68 THE PAST AND FUTURE OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
larger number live outside the county than in other parts of Essex.
Were our meeting place changed to Stratford, Romford, Brentwood,
or elsewhere on the main line, our Epping Forest members would
lose, and our members from other counties would not gain, as regards
ease of access, while many would feel that an unattractive spot had
been preferred to the pleasantest region of Essex. It is certainly
singular that we have at present so few members from the district
between Stratford and Brentwood, for a society occupying itself with
the objects of interest in Essex must necessarily have special attrac-
tions for the inhabitants of that county, whether they are able to
attend its meetings or only to read its "Transactions." From the
remoter parts of Essex our members, though few in numbers, are of
high average as regards quality. Everything seems to me to point
to the neighbourhood of our present headquarters as the fittest for
our permanent habitation. And when the prolongation of the Epping
and Ongar Railway to Chelmsford shall be accomplished, we shall
gain the additional advantage of easy access to the remoter parts of
Essex from the Epping Forest district, the want of which now consti-
tutes its sole defect.
But in addition to hesitation as to locality, another reason obliging
the postponement of schemes for providing permanent headquarters
has hitherto been the want of a sufficient body of members whose
subscriptions could be relied upon for their maintenance. All
young scientific societies contain many members who, though an
addition to the bulk of an association, do not increase its strength.
After a year's membership they frequently leave their subscriptions
unpaid, and put aside, unnoticed, applications from the treasurer,
though they do not return the circulars and publications sent in
reliance on their subscriptions. In our own case the number of non-
paying members has hitherto been so great that but for the special
effort already mentioned, the "Transactions" just issued could not
have been published at all. Now it is of the utmost importance to the
governing body of the Field Club to know upon what sum they can
depend. And it must be remembered that it is impossible for them,
in the case of a young society like ours, to estimate beforehand
what proportion the paying members will bear to the "bogus"
variety, or, consequently, what expenditure they are justified in
incurring for the development of the Field Club and the furtherance
of its aims.
On the other hand, I think no similar society, at our age, can