 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB, capital, debarring the use of costly modern appliances, thus compelling him to use (as did the potters of old) his own natural resources. Thus Mr. Bingham and his family still dig and refine their own clay, mix their own colours, fire their own kilns, and do every necessary part of the work with their own hands. From these causes, and by imbibing ideas and styles of antiquity, the Pottery of Castle Hedingham seems to be a continuation of medieval work, as formerly carried on for the Earls of Oxford in the demesne of Hedingham Castle, the keep of which generally appears on the ware manufactured at the Pottery as a kind of trade mark. There is a charm about the Hedingham Pottery from its originality and quaintness, and we bade farewell to its maker feeling that no collector's cabinet of pottery would be complete which did not contain specimens of Hedingham ware." The fine Church was then visited, where they were very kindly received b}- the Rev. H. A. Lake, Vicar, who explained the features of principal interest. The chief portion of the Church is late Norman, or Transition, the carving being more elaborate than that at the Castle. The chancel arch especially is one of the finest pieces of work of the period to be found anywhere. The double hammer-beam roof is of much later date, and also the screen, which is an exquisite piece of carving. The fine tomb of De Vere, formerly in the centre of the chancel, is now on the north side ; and also a stone (in a glass case) bearing what is said to be a portrait of Queen Maud, wife of Stephen, which was found in a niche on the north side of the Church. The Rev. J. Harvey Bloom, curate of Springfield, then described the sepulchral monuments and heraldry, and Mr. Walter Crouch added many interesting particulars, mentioning inter alia, that a shaft of stone, curiously carved, and supposed to be a portion of the ancient market cross at Castle Hedingham, had been found supporting a beam in the cellar of the Falcon Inn. The date is circa 1120-30, and Mr. Hayward, who had made a full-sized model of it, considered it was in all probability carved by the same artist who carved the door of the Church. This model will be exhibited at the next meeting of the Essex Arch. Soc. Some ingenious archceologist hazarded the opinion that the stoup for holy water in the Church had been hollowed out from a portion of the base of the same cross, and judging from the character of the carving such a supposition might be correct. With the kind consent of Mr. and Mrs. Bevington, the present occupants, the .party proceeded to the handsome modern residence near the Castle, where, although Mr. and Mrs. Bevington were away from home themselves, they had left instructions that every hospitality should be shown to the visitors, who were accordingly entertained to an excellent tea, Miss Lake and other ladies presiding at the tables. Then the grand old Norman Keep, the ancient home of the De \"eres, Earls of Oxford from iioo to 1703, whose grey walls, built of Barnack stone, promise to " stand four-square to all the winds that blow " for centuries yet to come, was .examined by the kind permission of the owner, Mr. Majendie, and the roof also, though somewhat insecure, was ascended. In the chief apartment on tlie state floor, a noble room spanned by a huge arch, rising to a height of 21 feet, a meeting was held, when the Chairman, Mr. E. A. Fitch, gave an admirable description of the Castle and its present remains, and a short historical sketch of the family of De Vere. This was illustrated by a fine collection of engravings, plans, etc. The first De Vere in this country was Alberic, who came over with the Conqueror, " a man of good manors," no THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. J 43 doubt, for he had fourteen bestowed on him, including this at Hedingham, which he chose for his residence, and his descendants lived here for 558 years. Some contributions were made also by other speakers, including Mr. Crouch, who gave som-e notes, by way of comparison, of the Keep here with the famous Keep of Bishop Gundulph at Rochester, which it closely resembles in style and size. He showed a large view of this, and remarked that Rochester Keep, being of Caen stone, is more weathered, and lying low on the Medway banks, is not so imposing in position as Hedingham. The interior of Rochester Keep was entirely dismantled 200 years ago, but here at Hedingham the floors are still remaining, and the windows glazed. Among the exhibits, Mr. Crouch claimed to show the oldest "Volume " and " MSS." present. The former, a small quaint black-letter book, printed in Paris for the Carthusians in 1499, a fine specimen of very early printing, of the time of our Wynkyn de Worde, who was an assistant of Caxton and continued his printing ; at the end of which is seven pages of small contemporary MSS. The other was a most interesting deed written in old Court hand, dated Xth July (1534) the 26th of Henry VHI., and signed by the last prioress "Mary Banbroke, by the sufferinge of God prioress of the howse and Churche of our blessed Lady and the Holy Crosse of Hedynghm at Castell in the Counte of Essex, and the Convent of the same place." It is curious to note that her signature she writes as Prioress of Henygame, one of the common spellings of this place in the olden days. The seal, which is not quite perfect, is vesica-shaped and bears a double cross fleury voided, with delicate tree branches ; of the inscription round the device, the only part remaining is ' Ijcbljngljvim iib Cits.' ' The indenture relates to a lease of land in Stambourne called Takeleys, at ;^4 per annum, to Rob* Furmage, of Erlys Colne, Gentylman. This Benedictine convent was built and endowed by the 1st Earl of Oxford and his Countess, and in all probability stood near the present Nunnery Street, N.W. of the town, leading to Crouch Green. At the concl.ision, votes of thanks were passed to all who had contributed to the day's pleasure or information. Towards the close of the day the visitors walked over to Sible Hedingham Church, and afterwards, making for the station, left Hedingham station for home by special train at 8.30, well satisfied with their visit to this ancient spot. Visit to the Deneholes in Hangman's Wood, near Grays Thurrock, IN Conjunction with the Geologists' Association, Friday and Saturday, August nth and 12th, 1893. Several meetings of the Club have been held to examine the Deneholes, the last being on October 8th, 1887, at the close of the explorations carried on by the Club. A visit in conjunction with the Geologists' Association was held on May 9th, 1885, reports of which appeared in the " Proceedings of the Geologists' Associa- tion," vol. ix., p. 179, and Journal Proceedings, Essex Field Club, vol. iv. p. cl. Many new members of both Societies and others having expressed a desire to inspect the pits, the present meeting was arranged by Mr. T. V. Holmes, F.G.S., and Mr. W. Cole, //on. Secretary, and carried out under their superintendence, I In the enlarged Edition of Dugdale's " Monasticon " it is mentioned that no name of any Prioress is known since 1405 ; and that no seal had yet been met with. 144 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUI!. with the able assistance of iMr. Crouch. The contractor for the work was, as on previous occasions, Mr. Shipman, of Grays, and the arrangements for the descent were the same as before. Captain Whitmore, the owner of the wood, again kindly gave permission to the Club to make the explorations. He was on the spot during the visit, and took great interest in the proceedings. G cave I 'Jj •^vC'-V- Thanet Sand C^1alW T. V. U'. del Fig. I. — Hangman's Wood, No. 4 Pit. Scale i in. = 40 feet. Height of ch.inibers i5 feet except the S.E. and .S.W., which are 14 feet, .r Position of " Pipes " in roof. Trans. E.F.C. vol. iv. p. 87. In view of the many papers and reports relating to the deneholes already published in our Journal, more especially the elaborate report of the explorations carried on by Mr. Holmes and Mr. Cole for the Club in 1884 and 1887 (Essex Naturalist, i., pp. 225-276), it is not necessary to again detail at any length the known facts regarding these mysterious excavations. The following summary may be usefully given for the information of those who have not seen the report, and two diagrams of deneholes in Hangman's Wood are repeated from the " Transactions " of the Club. Thay are not quite typical as regards symmetry, but will nevertheless give a good idea of the peculiarities of the pit : — The deneholes in Hangman's Wood are more than fifty in number. They consist of narrow shafts about 80 feet deep, which give admission to the pits in the Chalk, which are from 14 to 20 feet high. The shaft is usually in or near "'SPECIAL MEMOIR" SERIES OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. PRELIM IN A RY A NNO UN CEMENT. The Council intend to publish shortly, by Subscription, a work lo be entitled THE MAMMALS, REPTILES, AND FISHES OF ESSEX: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY. {Forming Volume III. of the Special Memoirs of the Essex Field Club.) By Henry Layer, M.R.C.S., F.L.S., F.S.A., &c., Vice-President of the Essex Field Club. This work, in conjunction with Mr. Miller Christy's " Birds of Essex," issued in 1 891, as Vol. II. of the "Special Memoirs," will afford a complete and Yaluable guide to the Vertebrate Fauna of the county. The " Mammals, Reptiles, and Fishes of Essex " will be published in Demy 8vo. form (uniform with the other publications of the Club), well printed on superior paper, and handsomely bound in scarlet cloth. The price of the Yolume will probably be 7s. 6d. ; to Subscribers, 5s. ; and to Members of the Club, 4s. ; but these quotations are subject to revision. Full particulars and Prospectuses will shortly be issued. The " Bibliography of Essex," which will probably form Vol. IV. of the "Special Memoir" Series, is now in active preparation. March, 1893. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. LOCAL (ESSEX) MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, NEW LONDON ROAD, CHELMSFORD. The Establishment cf a trul}' Local Museum has always been a leading idea with the Club, and towards that end manj' specimens have been collected. The Essex and Chelmsford Museum is now incorporated with the Club, and contains many specimens of considerable interest and value. The Museum has been in existence since 1S28, and has done excellent work. The Club is, therefore, now in a position to establish a really useful Museum, to contain authentic collections to illustrate the Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, Zoology, Ethnology, Pre-historic Archaeology and Technology, etc., of ESSEX and the adjacent sea and rivers, together with an educational series of specimens and preparations to be employed for illustrative and teaching purposes. Chelmsford has been chosen as the site of the principal Museum and Library, being the County Town and occupying a central position in Essex, but it is hoped that loan and temporary collections may be arranged for in other localities in the County. Funds are now being raised to build and fit up rooms worthy of the comprehensive scope of the Museum and Library. DONATIONS OF SPECIMENS AND COLLECTIONS OF A LOCAL (ESSEX) CHARACTER are invited. They should be sent at present to Mr. W. Cole, Hon. Sec. and Director^ care of Mr. Edmund Durrant, 90, High Street, Chelmsford. A letter should precede the donation, and the Council reserves to itself the right to refuse any unsuitable specimens. The fullest details should be given of the locality, finder, and other precise information about each specimen, for insertion in the Register. The Director will be glad to give any instructions in his power to those pro- posing to collect for the Museum. The Club already possesses a very considerable Library, consisting of books, MSS., prints, photographs, etc., appertaining in any way to the County of Essex, 1 and also of scientific, antiquarian, topographical, and other literature, and every ' effort is being made to enlarge it and increase its usefulness. The Library is for the use of the members only, and such visitors as may be admitted under the regulations of the Librarians. ■ ! DONATIONS OF BOOKS, prints, maps, etc., of the classes above indicated should be sent, at present, to either of the Librarians, Mr. Edmund Durrant, 90, High Street, Chelmsford, or to Mr. A. P. Wire, at the Quarters of the Club, 8, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. I NNUAL SUBSCRIP'^ION— Members, 4s. 6d. Non-Members, 9s. Post Free. NOS. 10-12, VOL. VII.] Price 2s. [OCT.-DEC, 1893. Thi Essex Naturalist: BEING THE I JOURNAL OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB, EDITED BV WILLIAM COLE, Honorary Secretary. Conlf nts. p The Essex Field Club. Visit to the Deneholes in Hangman's Wood, in conjunction with the Geologists' Association, August nth and 12th (concluded), 145; Meeting at Boyles Court, South Weald, Warley and I)renlwood, August 19th Astronomy in 'Wanstead : A Chapter of its Past History. By Walter Crouch, F.Z.S. {With illustration) Notes on the Conference of Delegates of the Corresponding Societies of the British Association held at Nottingham, 1893. By T. V. Holmes. F.G.S The Fresh-water Algae of Essex ; a Preliminary List of Recorded Spaces. By M. C. Cooke, M.A., LL.D., A.L.S., etc The Essex Field Club. The Cryptoganiic and Botanical ^Meeting and Ordinary Meeting, Saturday, November 4th, 1893 ; The T42nd Ordinai-y Meeting, Saturday, November 25th, 1893 ; The 143rd Ordinary fleeting, Saturday, December 16th, 1S93 Notes on the Seasons of 1833, Principally in the Neighbourhood of Feistead. By J. French The late Henry William King, of Leigh. By Walter Crouch. F.Z.S. (IVith Portrait) "Locusts in Essex." Notes — Original and Selected. Otters in Essex ; P'alconida; in Essex ; Aberrations of the Common Sparrow .at Dagenham ; Feeding the Birds {with illustration) ; Birdcatchers ; Dannetts Hill ; Stulpw.ay 148 164 195 196 The authors alone are responsible for the statements and opinions contained in their respective papers. PUBLISHED BY THE CLUB, BUCKHURST HILL, ESSEX. E. DURRANT & CO., 90, HIGH STREET, CHELMSFORD. Knt. Stationers' Hal!.] Published Jan., 18J4. Communications and Advertisements should be addressed .• — The Editor of "THE ESSEX NATURALIST," 7, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. icattons of the (Essex J;iell) (Elub. All the Publications of the Club are still in print, hut Volumes I. and II. of the " Transactions " can only he supplied n'it/i complete sets, of which about 15 copies are in hand, and the price of which will soon be raised. " Transactions " and " Proceedings " (Vol " Transactions " (Vol. R'.) " Proceedings " (Vol. IV.) III.) 16 Complete Sets of the " Transactions " and published (unbound) ' Essex Naturalist," Vol. I. (unbound) Do. \'^ol. II. (unbound) Do. Vol. III. (unbound) Do. Vol. ]\''. (unbound) Do. \^ol. V. (unbound) Do. Vol. VI. (unbound) Do. Vol. VII Proceed ngs " as far 2 16 o 10 o 9 o 9 REPRINTED PAPERS. " Elephant Hunting in Essex." By Henr}' Walker, F.G.S. 006 " Report on Explorations at Ambresbury Banks." (Plates) o 3 0 " Report on Explorations at Loughton Camp." (Plates) 010 " Lichen Flora of Epping Forest." By Rev. J. M. Crombie 016 " Memoir of the late G. S. Gibson." (VVith Portrait) 006 Papers on the Protection of Wild Animals and Plants, and on the con- dition of Epping Forest, &c 006 Report on Exploration of the Essex Deneholes. (With Coloured Plates) 020 Fac-simile reproductions of " Norden's Map of Essex" (1594) o I 0 A fetu copies of other maps and plans can also he supplied. A pamphlet giving full details of the Museum Scheme of the Club, and papers on Local Museums b}^ Professor J. AY. Trail and Mr. F. VV. Rudler (Curator of the Museum of Practical Geology) has been printed, price 5d. "THE ESSEX NATCRALIST." Edited by William Cole. ] This is the organ of the Club, and the eighth volume is now being published. It contains reports of all Meetings of the Club, papers and memoirs on scientific and antiquarian subjects especially relating to Essex, and numer- ous short notes on the Natural History, Geology, Prehistoric Archaeology, &c., of the County. Suhscription : Members, free ; Non-members, 9s. per annum, post free. All communications should be addressed to the Editor, Mr. W. Cole, Hon. Secretary, 7, Knighton Villas, Buckhurst Hill. \_CoH tinned on page 3. THE ESSEX FIELD CI.UI!. M5 the centre of the ]iit, and from it, in most cases, three chambers branch out on one side and three on the other, in a kind of double-trefoil pattern. The largest chambers are those which are opposite the openings at the bottom of the shaft, and the greatest length of each cavern is that obtained by measuring the length of a straight line passing through the centre of the shaft to the ends of the oppo- site chambers. Oi iginally separate, these deneholes are so close together that the thin chalk partition between two chambers in adjacent pits has sometimes been accidentall}' fractured. Though there are, as already stated, more than fifty separate denelioles in Hangman's Wood, only five shafts are now open, the rest !ia\ing fallen in at \-arious periods. Fig. ?. — Grovind-plan o( Oer.ehole No. sliowinc ill \S?-, lam.-ige caused sul^equent to explorations The shafts are narrow, and were originally less than three feet in diameter. The geological section of each varies only in the slightest degree. The chalk appears to be l3'ing nearly flat, but the thickness of the old river gravel at the surface varies slightly, so does that of the chalk roof of the chambers ; and the heiy^ht uf the caverns, as already mentioned, is somewhat variable. The shaft of the pit (■' No. 3 " on the plan published in the Report alluded to abo\-e) by which the descent was made at the present meeting presents the following section of strata traversed : — ft. in. Old river Gravel 6 6 Thanet Sand 51 o Chalk, roof of pit 4 6 ,, height of chambers ... ... ... ... 18 o So o The oiigin and rdiso/i d'elii of these interesting [)re-historic jjits, which bear a general resemblance to those which occur at Crayford, Bexle}', and other places on the Kentish side of the river Thames, is still to some extent a matter of conjecture, in spite of the extended work carried on at a great expense by the Club in 1884 and 1887, when the accumulations of Thanet sand, chalk, and general cebris were carefully sifted to the level of some of the original floors ; but they are undoubt- edly of great age, and the general opinion is that they formed refuges, or L 146 'I'HE ESSEX FIELD CF.UI! were used for the storage of food supplies in those early times when life and pro- perty were equally insecure, and our land was frequently invaded by foreign hordes. They were ancient in the time of Henry IV., and are mentioned and figured by Camden, Blaeu, and others, some 300 years ago ; and at that time were considered of extreme antiquity. A copy of Camden's woodcut, 16 10, roughly represents the plan of those at Tilbury, and appeared, with other views and coloured plans, in the Report of the Denehole Exploration. The men were early on the ground on the Friday, but the day was largely occupied in erecting shears and tackle, and clearing out the shaft of one of the pits, marked No. 3 on the plan, which had been nearly choked by dead branches of trees, brushwood, and rubbish, during the thinning which has recently been made in the wood, the "roughs" from Grays and the neighbouring docks appar- ently finding special delight in casting down even tree trunks and branches into the shafts, and thus causing great trouble to the explorers an i damage to the pits. In consequence of this senseless damage very considerable difficulty was experi- enced in entering " No. 3 pit," and when at last, by removal of rubbish and faggots, Mr. Shipman, Junr., and Mr. Cole were enabled to crawl down by the side of the timber obstructions into the pit itself, the destruction caused was only too apparent. During the explorations in 1884, the conical mound of earth in this pit had been removed, and the pit cleared (see Report, etc., Essex Naturalist i., pp. 235-36 ).i Now we found a heap of debris, mainly lumps of chalk, and fag- gots, reaching quite to the opening of the shaft, and evidence of serious and even dangerous damage to the roof of the pit. A diagram (fig. 2) will make this clearer. The symmetry of the pit is completely destroyed, and the whole of the mass of chalk between a and b broken down. Mr. Holmes suggested that the destruction occurred in some such way as this : " The throwing down of the tree trunks, which had damaged the Thanet-sand part of the shaft to some extent, must have knocked away many masses of chalk, and have suggested to some playful idiots who descended either by this or some other shaft the entire removal of the mass of chalk between a and h by the use of the tree trunks as battering rams. It is probable that the hole, about 3 feet by 2 feet, between c and c, was the result of the concussions attending the destruction of the pillar of chalk between a and h. It shows how easily similar holes elsewhere may have been formed centuries after the disuse of the pits." It may be that the vibration caused by the forcible descent of the tree trunks may have caused the whole damage — the wilful battering down of the chalk by intruders in the pit would have been a very dangerous piece of mischief. The directors fear that No. 3 pit will not be a safe one to descend in the future. Captain Whitmore saw the damage that had been done, and expressed his intention of checking the descents of unau- thorised persons in the future, and if possible of securing the open pits against wilful injury by fencing them in. Mr. Cole and Mr. Holmes were pleased to find that the other pits bad not been damaged, and w-ere in much the same con- dition as when left at the termination of the explorations in 1887. It was very satisfactory to observe that the Thanet Sand everywhere stood well, and was unchanged, even in the shaft of "No. 11 " pit, where the chalk is very much shattered and full of cracks. And the unchanged state of the chalk in that and some other pits suggests that in places where the chalk seems to have flaked away considerably (as in the tunnel between Nos. 3 and 2 pits) the result may be I A diagram and section of this pit (one of the best examples known) will be found on Plate I., vol. iii. of Trans. Essex Field Club. THE ESSEX KIKr.l) CI.Ui;. 147 miiinly due to the agency of man, who so freely exercised his destructive powers close by On making a circuit of the workings Mr. Cole was startled at finding, coiled up at the foot of the shaft in " No. 2 " pit, (Fig. 3) a poor dog in almost the last stages of starvation. It was carefully tended and brought to the surface, and fed cautiously, and is now recovered. Curiously enough, it was not thirsty ; it must, have obtained water either from rain trickling down the shaft or by licking the moist surfaces of the chalk. Gravel Thantt ^itTid Chilk-^ -~ Orouvfl-J^lan S. Shaft Fig. 3.— Denehole (" No. 2 ") in Hangman's Wood, Essex. .See Trans. E.F.C., vol. iii.. p. 54, and IVoc. iii , p xxxvi. .?, Shaft. Scale 40 feet 10 an inch. But few members came down on the Friday, and after a hard day's work in clearing the shaft of No. 3 and making a landing-stage in that pit, the works were left for the night. Early on Saturday the pits were lighted up by candles, and cards numbered according to the plan were prepared and placed in the various pits by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Sheldon. A liberal supply of magnesium wire was also pro- vided for better showing up the more interesting features of the chambers, the various details of which were explained to the visitors by one or other of the directors throughout the day. Mr. Wire took some photographs of the best pits, L 2 14'*^ THE KSSEX riEID CLUll. :ind the work of the men und the superintendents was by no means light, as quite eighty persons descended the pits and were conducted through the workings. Our President, Mr. Chancellor, was one of the visitors, and Professor Blake, Vice-President of the Geologists' Association, was present, but did not descend. The day being exceedingly^ fine, it was indeed pleasant to ramble about the wood, to eat one's al fresco lunch among the hollows made by the caved-in dene- holes, and to watch the birds and butterflies which here abound. The difference of temperature above and below was very evident on coming up from the pits. The Rev. Linton Wilson noted as much as twenty-three degrees difference in the readings of his thermometer above and below. Many of those who descended for the first time e.vpressed surprise at the extent of the workings and the size of the pit?. A general desire was expressed that further explorations should be undertaken by the ("lub, and more of the old closed pits examined. But it would be costly work, as it would be necessary to unstop from above one or more shafts in order to allow of further 5-ubterranean galleries being made. It would not be safe to extend the workings be3'-ond their present range, unless further means of descent and ascent were provided. About seven, as the evening shadows lengthened, the pits were searched and abandoned, the last light put out, and the last man emerged from the shaft. In a few moments more the shears were lowered to the ground, the big rope un- shipped from the pulley and crab, the platform alone remaining for later removal. A sound as of "largesse" was heard among the men. The last of the compan)', with the directors, wended their way by the old British trackway to the big barn with its stone-cut crest of cockatrice and ducal coronet, and quaffed the clear icy water of the deep chalk well, and then, well pleased with the day's work, a start was made back to Grays to the Oueen's Hotel, where tea and other welcome refreshments were eagerly partaken ot before the return home. Meeting at Bovt.es CorrKT, South VVeaiji. WaklI'V, and Bkkntwooh. Saturda}', August ic)th, 1893. By the courtesy of Mr. J. F. Lescher, J. P., over forty members of the Club visited Boyles Court, near Brentwood, on this day, for the purpose of inspecting tlie interesting and valuable Hoy Collection of British Birds. The part)' — which included several ladies — met at Harold Wood Railway Station. The directors were Mr. J. E. Harting, F.L.S., Mr, Miller Christy, F.L.S., and Mr. AValter Crouch, The walk to Bo3-les Court is about two miles. It was a delightful ramble, and the party were able to saunter along in comparative coolness, and admire the charming scenery through which they passed. Over Tjder's Common they wended their way, a brief halt being made to inspect the famed mineral spring which was visited by the Clidj three years ago {inde report in The Essex Naturalist for 1890, vol. iv. p. 194, where a full account of the well is given). Growing abundantly in the well was a species of Chara. It was a matter of remark that but few butterflies could \)i seen, the only one worth men- tioning was the "Small Copper Butterfly" QPolyoinmalus plihras)^ which we wel- comed as becoming commoner in Essex. A few years ago it was scarce. Leaving the sp.ing, the party were taken through the fields, and arrived at their destination al about 3.30. rnK ESSEX i''ii;i.i> clui'.. 4'; L5u\lc.-i Court i> a coinparalivcly inoJeni mansion with recent additions, pleasantly situated, with charming views across the valley of the Weald Brook to Weald Park, Rochetts, and Dao^nams. Here they were most cordially received by Mr. and Mrs. Lescher, who had kindly provided light refreshments, which were very welcome ; and claret cup, tea, fruit, etc., were well discussed, before the more scientific work was conim'jiiced. ,*>*^ J^ JW* 'K Mine;^.\l Spuing on Tvlek's Co.m.mon. From a Dran'iii; by //. .1. Cole, June J/s/, iSgo. Passing up into the Museum, where the collection is now very nicely dis- plaj-ed, an inspection of the birds was made, and then Mr. j. E, llarting, F.L.S., editor of the "Zoologist," gave a short account of the late Mi'. Hoy, and, walking round the cases, pointed out the more inlere-ting specimens, making observations upon them and their habits. Mr. J. D. Hoy, by whom this very fine and interesting collection of birds was formed, was born in 1797, and resided at Stoke Priory, Stoke-by-Xayland, which (though close to the Essex border) is in Suffolk. He was a first-rate shot and a skilled bird-preserver. Dr. Bree has declared that "as a working naturalist he was almost unequalled in his day in this country." He collected chiefl}- upon the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and his collection therefore contains few or no Essex specimens of importance. During the latter part of his life he paid many visits to Holland and German}'. It was during one of these expeditions, when collecting mainly among swamps and marshes, that he laid the foundation ol the illness of which, at the early age of forty-two, he died on October 15th, 1839. He published little lieyond a few notes in various natural historj' periodicals, but Hewitson, Yarrell, and other writers in tie early jiarl of the century received much valuable assistance f.'-om him. On his death his collection passed into the possession of his sister, the late Mrs. Lescher, of Bo3des Court, mother of Mr. .1. F. Lescher. It is contained in 269 separate cases, which were in the entrance hall, but have been re-arranged this year in the museum on the first flojr. open- ing into the conservator}'. Although very few of the specimens are local, many of them are of consider- able historic interest The gem of the collection is, of course, the Great Auki one of the seventy-nine specimens known to exist, of which only twenty-two are 15° THE ESSEX FIELD CLUJ! in tlie British Isles (see Symington Grieve's " Great Auk," p. 77).' The nute made by Dr. Bree on this bird is, " a fine specimen well set up, tvnd in good con- dition. I had it removed and examined. The only marks upon it were No. -g-^ in red ink on the back. Prof. Newton thinks it probable it was obtained from a dealer in Hamburgh, who was the last of his trade known to have sold speci- mens." The measuremenis of the Hoy specirhen, taken outside the glass case, are as follows : — Length ... ... ... ... ... ... 26^ inches. f Length of beak 2j „ (. Greatest breadtli ... ... ... ... ... 2^ ,, Tarsi ... ... ... ... ... about 2 ,, Toes ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 ,, Carpus, to tip of wing ... ... ... ... 6.^ „ Humeral portion of ditto ... ... ... 3 ,, One of the members present at the meeting, Mr. Murray Tuke, of Saffron Walden, is the possessor of an egg of the Great Auk, a specimen mentioned first by Hewitson in his " Coloured Illustrations of the Eggs of British Birds " (1846) Grieve says that it was purchased from Reid of Doncaster, who bought it from F. Schulz, of Dresden, for £2 6s. The value of the eggs have immensely increased, of late years. No recent sales of the bird itself have occurred, but in December, 1887, an egg belonging to the Rev. H. Burney, of Woburn, Bedfordshire, was sold in Stevens' rooms to Mr. L. Field for £i6S. This specimen was one of four duplicates sold in the same rooms in 1865 by the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, and for which Mr. Burney gave £$1 los. But these prices were soon much exceeded. On March 12th, 1888, an egg belonging to Mrs. Wise (inherited from her father, Mr. Holland, who had purchased it in 185 1 for ^18 from Williams, of Vera Street, the egg coming originally from Lefevre, of Paris) was sold by Mr. Stevens to Mr. J. Gardner, of Oxford Street, acting on behalf of a collector, for the astonishing sum of ;^225. Mr. Gardner still has a coloured drawing of this egg. From these prices of the eggs some idea may be formed of the probable sale value of a good specimen of the bird should one ever come into the market. Another very interesting bird in the collection is the first British-killed specimen of the Pectoral Sandpiper (^Fringa pectoralis) which was shot on Breydon Broad on October 17th, 1830, and recorded by Mr. Hoy in the " Magazine of Natural History" for 1837 (N.S., vol. i., p. 1 16). See Stevens's " Birds of Norfolk," vol. ii., p. 367, and Babington's " Birds of Suffolk," p. 24c, where the specimen is figured. Among the rarer birds are two Ospreys, a pair of Common Kites, a Swallow- tailed Kite, a Cream-coloured Courser, and the Great Bustard (male and female) which Mr. Lescher informed us were from Wiltshire.- 1 " The Great Auk or Garefowl {Alca iinfciuiis, L.). Its History, Archaeology, and Remains.'' By Symington Grieve. (London, 1885.) 2 Mr. Harting has called attention to a curious passage in Dr. Muffett's " Health's Improve- ment ' (4to, 1655, p. 91), which has been generally overlooked by writers on British birds, but wnich testifies to the abundance of the Bustard in Wilts in the time of (Jueen Sllizabeth. Dr. Muffett, whose book was published long after his death (he died in 1590), was a pensioner of ttie Earl of Wilton, and li\ed at Bulbridge, in Wiltshire. He wrote of the Bustard, in the passage alluded lo .'ibove : "In the summer, towards the ripening of corn, I have seen h.alf a dozen of them lie in a wheatfield fattening themselves (as a deer will doe) with ease .and eating, whereupon they grow sometimes to such .a bigness, that one of them weighed .almost fourteen l^jund. ' — El). ASTRONOMY IN WANSTEAD. I5[ Fuller notices of this important collection may be found in Christy's " Birds of Essex," pp. 23 and 36, and in a series of articles by Dr. Bree in the '• Field," from September 28th to December 14th, 1867. Mr. Miller Christy then made a few remarks on the collection, and asked the members present to join in a very cordial vote of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Lescher for their kind reception, which was enthusiastically given, and responded to by Mr. Lescher. After a long examination of this Sne collection, the party left the hospitable mansion about half-past six, the walk being continued by some over Warley Common through the woods and along Thorndon Park into Brentwood, while others rambled by Warley Gap, from which a remarkably fine view (certainly one of the finest in Essex) was enjoyed over the Thames Valley and the Kentish Hills. The rendezvous at Brentwood was the " White Hart " Hotel, where tea was taken. This old inn is a very interesting example of an ancient hostelry, and is mentioned in Miller Christy's " Trade Signs of Essex," p 52 ; and two interest- ing sketches of the courtyard and corridor were published in a series of views of old Brentwood, by A. B. Bamford, in 1892. Special thanks were voted to Mr. Harting for his kind and interesting exposi- tions during trie afternoon, and the meeting dispersed. ASTRONOMY IN WANSTEAD: A CHAPTER OF ITS PAST HISTORY. By WALTER CROUCH, F.Z.S. (rke-Presuicni). (Read 16th December, iSgj.) T^HERE was a period in the past history of Essex when the study of astronomy was sedulously pursued by at least two competent observers, and the researches then made attracted the attention of all who were interested in the progress of that science. One of these observers was the Rev. William Derham, D.I)., F.R.S., Rector of Upminster from i68y to 1735, and Canon of Windsor, who even erected a platform on the tower of his church (the door leading on to which may still be discerned) to enable him to gain a more extended view whilst using his instruments. ( F/^t' Essex Naturalist, vol. ii., p. 133.) But by far the more important results were obtained in " Wan- stead Town " (as it is frequently called in old references), some nine and a quarter miles away from Upminster as the crow flies, and these form an interesting chapter of local and scientific value. Having long ago gathered together a consideral)'e amount of I'S^ AstROXOMV IN WANStEAb. material and references on this subject, I was lately induced to give an outline of this chapter in our "^Vanstead Parish Magazine," re- counting the fortunes of the astronomers of "W^anstead, and the famous Telescope and Maypole. I have since enlarged this account, trusting it may be worthy of preservation in a more permanent form. The period in which this quiet rural village attained its scit^ntific zenith was from the year 1707 to 1749. In the former year Dr. James Pound, F.R.S., had been presented to the rectorate by Sir Richard Child, Bart., of ^\'anstead House. Dr. Pound was born at Bishop's Canning, in ^Vilts, 16(19. In 1687 he went to St. Mary's Hall, Oxford, and in Februar\-, i()i)4, was at Hart Hall, and took his first degree, passing to M.A. on 6th June the same year. He subsequently studied at Gloucester Hall, and in 1697 took the degree of B.M. with a licence to practise medicine. Then he was ordained, and went out as chaplain to the settlement in Pulo Condore about 1700. In a letter of Bishop Tanner's, dated Septem- ber, 1704, in the Bodleian Library, we find : "My brother Moore has come home from the East Indies ; left our honest countryman. Dr. Pound, well .... he has a mind to come home, but the Governor tells him that if the Doctor goes, he and the rest of the company wJl not stay behind." By the rising of the Indians in 1705 the settlement was destroyed, and Dr. Pound was one of the very few who escaped, returning to England in 1706 : and in July of the next year was appointed rector of ^Vanstead. Here he lived the remainder of his life, and became well known as a naturalist, and a most competent and accurate astronomer. Among the instruments used by him was one of the large telescopes constructed by the learned philosopher of the Hague, Christian Huygens, of Zulichem, who was one of the first elected foreign members of the Royal Society of London in 1663, and had presented this telescope to the Society in 1691. The general form of this instrument, which was designed to be used without the aid of a tube, is fully described and figured in his " Astroscopia Compendiaria," quarto, The Hague, 1 684. The construc- tion (in brief) was thus : The object glass (which in the present case has a focal length of 122 feet), was fixed in a tube attached to a rod, to this rod a stout cord was fixed, the other end of which was attached to another rod with a winch to wind up the cord, and to the end of this rod the eyepiece was fixed. This eyepiece consisted ASTRONONn 1\ WANSTEAl). Hu\c,iiNs' Telescop: ioi,4. Explanation — fi b. The po'.e or masi. a. Pulley at toj) of pole, c d. Upright carrier niniiliig ill a slot bearing, c. An arm at right angles, to which is attached f f. A platform. S g. Rope attached to each end of the carrier. //. Leaden weight to balance I Cylinder containing the object-glass. K L. Rod affixed lo cylinder. M. Brass ' cup-and-ball ' joint ; the end of the cup to be placed in a hole in the platform ; the ball is attached to the rod K. N. Leaden weight, to which is attached a copper wire running to, L. End of wire, lo which the cord is affixed. O. Tube containing the eye-piece, attached to P Q. A jointed rod. K Handle lield by obserxer. S Small leaden weight. T. A winch for winding the lower end of cord. t< . \ nnm :r with notch for the cord. \' I.. TIil- 'thin silk) cord " filum tenue h.mil)\ciniiMi," X. Rest used lo steady the oljservers hands. Y. Lante-n. 154 ASTRONOMY IN WANSTEAD. of two lenses — a form which is still in use, and known as the Huygenian eyepiece. To erect this '■ Aerial Telescope " (as it was termed) a long pole was recjuired. At the top of this a pulley was fixed, over which a rope was carried ; to one end of this was attached a small travelling platform, balanced on the other side by a leaden weight, the rope being continued round to the lower end of ths platform. The rod bearing the object glass was fitted with a "cup and ball "' joint, the end of which was, when in use, inserted in a slot in the platform, which was then hauled up to any height required. Then the observer, holding the eyepiece by a jointed handle, pulled the long connecting cord of the object glass taut, using a small winder attached till the telescope was in focus, steadied his arms on a wooden rest, and was then ready to make observations. The illustration of Huygens' Telescope here given is a reduced copy of the plate in " Christiani Hugenii Zulichemii, Opera Varia 1728," p. 268, which is identical with the plate in his " Astroscopia Compendiaria," 1684. For the loan of the book from the Library of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1 am indebted to Prof. Meldola, F.R.S. Such a telescope was a marvellous instrument indeed by com- parison with those in use at that period, but being of so great a length was somewhat difificult of management ; and we cannot but admire the patience and skill required in its manipulation, and the dis- coveries thereby accruing to the science. This instrument was lent for some time to Dr. Derham, at Upminster, and in his preface to the ist edition of " Astro- Theology," 8vo, 1715, he frecjuently makes mention of Mr. Huygens glass, which he had discovered to be " an excellent glass," ^ and regrets " the w'ant of a long pole to manage it." In the 3rd edition, 1 7 19, he also mentions the return of the Huygens' glass to the Royal Society, alluding " particularly to the diligence and accuracy of my very ingenious friend the Rev. Mr. Pound, into whose hands the Royal Society have put their noble bequest (sic) of Mr. Huygens, and who is so well accommodated for raising and using that glass as to have seen (among other considerable things) the five satellites of Saturn." Strangely enough, however, no record exists or entry of the date when the Royal Society lent the telescope to Dr. Pound. I I'hie page 162, for his Latin inscription, with signature, scratched on tlie cihject-giass. ASTRONO.MV IN WANSTEAD. 155 Dr. Derham also mentions that the May Pole in the Strand'-' was offered to him, but his " incapacity of accepting the Hivour .... hath been the occasion of thit excellent glass being put into better hands." This historic May Pole, about loo ft. in height, was taken down in 1 71 7, bought by Sir Isaac Newton, Kt., and presented to Dr. Pound. It was brought down on a carriage into Wanstead in April, 1718, and set up in the Park not far from the Rectory. The exact position is now unknown, but, in my opinion, it was probably on the higher and more open ground between the Rectory and the Church. In the enlarged edition of Stow's "Survey of London," 1720, by Rev. John Strype, Vicar of Low Leyton, we are informed, " It had not long been set up there (in Wanstead) but these witty verses were fastened upon it by an unknown hand : — " Once I adorn'd the Strand, But now have found My way to POUND, In Baron Newton's land. Where my aspiring Head aloft is rear'd, T' observe the Motions of the Aithereal Herd, Here sometimes rais'd a Machine by my side. Thro' which is seen the sparkling Milk}- Tide : Here oft I'm scented with a balmy Dew, A pleasing Blessing which the Strand ne'er knew. There stood I only to receive Abuse, But here converted to a nobler Use ; So that with me all Passengers will say, I'm better far than when the Pole of May." In the account book of Dr. Pound mentioned and quoted by Prof. Rigaud,'' " Miscellaneous Works, &c., of Dr. James Bradley," Oxford qto., 1832, we find mention of the cost of raising this pole, etc. :— j; .. j. Tin and brass work for Hugen's telescope . 046 By an eye-glass for the long telescope . 026 B}- drink for men who raised the pole . 200 By several men, paid tliem ^ day's work for assisting in raising the pole . . o 17 o 2 This new Maypole, replacing one which had been erected after the Restoration, had only been set up in 1713, with two gilt balls and a vane on the top. It stood opposite Somerset House, and is supposed to have been pulled down from being in the way of the new church, St. Marj'-le-Slrand, then in course of erection. The races in the " Diinciad " took place — "Where the tall Maypole overlooked the Strand.' It is also mentioned by Bramston in his " Art of Politicks," 8vo, 1731, — " What's not destroy'd by Time's devouring Hand? 'Where's Troy, and where's the Maypole in the Strand 'i" 3 This account book was then in the possession of the Rev. Daniel Lysons, whose uncle the R^v. Samuel Peach, married Dr. Bradley's only daughter. 1717. Sept. 18. I7I8. April -5- „ May 13- „ May 16. 156 ASTRONOiNn- IN WANSTEAD. AVe learn incidentally from 1 )r. IJradley, wlu) was the nephew of 1 )r. Pound, that in 172S this ]Ma\pule was broken and useless, and can only conclude that it shared the fate of many a good staff — was chopped up for firewood. Dr. Pound married on hebruary 14th, 17 10, Sarah, the widow of Edward Farmer, P2sq., of the Manor of Canons (now Cann Hall), who died in 1715, leaving one daughter, Sarah, not two years old, who died unmarried at (Ireenwich, 1747. In October. 1722, he again married, Elizabeth, the sister of Matthew Wymondesold, the owner of The (irove, who survi\ed Jn'm. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society on ,:;olh November, 1699 ; but strangely enough did not go up for admittance till 30th July, 17 13. With ample time, in the calm seclusion which then pervaded our village, Dr. Pound, " one of the best observers in England," became known far and wide. His observatory was furnished with a transit instrument, years before the Royal Observatory possessed one. 'J he great Halley, who became Astronomer-Royal on the death of Plam- steed, used to apply to him for assistance ; and his friend, Sir Isaac Newton, was in constant correspondence, suggesting observations, and made use of the corrections he gave for determining the places of the comet of j 6ren. Cooke, Desm., t. 39, f. 4. In pools, High Beach (A.H.H.) ; Snaresl)rook. Xanthidium armatum, Tireh. Cooke, Der,ni., t. 45, f. i. In ponds, High Beach (A.H.H. ). Arthrodesmus octocornis, Ehr. Cooke, Desm., t. 47, f. 2. In ponds, Snareshrook. A. incus, Hass. Cooke, Desm., I. 17, f. 4. In ]ionds, Snares- brook. A. convergens, Ehr. Cooke, Desm., t. 47, f. 1. In ponds, Chingford ; Snareshrook. Staurastrum dejectum, Breb. Cooke, Desm., t. -19, f. i. In ponds, Snareshrook. S. cuspidatum, Breb. Cooke, Desm., t. 49, f. 5. In ponds, Snareshrook. S. orbiculare, Ralfs. Cooke, Desm., t. 51, f. 7. In ponds, Loughton. S. muricatum, Breb. Cooke, Desm., t. 54, f. 5. In pools, High Beach. S. punctulatum, Breb. Cooke, Desm., t. 54, f. 6. In ponds, Chingford ; Snareshrook. S. alternans, Breb. Cooke, Desm., t. 54, f. 7. In ponds, Snareshrook; High Beach (A.H.H.). S. polymorphum, Breb. Cooke, Desm., t. 58, f. 4. In ponds, Chingford. S. arachne, Ralfs. Cooke, Desm., t. 63, f. 4. In ponds, Snareshrook. ZYGNEMACE3;. Zygnema cruciatum, Vauch. Cooke, t. 30, f. i. In ditches, Snareshrook ; High Beach. Z, vaucherii v. sfag/ia/c, Hass. Cooke, t. 30, f. 5. In pools, High Beach. Z. anomalum, Hass. Cooke, t, 31, f. i. In pools. High Beach (A.H.H.) ; Easthorpe (E.G.V.). Var. lutescens, Hass. In pools, A\'est Bergholt Heath (E.G.V.). Spirogyra crassa, Kutz. Cooke, t. 32, f. i. In pools, Colne (E.G. v.). S. nitida, Dill. Cooke, t. t^^^ f. i. In ponds, Kelvedon (E.G.V.) ; Snareshrook. THE FRESH-WATER ALO.E OF ESSEX. 1 75 S. orthospira, Nag. Cooke, t. t,^, f. 2. In pools, Troyes Wood, near ^^'itham (E.Ci.V.). S. orbicularis, Has.s. Cooke, t. 34, f. 1. In ponds, Kelvodon ; Maldon {E.C.y.). S. bellis, Hass. Cooke, t. 3 1, f. 2. In [londs, Kehedoii ; Braxted (^E.C.W). \'ar. //^xAr///;;/, Hass. In ponds, Feering (E.G.W). S. porticalis, Vauch. Cooke, t. 35. \'ar. (jiiiui>ia, Hass. In ponds, Kclvedon (E.G.\'.) ; Epping. \'ar. i/er of locusts whicli had been fuuiid in foreign 1 82 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. hay at Ongar, There was some apprehension in that district as to whether there was any possibility of a locust plague arising there next year. He did not suppose, however, that the locust was likely to breed and thrive in a climate like ours. He had suggested to Mr. Mugleston, farmer, of East Hanningfield, who was in possession of a number of locusts, that he should send them to Mr. Cole — not with a view of having the Secretary eaten up by these voracious insects next season [laughter] — but in order that all that was possible might be found out about them. Mr. E, A. Fitch thought that there need be no apprehension of a locust plague in Essex. The specimen produced was a mature locust, and, remembering an " exhibit " (in the medical sense) of dried edible locusts at the Entomolcgical Society some years ago, in which he and Mr. Cole participated, he rather thought the Secretary would eat the locusts, instead of the locusts eating the Secretary [laughter]. Professor Meldola said it was encouraging to know that the locust was not likely to become an additional cause of agricultural depression. [These specimens of locusts are referred to in a note in the present number, see p. 196.] Rev. W. Linton Wilson exhibited specimens of the " cherry-gall " of the oak, Dryoplianla scutellaris, from Epping Forest. Mr. J.T. Cunningham, M.A., of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Plymouth, and Lecturer on Fisheries and Oyster Culture to the Essex County Council, then delivered a very able and interesting discourse on the transformations of marine animals. The lecture was illustrated by many beautiful and original slides, shown by the oxy-hydrogen lantern. Mr. Cunningham first dealt with the transformations of Jelly-fishes, and the phenomena called "Alternation of Gene- rations," or Metagenesis. He then treated of the main facts in the development of the Echinodermata — Starfishes, Sea-Urchins, and Feather-Stars (Crinodea). The transformations among the Crustacea were next described, the Zoea stages, and the remarkable " retrograde development " of the " Barnacles " and " Acorn- Shells " (Cirripedia) as studied by Darwin. The lecturer then dealt with the transformations among fishes, showing the remarkable differences in the development of the various species of flatfish, and followed with a lucid explanation of the theorj' of evolution among fishes, and the causes ;f their hereditary modification. He also alluded to the great problem of modern biology raised by the German jai'rtw^ Weismann, who holds that there is no transmission of acquired characters. The lecturer thought that the facts of metamorphosis and recapitulation could not be explained logically on this assum]i- tion. He said : We could not at present form any conception of the manner in which changes produced in the body by the conditions of life could affect the properties of the germ cells in such a way as to reproduce those changes in the offspring. For instance, the asymmetry of the e3'es in the flat fish might be caused in indi- viduals by the strains and pressures due to the new horizontal position of the fish on the sea-bottom ; but we cannot understand how the asymmetry so pro duced could become hereditary, how the change in the structure of the head could have any effect on the eggs and spejms. On the other hand, on the hypo- thesis that all hereditary changes have originated in the germ-cells, there is no reason why the older history of the race should be recapitulated in the develop- ment of the individual. On this hypothesis, the egg of the flat fish ought to THE ESSEX FIELD CLUb. 1 83 develop into a flat fish at once and directly, not into an upright symmetrical fish which afterwards changes into a flat fish. On the supposition that in some way or other the history of the individual does affect the germ-cells in such a way that they must repeat that history in the next generation, the facts of re- capitulation and metamorphosis are intelligible. On the more strictly logical hypothesis that the hereditary properties of the germ-cells are entirely indepen- dent of the fate of the soma, we can make adaptation intelligible, but not the re- capitulation of previous adaptations. Mr. Cunningham said that thus we had a logical hypothesis which could not explain the facts, and, on the other hand, an explanation of the facts which could not be deduced from any conceivable hypothesis. Prof. Meldola, in proposing a vote of thanks to JMr. Cunningham, said that the lecture to which they had just listened was, in his opinion, a most admirable illustration of scientific method, beginning as it did with the detailed and accurate record of observation, and leading up by wider and wider generalisations till they had been finally brought face to face with some of the fundamental problems of modern biology. One great feature which had struck him in listening to the lecturer's remarks was that they were being addressed by an observer of nature at first hand ; not a mere compiler from books. There was, unfortunately, much book-learning being distributed as real knowledge at the present time. With reference to the lecture itself. Prof. Meldola regretted that the lateness of the hour precluded adequate discussion of some of the very interesting and important points raised, especially towards the conclusion, when Mr. Cunningham had referred to the fundamental question of the inheritance of " acquired characters." He was glad to think that he (Prof. Meldola) had been the means of first bringing prominently under the notice of English naturalists the work of the eminent German biologist who had been a strong champion of the view that such characters were not transmitted — he referred to Prof. August Weismann, of Freiburg, whose latest utterances were embodied in a work recently published under the title of " The Germ-Plasm." Prof. Meldola thought that some of the difficulties raised by Mr. Cunningham — not against evolution as a principle, for the lecturer had unhesitatingly declared himself to be an evolutionist — but against the special Darwinian form of the theory, were more apparent than real. He thought, for instance, that the young flat fish had to pass through the ancestral phase of having eyes on each side of the head, because, at that early stage of life it was a distinct advantage for the young to lead the life of an ordinary fish, so as to become dispersed over a wide area as soon as possible after leaving the egg. For this purpose ordinary habits, entailing bilateral symmetry in the arrangement of the eyes, would be advantageous, and would therefore be retained by natural selection as an extension of an embryonic phase. When the adult settled down to a more sedentary life on the sea bottom, the present arrangement of the two eyes on the same side of the head would be more advantageous than the older arrangement. He did not feel called upon to make a confession of faith with respect to a theory which was still on its trial, and of which the confirmation or refutation w^as confessedly a problem surrounded by enormous practical difficulties. Prof. Meldola stated in conclusion that, as far as his own opinions went, he was inclined to take an opposite view to that held by their able lecturer, and to con- sider that the balance of evidence was turning in favour of Weismann's doctrine that " acquired," as distinguished from congenital, characters were not trans- mitted from parent to offspring. 184 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUli. Some discussion ensued, and remarks upon points in the lecture were made by Prof. Boulger. Mr. Cunnitighan: also replied, and a cordial %ote of thanks was accorded to him for his lecture. Some microscopical preparation^ were exhibited b\- Mr. Houston and othcij, and Mr. Webb showed specimens and ihe original drawings by Mr. \V. I. A^ ebb, o'i Tcstacella sciUicluin used in illustrating the remarks on this species in the last number of The Esse.x Natlkalist, Qvile, p. \ii). During the afternoon a Council Meeting was held in the Museum in Uuke Street, for the purpose of inspecting the Museum in the state in which it came into the charge of the Director, and to settle plans for its reorganisation and the cleaning and decoration of the rooms. The 143RD Oruinarv Meeting. Saturday, December i6th, 1893. The 143rd Ordinary .Meeting of the Club was held in the Public Hall, Loughton, at 6.30 p.m., Mr. T. \'. Holmes, F.G.S., Vke-Presidnit, in the chair. Messrs. G. A. Barraclough and James Forfar Dott were elected members of the Club. The Librarian read a long list of donations to the Library, and thanks were passed to the donors. The Hon. Secretary said that Mr. Baiters, an acknow ledged authority on the .-\lga;,and who was preparing a list of the ALarine Algte of Britain for the Trustees of the British Museum, had kindly offered to examine and catalogue the Hope Collection of Marine Algce from Harwich, the presentation of which was an- nounced at the Fungus Meeting on November 4th. The herbarium was then in Mr. Batters' hands for that purpose. The Secretary also announced that Mr. Holmes had piepared a repoit, as Delegate of the Club, of the proceedings at the Conference of Delegates of Cor- responding Societies of the British Association at Nottingham. This report would be printed in full in The Esse.x Naturalist (see pp. 164-170). Mr. L Chalkley Gould said that he had the pleasure of exhibiting a number of specimens of Woods grown in the Forest district. Mr. Gould continued : "1 need say little about them, as they speak for themselves, but I may mention that the}' were collected for me man}- years since by the late Mr. Thomas Forster (a builder in Loughton)^ and his son, Mr. George Forster. Most of them were obtained from the woods and plantations around Copt Hall. The specimens are not labelled scientifically, simply the common appellation being given, but proper botanical description can easily be added. The blocks are not cut to uniform size, but they are approximate enough to compare the weight of the specimens in each series. The laburnum is the heaviest wood shown. The oak, ash, and beech are of nearly uniform weight ; the Spanish chestnut is somewhat lighter. The specimen of box wood is a small block, or il would rank high in weight. "The grain and geneial ap|icaiance of the oak and Spani.-li thcjtnut being '.o similar, it is not surprising that architects differ as to whether the trunks ol trees forming the walls of the nave of Greensted Church are of one or of the other wood. The same question has arisen as to the material of some of the grand fifteenth century roof-timbers of various churches of our county. '• 1 may take this opportunity to suggest that when our Local Natural History Museum is formed it would l^e well to devote some space in wall cases or cabinet THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 1 85 drawers to e;ich of ihe principal limber trees. Thie comparliuent fur eacli tree might be about a loot square, and should contain specimens of: " The heart-wood, such as these blocks, oi', l.'etter still, a prujier transverse and \ertical section. " The trunk bark, showing its typical lorm. " The branch zcood, showing the bark in ito )iiutlitul appeaiaucc. " The twigs, showing the bud forms. " The leaf, of course. " The fruit, or seed vessels. " In the case of some trees other points should be shown, such a^ the beauti- ful inflorescence of the elm, the flexible inner bark of the lime, known to tom- ir.erce as " bass," and so on. " I felt much hesitation in bringing sucii an unscientific collection before the Club, but 1 was re-assured by Mr. Cole ; and if your Hon. Sec. and Council think the blocks exhibited will he uf use, till better sections can be procured, I shall be happy to present them to the Esse.K Field Club Museum." The Chairman said that the}- were much obliged to Mr. Gould for bringing his interesting exhibit, and he was sure that the Council and Curator would receive his donation with pleasure. Mr. Elliott exhibited some spikes of maii;e which had ripened that season in his garden at Woodford. It was but seldom that maize could be successfully grown in average seasons, but the prolonged hot weather of last summer had been very suitable for the plant. Mr. Cole said that maize was grown in some quantity at West Mersea, and in some seasons the yield was good. Mr. Oldham e.xhibited some specimens of Lepidoplera from the Epping Forest district, including Corycia teimrata, Platxptervx hcertula and other species. Mr. Cole exhibited, on behalf of our member, Mr. Wni. White, Curator of the Ruskin Museum, Sheffield, two splendidly illustrated botanical works, viz., AVilliam Curtis's " Flora Londinensis : or. Plates and Descriptions of such Plants as grow wild in the Faivirons of London," etc. London ; folio ; 1777 ; and Moore's Nature-printed " Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland," Folio ; London, 1857- These books haJ been sent by '\\x. White for exhibition at the Fungrs Meet- ing, but unfortunately they had not arrived in time. Mr. Crouch brought up a portrait of the late Mr. IL W. King, Hon. Stc. to the Essex .\rcha;ological Society, whose recent death they all deplored, and made a few remarks on the life work of his old friend (see notice on p. 195). ]Mr. Walter Crouch read extracts from his paper "Astronomy in Wanstead : A Chapter of its past Flistory '' (printed in the present number, see pp. 151-163). The Rev. W. C. Howell made some remarks on subjects suggested by Mr. Crouch's paper, and cxhiiiited an interesting old telescope of Gregorian construc- tion in his possession, made by J-anies Short, who was commissioned by Bradley to make a tekscope. It is 12^ inches long. The principal mirror is 2 inches in diameter, and the second one, | inch diameter. The name of the maker " James Short " is engraved at the eye end of the tube, together with the formula ''VdV8'7i ' referring to the focal length, etc., of- the mirrors. The eye-piece is Huygenian. The mirrors still retain their exquisite polish, and the definition of the telescope is sharp, and Mr. llowell has recenth' tried it on X'enus and the mnun. It is l86 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. mounted on a single leg, with vertical and horizontal movements. The maker, James Short, was born in 1710, and originally educated for the Church. He attracted the attention of Maclauren, wlio permitted him, about 1732, to make use of his rooms in College Buildings for experiments in the construction of tele- scopes. In Short's first telescopes the specula were of glass as suggested by Gregory, but he 'afterwards used metallic specula only, and succeeded in giving them true parabolic and elliptic figures. All Short's telescopes were of the Gregorian form. He died in London in 1768. Short had solved the problem of giving to metallic surfaces a perfect parabolic figure ; but so jealous was he of his secret that he caused all his tools to be burnt before his death. ^ Mr. Howell spoke of the invention of the achromatic combination, generally attributed to Dollond, but which he believed was really devised by Chester Hall, an Essex man. He also mentioned that Bradley was closely connected with Gloucestershire, his own native place, having been born at Sherbourne, at school at Northleach, and buried at Chalford, in the wide parish of Minchinhampton, celebrated in the following doggerel lines " Beggarly Bisley, strutting Strtnal. Mincinghampton and Painswick proud.' In reply, Mr. Crouch mentioned that he also had an old Gregorian of similar construction, but larger, which had been in his family for over 150 years. The definition is sharp and perfect, the metal mirrors still retaining their original high polish. The instrument is mounted with horizontal rotary, and vertical movement on a tripod brass stand, the length of the tubes being over 22 inches. The small speculum measures J inch in diameter, and the large 3 inches, with a perforation of f inch. He remarked that it was a well-established fact that the invention of the achromatic lens was made by Chester Moor Hall, of New House, Sutton, Essex, in 1733, who had several telescopes made, but never published his dis- covery. In 1757 John Dollond, F.R.S., arrived, quite independently, at the same discover^' for the correction of chromatic aberration, and put it to a practical use, secured by patent. In a subsequent trial, " Dollond v. Champness," for infringe- ment of this patent, Mr. Hall appears to have been quite indifferent, and took no part in the action ; but on certain evidence given the priority of invention was acknowledged, and accorded to him by the judge, Lord Mansfield. The earlier eye-piece of Huygens, from its construction, was to a large extent achromatic. On the motion of the Chairman, a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Crouch for his paper. Mr. John Spiller, F.l.C, F.C.S., then delivered a lecture, entitled : "A Few Facts about Colour-Blind.ness." \_Ahsh-act.'\ The structure of the eye, with its sensitive retina and " blind spot," was briefly described ; likewise the nature of white light and its resolution by the prism into a band of many coloured rays, known as the solar spectrum. Normal vision enables us accurately to identify the various tints composing this series ; but a small proportion of mankind — usually about 4 per cent, in males — is un- able to appreciate nice distinctions of colour, or even to see certain well-marked 1 For the foregoing I am indebted to Miss Gierke's " History of Astronomy " ; and to an article by David Gill, our present Astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope. — W. C. H. THE ESSEX FIELD CLUi;. 187 rays ; so that it is customary to speak of them as lieing " colour-blind." Typical cases are recorded, as those of Dr. John Dalton, of Manchester, the founder of the atomic theory in chemistry ; Professor William Pole, F.R.S., the eminent engineer, who, as a scientific man, took pains to compare his colour sensations with other persons possessing normal sight, and described his own case in a most instructive paper communicated, April, 1859, to the Ro)-al Society. The speaker produced his own certificate : " Colour \'ision. Normal " — given him after going through the tests applied in the Anthropometric Laborator}', at the recent meeting of the British Association in Nottingham. This, together with the fact that for twenty years he had been engaged in a colour factory without challenge of his capability of matching tints, proved his capacity for undertaking the examination of others, and for many years he had been in the habit of so doing when opportunities were presented. He knew a score or more of well-pronounced cases amongst his male friends, but confessed that hitherto he had failed in finding a single instance of colour blindness in woman, and it was here that he desired the aid of his lady friends to search for this defect amongst their acquaintances. The published statistics proved its rarity — only about four in a thousand — but he would like to hear of a genuine case, and said that no names need be mentioned. Railwa}' guards, engine drivers, firemen and signalmen were now periodically examined, and no officer in the Royal Navy or Mercantile Marine was appointed or promoted until he had satisfactorily undergone the imposed tests. The nature of these tests was then described : — Holmgren's wool test applied in two ways : First, the patient is requested /« i^Ar/ ow;", say, all th? greens from a mixed pile of coloured hanks ; then to iiulc/i one or more samples given as patterns. Rail- way and nautical men were tried with lanterns and shi "ting glasses at various distances. Dr. George Wilson, of Edinburgh, whose treatise on "Colour- Blindness," 1855, first awakened public attention to the necessity for such tests, used a multi-coloured fan or bundle of dyed plume?. Clerk Maxwell's colour top had been used to measure the extent of defects. Dr. Jeaffreson's rotating disc was used to match an indicated sample ; the polariscope and spectroscope were sometimes emploj-ed, and other expedients enumerated in the Royal Societ3''s 1892 " Report of the Committee on Colour-Vision." It was nut always safe to rel}' upon a system of naming colours, for everybody did not know terra cotta, turquoise, purple, russet, or lavender, nor the best of us where blue ends and violet begins. The lecturer found a pair of silk tassels, one of iron grej' and the other bright green, very useful as a preliminary test. Most colour-blind persons hesitated immediatel}', seeing no difference. The iron grey was sometimes called " crimson," and Professor Pole's experience helped us with an explanation, for he always saw the extreme red, or crimson, band of the solar spectrum as a neutral grey. Dr. J. H. Gladstone had published the fact tha' he could not distinguish certain shades of blue and green. The speaker knew a person to whom red and black were alike ; another who could not see berries on the holly, or any difference, even, between a grass lawn and gravel j)ath ; a bookbinder, who often had bound in violet to match a series in brown ; an artist, who was obliged to have his paints mixed for him, or take particular notice of the labels on his colour capsules. The late J. R. Herbert, R.A., as well as Mulready, were known to be colour-blind late in life, probably by the lenses or humours of the eye becoming yellow by age, and misleading them on to excessive indulgence in blue. Instances might be multiplied ; l)ut the fact 1 88 NOTES ON THE SEASONS OF 1 893, that concussion of the brain or any violent shock to the ner\oiis system, jaundice, and other maladies, or over-indLiIgence in tobacco impaired the colour-vision was undisputed, so that liolh congenital and contracted defects must be inquired into w herever important consequences were involved. Certain drugs, santonine and quinine, temporarily affected the sight, and the lecturer related his experiences after taking a small dose of the first-named to try whether, under its influence, he lould see the neutral grey bands of Professor Pole. The results were that all objects appeared green, or suffused with that colour, as though he looked through a pair of green spectacles, but there was no break in the solar spectrum, nor any grey bands. He warned his hearers against repeating the experiment, on account of the extiemely depressing action of the drug upon the nervous system. For published details, see Rep. Brit. Assoc, 1889, p. 518, and " Photographic News," Sept. 20, 1889. As to the possibilities of relief and cure, the lecturer stated that the " tiring " of the eyes for red, by a few minutes' contemplation of a broad surface of scarlet cloth, permitted his colour-blind friends to perceive at once a difference between grey and green. This was to be expected, but the relief was only temporary, and Dr. Edridge Green's trial of red spectacles afforded no permanent relief. The contracted disorder could be dealt with, and disappeared with the removal of the irritant cause, but congenital colour-blindness was, so far as we know at present, quite incurable. In a certain sense we could all be made to realise the dis- advantages of colour-blindness, for w-hen objects were ilbuiiinated by a salt and spirit flame (Brewster's mono-chromatic lamp) they all appeared in shades of grey, so that paintings appeared like engravings. This was illustrated by a final experiment, throwing the yellow light upon a varieci selection of coloured prints, dyed patterns, and highly-coloured objects, and then suddenl}' illuminating them, for contrast, by the light from a burning mignesium ribbon. Mr. Spiller was cordially thanked for his interesting lecture and demonstra- tions, and the meeting resolved itself into the customary conversazione, at which tea and coffee were served. NOTES ON THE SEASONS OF 1893, PRINCIPALLY IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF FELSTEAD. V,\ J. Kkl:,\CH. 'T^HE year 18193 will long be remembered for its remarkable character. In loose parlance it will, perhaps, be called ''the summer without a spring " : the year in which the spring and autumn partially interchanged, or the "year of perpetual summer." Nature has here performed an experiment which we can hardly hope to have repeated, and any notes of which should therefore be placed upon record. The long-continued drought and the absence of cloud had peculiar effect upon plants and animals, both directly and indirectly, and although many of the phenomena are to be accounted for, there PRINCirAF-LV I\ THF. NKIOHUOURHOOll OK KK.I.S I'EAD. I 8q are some which will not readily admit of an explanation. An opportunity, too, has been afforded for watching the effect of drought upon springs, and for other ohservations ronnertcd with the undergroimd circulation of water. The rainy season closed generally throughout Essex in the end of February. At Felstead the last rain fell in the early days of March, and from then till the end of June the rainfall here did not reach two inches. From observations made at Felstead School (iiindly supplied by the Rev. K. Cicpp), the total for this period was rgS inches. This prolonged drought, lasting through the spring, determined in great part the produce of plants for the whole year ; for although the autumnal summer did somewhat to redeem the losses where the drought acted adversely, in other cases it merely accentuated the favourable effect of that early spell of dry weather. As a consequence of this we have two separate sets of phenomena, one ill which there is a scarcity of produce, and the other in which the produce is much in excess. The like phenomena are observable in birds and insects, but to what extent we have no means of judging. For instance, it was noticed that the cuckoo and nightingale did not stay for their full season, and moreover the cuckoo, during the whole length of its sojourn, could scarcely make a clear note. If shortness of food was the cause, the nightingale most likely par- ticipated in the scarcity. In both cases the drought undoul)tedly acted adversely. The contrary seems to be the case with game fowls — partridge?, etc. They are described, generally, as being in excess. Although it is not possible to go much into detail, yet so many observations were noted of the peculiar behaviour of birds that we cannot but think that the effects of the season may have some temporary effect upon their distribution and numbers. We should, perhaps, not be far wrong in attributing their peculiar behaviour in some cases to some misleading phenomena which delayed or provoked the nesting-time. The case of larks may be cited as an instance. Nesting with them came late, probably in consequence of the scarcity of cover, there being but little grass. The larks sang vigorously in the last days of July, which is an exceptional occurrence. In other cases the scarcity of provision caused by the drought may have acted, as the shifts made for food by birds during early summer attracted much attention. Many species were attracted to garden produce which do not ordinarily trouble the gardener. IQO NOTES ON THE SEASONS OF 1 893, With regard to insects, we are only in a position to discuss a very few species, because the habits of so few forms have been studied with sufficient care from year to year to enable us to institute a comparison. Bees stand out as an exception, and the season has left its impress upon that exception. It may be summed up by saying that no "swarming" occurred. The wherefore of this is not known. We can only say that for some reason the queens were not prolific, and as food is known to affect the entire organism of the queen, it is probable that a scarcity of certain food brought about that untoward result. We have here a case in which local extinction might have occurred had it not been for artificial care, and some experienced bee-keepers are even now fearing the results of wintering their stocks, which are known to be weak. Wasps, on the other hand, multiplied to such an extent as to have been aptly described as a plague. The reason undoubtedly was due to the fair weather in the spring allowing almost every mother-wasp to rear a progeny. These stand on a very different footing to bees, for every mother or queen-wasp is the equivalent, in the spring, of a whole hive or stock of bees, and has to perform in her own person the functions of that entire colony. The mother - wasp may have been more or even less prolific than ordinary, but no observations have, so far as we know, been made. Hot and prolonged summers are generally looked upon as being the nursing mothers of vast swarms of aphides and other insects of an Egyptian plague character; but it is perhaps worth remarking that nothing much above the normal appears to have been noticed except in the case of wasps, and even they were local. The extreme dry weather most certainly affected a part of the molluscan fauna in a peculiar manner. In the case of land-shells the period of enforced rest was much prolonged, there being no dews at night. Whether this had a deleterious effect we do not know. Some fresh-water molluscs must have suffered a serious diminution in numbers where the ditches and ponds dried up, I watched with particular care a very small colony of Limneids {Lymncca palustris var. (orviis), which had during the past few years dwindled down to probably less than a dozen individuals. Three of these, which was all I could find, I carried to deeper water, or otherwise I feel quite sure the colony must have perished. I may mention that I saw one of these in the act of pairing with an individual of the normal type of L. palustris. This I think is a PRINCIPALLY IN THE NEIGHIIOLtrhOOD OF FELSTEAD. TQI sufificient proof of the paucity of individuals in that colony. I feel also confident in speaking of the effects in a much wider field (say Essex generally) of the drought on the above-named species of Z. palustris. This mollusc is a lover of very shallow water, and is now getting very restricted and rare in many places. The con- ditions for keeping areas of bog and marsh in Essex are becoming yearly more difficult. Starting early in March with a limited area of this kind, that area had shrunk materially by the time September was reached, and it is very problematical whether any species that might have inhabited that margin of shrinkage escaped. In ordinary years, or even in moderate droughts, the mud remains moist and protects the organisms, but this resort here failed. A land species in my neighbourhood. Helix arbustorum, requires very much the same kind of habitat, and is in a similar condition. Of three small colonies observed, one has totally failed, and a second thought to have failed in consequence of the drought. The other, though small, has resources which were denied to the others, and will probably live on. We will now turn to plant organisms, or rather to flowering plants in particular, dividing even these for the purposes of our notes into trees and herbs. In treating of both we may remark that they furnish a kind of index as to the state of the underground circulation of water and to the depth to which the drought extended. Thus, so far as trees go, there is reason to believe that they knew nothing of the lack of water at the roots, and were probably benefited by a dry atmosphere. In some meadows a very curious effect was observable. Where the land was undrained and moist the grass kept green, and contrasted strangely with the drier parts of the meadow. In one meadow at Leighs Priory so much of the grass died as to reveal the contour of some old foundations on which the original Priory was built. This I think proves that all the moisture obtained by grass and the smaller vegetation in general was obtained by an upward circulation of water acting perhaps by capillary attraction. \\'here there was a possibility of cutting off this upward circulation, as in the case of the buried foundations, the plants died. The cereal crops in those districts in which the drought was greatest have signally failed. This failure is not so well understood in the case of wheat, as it is proverbial that dry weather suits that crop, and moreover it is known that wheat strikes some of its roots 192 NOTES ON THE SEASONS OF 1893, ' beyond the reach of any drought. It may, however, be safely impHed that the lateral roots require a certain amount of moisture during the growth of tlic plant. We have mentioned that trees did not appear to suftcr. In very many cases there was a decided benefit in that an enormous crop of fruit was realized. Apple-trees were very prolific — a tree at Pjeshey yielded 36 bushels. Wild fruit was also exceedingly plentiful, among which acorns 'were conspicuous. In all these cases of excessive yield there was some proixable forecasting at the time of bloom. Oaks and elms adorned the landscape in the spring in a manner that will not be soon forgotten. The elms so far departed from the normal as to become conspicuous at a distance. These trees, how- ever, or at any rate Ulnius campestris, never ripen their fruit in F.ngland. In the uncertainty of our seasons it is interesting to iniiuire to what element of constancy we are indebted for the successful ripening of the other fruits to which we have called attention. The cause must lie with the atmosphere in the first event, that is, during the blooming time, for the soil then had not been appreciably affected. The visits of insects to the flowers I do not think can be taken into account, because in most years they find opportunity to pay those visits. The extreme and continued dry- ness of the atmosphere is, however, with us a unique phenomenon. There were no dews to spoil the pollen and no moisture to creep into the delicate mechanism of the flower so as to form a nidus on which small frosts could act. This was probably helpful in the early stage, but it is to the genial influence of the sun that we must attribute the growth of the fruit. It seems to be indeed probable that the sun's heat penetrated sufficiently deep to stimulate the roots. Certain it is that the amount of sunshine received by the trees was far" above the average. Some abnormal cases quoted in newspapers of very large apples and pears and tubers (potatoes) can hardly be accounted for except by the supposition of increased bottom heat — in the case of the potatoes in particular. We pass now to notice the weeds. These did poorly throughout the summer, and it was not until September that the seeds ger- minated, and the great army came on. They appeared, however, too late in many cases to ripen their seeds. ^^'e are generally more concerned with the local origin of the various species of weeds than with the causes which help local extinction, but it is worth noting PRINCIPALLY IN THK NEIGHBOURHOOD OF KELSTKAO. T 93 that two or three droughts spread over consecutive summers might completely extinguish certain forms. The absence of spring characters in 1893 was greatly due to the lack of weeds. There were but few l)uttercups and scarcely any daisies to enrich the brownish green tint that prevailed in the meadows. The weeds, in fact, were relegated to more congenial times. This brings us to notice more particularly how much is involved in that word "relegated." The most casual observer would have noticed in the September month a number of species that had struggled into bloom about four months after date, and he would probably have noticed that some were blooming for the second time. This means that the roots of many plants had been subjected to a great strain, and if that strain had been much intensified only the hardier ones would have survived; or, to express its equivalent in other terms, it might be said that the tendency of the season was to con- vert biennials into annuals, and all plants into perennials. Meteorologists, I believe, know of no reason why the next summer should not imitate its predecessor ; and, indeed, why anti- cyclonal conditions should not prevail for several successive summers. If such were to be the case, we should have a lesson taught to us on the flexibility of organisms. It would then become evident to all that a change of conditions involved changes of habits of plants, to say nothing else. It is these abnormal seasons that to the careful observer are the best exponents of the doctrine of specific change. In fact, one has only to take a standpoint sufficiently high, and to convert years into centuries or ages, to see that all specific and generic changes are the prototypes of proto- plasmic change; and when we can forecast the rest or direction of the one, we shall be in a position to say something of the other. These great problems are controlled or affected by the passing seasons that slip by without our notice, and die and seldom give a sign. The summer, not generally being a season of great rainfall with us, it might be surmised that the springs would not be affected much above the ordinary, and where the water-bearing stratum was of sufficient depth there appears to have been but little scarcity. The rains of summer, however, in an ordinary course keep the surface moist and the air heavily-laden with aqueous vapour — witness the dews of spring and autumn. This quantity of moisture was almost wholly abstracted this summer, and so the ground at and near the o 194 NOTES ON THE SEASONS OF 1 893. surface became much drier and hotter than usual. On very fleet springs this had a decided effect. In my own neighbourhood (Felstead) our springs circulate at a depth of about twenty to forty feet, and as the quantity of water in the river, which niight be described as wholly derived from the springs, remained constant (with one exception, to be presently noticed), we could not observe that the springs were affected. The time of greatest scarcity of river water is usually October and November, but this year no scarcity has been noticed. We therefore conclude that the present supply is due to rains preceding the drought, that is, not later than February, and we also infer that the summer rains do not materially affect these deeply-seated springs. The one exception to the normal flow of the river was due to the hot days of August. I am indebted to the miller at Felstead for the following observation : Immediately upon the advent of those few hot days there was a marked diminution in the river supply, the " head " being exhausted in about three-quarters of its ordinary time ; but on the arrival of cooler weather the full supply again returned, and this without any rain having fallen, so far as is known, within the area of drainage. This phenomenon could only have been due to the excessive evaporation caused by the sun. It is certainly very unusual to have the opportunity afforded in Essex of getting a direct measure of the influence of the sun's rays in causing evaporation. It may be here obtained to a near approximation, because the daily quantity of water passing the mill is well known, and a loss of a quarter of that quantity represents the total loss on the whole surface of the stream up to its source. This bearing but a very small proportion to the drainage area, it becomes apparent that the force of the sun's rays in causing evaporation must be very great indeed ; and it moreover shows that the quantity of water discharged by the leaves of plants must be considerable in volume. This great volume of water (escaping as vapour) and the flow of the river throughout the summer is the measure of the demand, less a small portion of the rainfall, which has been made upon the spring since last February. We are not concerned to go further into the subject here ; we have only noted the good opportunity afforded by the season to deal with some approximation with that subject. It remains to consider whether any permanent effects may result from this extraordinary summer. Our experience of the past leads us to suppose that there will be THE LATE HENRY WILLIAM KING. 195 no probability of a repetition, and as repetition is a condition of permanent effect the question is easily answered. A few points, how- ever, may be noted for subsequent observation. These are chiefly connected with deciduous trees. The great strain put upon fruit- bearing trees affected them, as we have seen, abnormally, but whether beneficially or otherwise it is hard to say. The fall of the leaf was retarded till the middle of November in many cases, and this looks as though the growth of the root had proceeded in pro- })ortion to the demands made upon it. The observations of next year, however, in that as in many cases affecting agricultural croi)s, will be the best exponent of the effects of the summer's drought of 1893. By permission o/\ [Esst'.v Arc/t. Soc. THK LATE HENRY WILLIAM KING, OF LEIGH. TT is with sorrow we have to record the death of the above gentleman, which -'■ occurred on the iSth November last, in his 78th year. Although not a member of the Essex Field Club, he was in sympathy with our work and aims and was so well known to many of our members, that a brief notice of him can scarcely be considered as out of place He was one of the founders of the Essex Arch:eological Society in 1852, and was secretar}' for the Medix'val period from that time till 1866, when he was electeJ hon. secretary and editor, a position he most ably and faithfully filled to his life's end. 196 LOCUSTS IN ESSEX. He was descended from a good Essex family ; was possessed of untiring in- dustry, patience, and accuracy, and became a most competent and learned archae- ologist and herald, especially devoted to Roman and Mediaeval antiquities. The wanton destruction of sepulchral monuments which took place in the earlier years of Church restoration, at Leigh and other places in Kssex, raised his indignation ; and in consequence he determined to visit and describe all t^e churches in the county. After over forty years" work, the results are embodied in five folio volume; of MS., Avith all the armorial bearings coloured, and this work, with an illustrated copy of Morant's Essex, containing many hundreds of his pen and ink drawings, and extra prints, are, with other valuable MS. collections, be- queathed by him to the Essex Archaeological Society To the "Transactions" of this Society he contributed nearly fifty papers, besides plates and etchings. For several years he was hon. secretary to the Antiquarian Etching Club, which existed from 1849 to 1853, and for this work alone he etched thirty-nine copper plates. He was also a constant contributor of etchings to Mr. Roach- Smith's " Collectanea Antiqua." He wrote numerous articles for " The E!ast Anglian," and other magazines and newspapers. He was also well-known as a staunch churchman, a lecturer on Ecclesiastical Art and Antiquities ; and was a fair Welsh scholar, and an enthusiastic admirer of the wild romantic scenery of Wales. For forty years he occupied a position in the Bank of England, retiring in 1877, when he returned to Leigh. His wife, who was the daughter of Mr. Jonathan Wood, of Hadleigh Castle, to whom he had been married for forty-seven years, died in 1884, and was buried in the " God's acre " of Hadleigh church. The great interest they ever took in this Early Norman church is evidenced by several beautiful stained glass windows, which were placed therein in memory of Mrs. King's parents, herself, and the wife of her eldest son. Here also the remains of Mr. King were laid to rest on the 20th of November last. WALTEi'i Crouch. "LOCUSTS IN ESSEX." A NEWSPAPER scare has recently been in circulation consequent u])on the ■^^*- discovery of considerable numbers of dead locusts in some foreign hay im- ported into the Ongar and other districts in Essex, and the subject was deemed of sufficient importance to justify a question b}^ Major Rasch in Parliament. Mr. Thompson, Editor of the " Essex County Chronicle," brought the matter for- ward at a meeting of the Essex Field Club on November 25th (p. 181), and subsequently I rec-ived a letter, accompanied with specimens, from Mr. R. H. Muglestone, of "Little Clayden's Farm," East Hanningfield. There was some doubt as to the country from which the hay was exported ; it was at first stated to come from Russia, but, subsequently, Mr. Herbert Gladstone mentioned in Parliament that the Agricultural Department had recei\ed no information of the "importation of locusts in Russian hay, and inquiry had led the President of the Board of Trade to think that the paragraphs which had recently ap- ]ieared in the newspapers were based on the fact that Argentina hay frequently contained a large number of dead locusts." 1 submitted specimens, kindly sent to me by Mr. Muglestone, to Mr. W. NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 1 97 F. Kirb}', of the Entomological Department, British Mineum, and he is of opinion that they agree with Cyrtacanthus amerkana (Drury, illustrations I, t. 46, f. :;), a Southern States of America species, which determination coincides with Mr. H. Gladstone's statement as to the source of the hay. It is extremely unlil