44
THE METEORITE OF NOVEMBER LAST.
the last photograph taken, and is considered by Mr. Marquand
a very good likeness.
His valuable herbarium and manuscript materials for a lichen-flora
of the county were, according to his direction, handed over by his
widow to Ernest D. Marquand, Esq., a botanical friend of many
years' standing.3
I am indebted to Mrs. Varenne and to "The People's News," of
April 28th, 1887, for some of the materials for this notice.
The only papers with which Varenne is accredited in the Royal Society's
Catalogue (vol.vi. p. 110) are the following, all in the third and fourth volumes
of the old series of the "Phytologist," 1848-1853 :—
1. "Occurrence of Filago apiculata near Great Braxted, Essex." Phyt. iii.,
1848, 305-6, 385.
2. "Botanical Notes on Plants chiefly growing in Essex, with Observations on
some of the Localities mentioned in Hooker and Arnott's 'British Flora,'" id. iv.,
1851, 89-94.
3. "Occurrence of Cuscuta hassiaca, Koch, near Witham, in Essex," id. iv.,
1851, 382-4.
4. "Notes on Plants observed in the county of Essex during the year 1851,"
id. iv., 1852, 544-8.
5. "Observations on OEnanthe fluviatilis, Coleman," id. iv., 1852, 673-6.
6. "Botanical Notes and Observations on Plants observed in Essex," id. iv.,
1853, 1109-15.
THE METEORITE OF NOVEMBER 20th, 1887.
AT the meeting of the Essex Field Club held on November 26th,
1887, attention was called to an "earthquake shock" or explo-
sion which had been reported from various parts of Bedfordshire,
Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and other counties as occurring
on the morning of November 20th. In the report of the meeting in
the Essex Naturalist (vol. i. p. 277) the Editor stated that a
considerable amount of information had been collected since the
meeting, showing, in the opinion of Mr. G. J. Symons, that the
phenomena observed had not been occasioned by an earthquake,
but were probably the result of the explosion in the air of a large
"bolide" or meteorite. It was promised that full particulars would
be given in a future number. Finding, however, that but few obser-
vations comparatively had been made in Essex, and that Mr. H.
G. Fordham, F.G.S., of Odsey Grange, near Royston, purposed
3 The "Cryptogamic Flora of Kelvedon,'' compiled by Mr. Marquand from the Herbarium,
and notes of Mr. Varenne, is printed in the present volume of the Essex Naturalist (pp. 1-30).
and prefixed to this are a few personal reminiscences of the botanist by Mr. Marquand,—Ed.