THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
203
Cole, each of whom devoted a week to the work. The task of the explorers
was a very tedious and difficult one, necessitating the removal and careful
examination of immense heaps of sand and gravel which, owing to the denuda-
tion from the sides of the shafts, had accumulated in the pits. The quaint
sayings of the walrus and the carpenter were often quoted by the wearied
explorers with a lively sense of their wisdom and aptness !
At a meeting of the Committee held in "No. 3 Pit" on October 8th, it
was resolved to discontinue the explorations for the present, and Messrs. Holmes
and Cole were requested to prepare their report of the work done in 1884-7,
in order that the subject might be fully considered in the light of the information
already gained, before further attempts to solve the problem were made. The
report is now in active preparation ; it will be read at an early meeting of
the Club, and published with illustrative plans, etc., in the Essex Naturalist,
and probably also in a separate form. It is therefore unnecessary to enter
into any details here—the report will give these, with full list of contributors
to the fund, and acknowledgment of kind aid received during the progress of
the explorations. Although the work was novel, and in some respects rather
dangerous, happily no accident occurred during the whole six weeks residence
underground, but some of the timber and tools were stolen, and considerable
damage done by unauthorized visitors in the interval between the two sets of
explorations.
Field and Ordinary Meeting.
Saturday, October 8th, 1887.
In order to afford an opportunity for members and others to inspect the work-
ings in the Deneholes, a meeting was held in Hangman's Wood on the above
day. A considerable number of members and friends attended, and descended
the pits, and were shown through the chambers and workings by Mr. Holmes,
Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell, and others. At half-past five, the usual social "Tea"
was served at the "King's Arms," Grays. After which an Ordinary Meeting
(the 80th) was held, Mr. T. V. Holmes, President, in the Chair. The follow-
ing were duly elected members of the Club :—Mr. C. Edenborough and Mr.
W. H. A. Newell.
The President gave a few details as to the results of the explorations at
Hangman's Wood, upon which a brief discussion arose, in which Messrs.
Henry Walker, White, Letchford, Cole, Crouch, Royle and others took part.
Mr. White exhibited a living specimen of the "Herald-moth," Gonoptera libatrix,
which he had found in one of the Deneholes, snugly ensconced in a crevice
of the chalk, where it had evidently put up for hibernation, descending for
that purpose sixty feet of perpendicular shaft from the wood above.1
Mr. E. A. Fitch exhibited specimens of the Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis,
L., var. micrantha), and the White Melilot (Melilotus alba, Lamk.), from a
gravel-pit in a field east of Hangman's Wood; also specimens of the Wild
Marjoram (Origanum vulgare, L.) found commonly on Orsett Heath.
1 On mentioning Mr. White's observation to Mr. J. D. Hardy, F.R.M.S., he informed us
that while visiting the British Tumulus at Uley Bury, Gloucestershire, on August 22nd last, he
observed some six or eight specimens of this moth (G. libatrix) congregated in one spot on the
stone roof of one of the compartments of the tumulus. Mr. Hardy adds : "Although entrance
into the tumulus is difficult for a man, it is, of course, easy enough for moths, but it is somewhat
singular that, having made choice of the place, and having the whole of the interior at their
individual disposal, they should all have gone to the same spot. There must be, I think, some
strongly developed sense—as in ants—whereby the moths are able to trace and follow their
fellows."—Ed.