166
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
needles in sympathy one with the other, so that when one was moved to a letter
or word on the dial, the other, although in a distant country, at once pointed to
the same letter, and so correspondence between parted lovers could be carried on.1
Mr. A. P. Wire called attention to a letter, in the "Essex Standard" from
Dr. Bawtree, dealing with some probable underground effects of the earthquake of
1884 (see ante, p. 37).
Prof. Meldola said that Dr. Bawtree's observations were quite worthy of record.
During the preparation of the Report on the earthquake, Mr. White and himself
made special enquiry as to whether drains in Colchester had been disturbed, but
without result. It would be remembered that "Abberton House" suffered very
severely ("Report East Anglian Earthquake," p. 61), and therefore it was not at
all improbable that underground structures in the neighbourhood should be dis-
turbed. In countries subject to severe earthquakes, it was observed that disease
often appeared afterwards among the inhabitants. This was known as "Earth-
quake fever," and in all probability it arose from insanitary conditions occasioned
by the displacement and stopping up of the drains. Prof. Meldola also referred
to the Rev. A. R. Bingham Wright's letters in the "Times" and the local
newspapers, recording an earthquake shock, or shocks, felt at Stebbing and
Felstead on the morning of April 19th (see ante, p. 88). The times given for
the various observations did not agree very well, unless it was supposed that two
or more shocks occurred.
Mr. White pointed out that it was quite a common phenomenon for more than
one shock to occur, as could be seen in the list of British Earthquakes in the
"Report" (pp. 3—11).
Referring to the afternoon's tour of inspection of the Forest, the President stated
it was not proposed to bring forward any resolution on the subject. The members
had had an opportunity of seeing what had been done, and only time could show
whether the operations would have the injurious effects foretold in the newspapers,
or would result, as the forest authorities claimed, in an improvement of the
woodlands.
The Secretary read the letters of regret at inability to attend from the Verderers
and several members of the Epping Forest Committee already alluded to. Major
Mackenzie in a letter said :—"I can assure you that the Conservators have taken
the best advice to ensure the work of the Forest being carried out properly. In a
long-neglected forest such as this is, we must look to the interests of the future as
well as of the present. In order to keep the forest free from fires, the sere growth
must be cleared away, and necessarily much live undergrowth must be cleared
with it, but the result has justified the treatment."
In the course of a short discussion which ensued, Prof. Boulger (after expressing
the great regret of the meeting that no official member of the Epping Forest
Committee was present) said that what he had seen during the afternoon only
confirmed the opinions he had formed two months ago. He felt very strongly on
two points, firstly, that valuable undergrowth had been needlessly and recklessly
cleared away, and secondly, that the selection of the pollards for destruction had
been injudicious.
[Prof. Boulger then discussed several details in the management of the forest,
which he considered to be justly open to criticism. It will perhaps be the most
1 The Paper to which Mr. Browne alluded is one of Addison's, No. 241 of the "Spectator."
(December 6th, 1711). Addison borrowed this "dream at the dawn of philosophy" from Strada
(''Prolusions" lib. ii. prol. 6) and it is certainly a very remarkable example of prescience of one
of the greatest wonders of modern times.—Ed.