42
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
Miss Mansfield explained the structure of an Agaric, as an introduction to the
study of Fungi.
Mr. D. Houston gave a demonstration of many of the objects of special
botanical interest on the tables, illustrating his remarks by numerous drawings
on the black-board.
The demonstrators and lecturers were cordially thanked by the meeting for
their interesting and instructive addresses, and the meeting ended with the usual
conversazione, very many botanical and other specimens having been brought for
exhibition by members and others.
Ordinary Meeting.
Tuesday, February 21st, 1893.
The 137th Ordinary Meeting of the Club was held in the Committee Room of
the West Ham Town Hall, Stratford,1 at seven o'clock, Mr. T. V. Holmes, V.P.,
in the chair, and afterwards Mr. Walter Crouch, V.P.
Nominations of new members of the Council and officers for 1893 were
made preparatory to the Annual General Meeting.
The Secretary stated that Mr. Henry I. Coburn had kindly consented to serve
the Club in the capacity of Hon. Solicitor, in the place of the late Mr. Howard
Vaughan, and on behalf of the Council he nominated him for the post.
The following were elected members :—T. S. Dymond, F.C.S., F.I.C, Rev.
W. T. Dyne, Francis C. Martley, M.A., M.B., and Wilfred M. Webb, F.L.S.
The Secretary stated that by resolutions of the Council and the Committee of
the Museum, the amalgamation of the Essex and Chelmsford Museum and the
Essex Field Club was an accomplished fact, but that certain legal formalities had
to be complied with. At an early meeting a statement of the whole matter would
be laid before the members.
Mr. Sauze exhibited some beautifully set and mounted specimens of Diptera,
Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, etc., all caught and prepared by himself.
Mr. W. Cole exhibited a series of specimens of Hybernia aurantiaria and
H. defoliaria, taken in November last in Lord's Bushes, Epping Forest, for the
purpose of calling attention to the interesting mode of concealment adopted by
the moths. The ground in the forest at the time was thickly strewn with the
yellow and brown fallen leaves of the beeches and hornbeams. The colours in
both species of moths are various shades of yellow and golden-brown. Instead of
resting upon the trunks of the trees, or on the twigs, where, owing to the leafless
state of the trees, they would be very conspicuous, the moths settled down upon,
and often partly under, the fallen leaves, and, owing to the close similarity of
colouring between the insects and leaves, it required a sharp entomological eye to
detect the former. Although the moths were evidently very numerous, but few
could be collected in an hour by reason of the perfection of the concealment thus
afforded.
Mr. C. Oldham exhibited specimens of various kinds of rock, which he had
gathered from the heaps of ballast used in mending the roads in the Woodford
district.
Mr. Wire exhibited photographs of some beautiful pen-and-ink sketches of
1 In the circular calling the meeting it was stated that Stratford, as a place of meeting, had
been "suggested as an experiment, so as to allow County Members to attend more easily, it
being on the Main Line. Tuesday evening is also a tentative change, in order to elicit the
opinions of members. Saturday is said to be inconvenient for many evening meetings."