ANNUAL REPORT.
251
numerous field-botanists present at the meeting mentioned above, that the
Doctor may be spared to carry on his good work and to assist at these
gatherings for many years to come.
"The Mammals, Reptiles, and Fishes of Essex."—The final
arrangements with Dr. Laver for the publication of this book as one of the
" Special Memoirs " series were completed during the year. The Agree-
ment with the author provides that the publishing price should be 10s. 6d.
nett ; that the subscription price to the general public should be 7s. 6d. and
the subscription price to the members of the Club 6s. The Club has sub-
scribed for 50 copies at 6s. (£15), such copies not to be sold until the expira-
tion of six months from the date of publication, and then only to members
of the Club, but it has been agreed that this prohibition shall not apply to
the sale of sets of the Club's publications to non-members. The Council
have pleasure in acknowledging the kindness of the President, Mr. Howard,
who has promised to contribute £5 towards the cost of the 50 copies sub-
scribed for by the Club as above.
The book was published on March 7th. The list shows that members
of the Club have subscribed for 119 copies, a result which may be considered
satisfactory. The Council have to thank Dr. Laver for the care he has taken
in the production of the volume, which cannot fail to be of great value to
Essex Naturalists, and which will, it is hoped, be an encouragement and help
in the further study of our county animals.
In connection with the publication of this book the Council have
reduced the price, to members, of the Birds of Essex to 7s. 6d. ; the two volumes
form a complete guide to the vertebrate fauna of Essex. The special value
of such works is that they emphasise the deficiencies in our knowledge. For
instance, Dr. Laver's list of 113 Fishes hitherto satisfactorily determined as
inhabitants of the rivers and sea-board of Essex is probably far too small,
bearing in mind how much remains to be discovered with regard to the
marine fishes ; good work might be done by those living near the coast or
spending their holidays there, in the investigation of this interesting and
extremely important class of animals, and the Council strongly recommend
the subject to the attention of members having opportunities for observation.
The Club's Local (County) Museum.—Very important develop-
ments have taken place with regard to the Club's County Museum. The
conditions under which an offer was made to the Corporation of Chelmsford,
together with a statement of the position of affairs were fully set out in the
last Annual Report (Essex Naturalist Vol. X., pp. 18-20). It will be
sufficient to say on the present occasion that the Club's offer was not accepted
by the Corporation of Chelmsford. The Council then made precisely the
same offer to the Corporation of West Ham, and this offer was accepted by
that Corporation, and Mr. Passmore Edwards has generously offered to con-
tribute a sum of £2,500 towards the cost of building a suitable Museum to
contain the Club's Collections, adjoining the Technical Institute in West Ham,
on condition that the Corporation maintains the building for that purpose.
The Corporation of West Ham have accepted Mr. Edward's offer, and the
proposed Agreement between the Corporation and the Club is now being
drafted. The main conditions are (a) On the part of the Corporation : To
dedicate the building to the purposes of a Museum of Local (Essex) Natural
History and Archaeology ; to warm, light, and provide for the care-taking of