SHORT HISTORY OF ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 7
Towards the end of 1886 the Council decided to adopt a new
method of publishing the "Transactions" and "Proceedings"
of the Club, by incorporating the two in one issue ; accordingly,
in the next year, the Essex Naturalist made its appearance,
its title being due to a suggestion by Professor Meldola.
Early in 1885 a number of local "Recorders," living in
various parts of Essex, had been appointed and formed into
a committee, Mr. William White being its secretary. But the
Committee did little or nothing to justify its existence and in
May, 1887, its secretary asked that it might be discharged, which
was accordingly done.
Towards the end of 1887, Mr. Miller Christy made a proposal
to write a book on the birds of Essex and to publish it jointly
with the Club. In the following March, he presented his terms,
which ultimately were accepted by the Council, and an agree-
ment was duly drawn up. The volume appeared in 1890 as the
Club's "Special Memoir, No. 2," and soon became a classic
among county ornithologists.
In 1888 Mr. Holmes resigned the Presidentship in favour of
Mr. E. A. Fitch, C.C., F.L.S., F.E.S.
The suggestion, made nearly ten years before by Mr. Miller
Christy, that the Chelmsford Museum should be amalgamated
with the Club's collections, was in November, 1889, revived
by Mr. Cole. The Council, accordingly, appointed a Committee
to discuss terms and to draw up a scheme conjointly with repre-
sentatives of the Chelmsford Museum governing body. In
January, 1891, a scheme was presented to and adopted by the
Council, and the usual procedure followed of issuing an appeal
for funds, a public meeting being held at Chelmsford in support
of the scheme ; a sum of £2,000 was suggested as necessary to
build an entirely new Museum building, which was, at that time,
aimed at.
By Resolution passed in April, 1890, the Council appointed a
Committee to compile and publish a Bibliography of Essex.
The present writer has no record of any volume resulting from
this Committee's labours, but, as we shall see four years later, a
certain amount of work was actually done in the way of com-
pilation.
In December, 1890, the Council applied to the Essex County
Council for an annual grant for Technical Instruction, to include