THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
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those who were unaccustomed to this kind of work. Of the Tunicata, or "Sea-
squirts," the following species were recognised :— Distoma rubra, Botryllus
polycyclas, B. violaceus, Cynthia grossularia, C. quadrangularis, Ascidia intestinalis,
A. mentula, Molgula tubulosa, &c.
The Mollusca were left in Mr. Crouch's hands. He noted the following
Bivalves, mostly very common species :—Ostrea edulis, of course, remem-
bering that we were dredging over the oyster-beds ; Pecten varius (dead,
valves only) Mytilus edulis, Nucula nucleus, Cardium edule, Tapes pullastra
and Mya arenaria. Among the Univalves he found Chiton cinereus, Trochus
cinereus, Littorina rudis and L. littorea, Buccinium undatum, Nassa reticulata, and
from the stomach of a star-fish (Uraster) a specimen of the delicate little shell
Philine aperta was obtained. The only Nudibranch noticed was Eolis coronata,
the beauty of which was the occasion of much admiration.
The following species of Algae were noticed, the specimens being kindly
determined by Mr. E. M. Holmes :—Fucus vesiculosus, L., f. spiralis ; Enteromorpha
compressa, Grev. ; E. intestinalis, Link. ; E. tubulosa, Kutz. ; Gracilaria confer-
voides, Grev. ; Ralfsia clavata, Cr. ; Hildenbrandtia prolotypus, Nardo, var. b rosea
Hauck.
During luncheon (which was admirably served by Mr. J. Hardwick, of the
Queen Street Restaurant, Ipswich) the steamer lay to opposite Collimer Point,
and afterwards, under the guidance of Mr. Jolly, some members went in the boats
to inspect the oyster breeding pits in the adjoining marshes, and Mr. Jolly gave an
explanation of the methods of the culture, and showed the young oysters in all
stages of growth. In the lumps of stone at the landing-place many specimens of
the boring Mollusc, Saxicava rugosa, were observed.
Then, on deck once more, Dr. Taylor delivered, viva voce, a very interesting
lecturette, of which the following is a summary :—
The Estuaries of the Orwell and the Stour.
Most of those present were aware that the rivers and estuarine rivers of
England were not all of the same geological age. Some, like the Severn,
were exceedingly ancient; others, like the Orwell and the Stour, were evidently of
recent formation. They knew, for instance, that the river valley of the Orwell,
right away from Ipswich downwards, must be younger than the beds through
which it had cut its way. The London Clay formed the basement of the river, and
part of the cliffs on either hand ; the crag beds rested upon the London Clay, and
the upper-valley gravels crowned the top of the cliffs. Close to Wherstead there
was a bank of gravel called the lower-level valley gravel, and the conclusion to be
drawn from these facts was, that as the high-level gravels on the top of the cliffs
represented the first incipient stage of the formation of the valley, so the low-level
valley gravels showed the last stage of the carving and scoring out which had
taken place. Consequently, the river Orwell might be regarded, geologically
speaking, as one of the most recently-formed of all the great estuarine rivers of
Great Britain. Other evidence upon this point could be readily pointed out. The
low-level valley gravels were among the latest geological deposits of England. In
them were found flint implements, which showed that they had been formed
since the appearance of man upon the globe. In the river Stour, to which these
remarks also applied, at a point called Stutton Ness, there was a projection formed
of a bluff of brick earth, in which they found the remains of the Hairy Elephant,
flint chips, and an abundance of shells, the two valves together, of a freshwater