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THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
Old Bow Bridge was a most interesting structure for it was here (at the
straight ford or Stratford ferry) by repute that the first arched or bow bridge
was erected ; which old Leland termed "a rare piece of worke, for before the
time the like had never been seen in England" while this was described as
"very ruinous" and in need of repairs in 1366 ; and thus since the closing of
the ancient road which passed through the old ford, about a mile northward,
has formed for at least 800 years the great highway between London and our
county.
A similar view taken from the same position is reproduced on page 21 of
"The History of the parishes of East and West Ham" by Katharine Fry,
published in 1888. This picture, however, shows the Bridge after partial
demolition ; and also the wooden one which carried the traffic during the
period of reconstruction.
Mr. Howard also made some interesting remarks on the history of the
Bridge and the ancient highway into London. It was suggested that the
history of this highway and the bridges of the Lea might well form the
subject of a paper in the Essex Naturalist.
Mr. A. S. Kennard gave an account of a paper by himself and Mr. B. B.
Woodward, F.L.S., entitled "Notes on the Mollusc Paludestrina jenkinsi,
Smith, in Essex and elsewhere."
This paper is printed in the present part of the Essex Naturalist.
A cordial vote of thanks was passed to the authors for the paper,
Mr. F. Enock, F.L.S., F.E.S., then delivered a lecture announced in a
humorous syllabus as "Aquatic Autocrats and Fairies" being an account of
the results of many years close observations made by the lecturer upon the
life-histories of Insects inhabiting ponds, some of whose habits and economy
have never before been fully worked out ; while the biology of others are
entirely new to science. And the lecture may be considered as of a local
character, because Mr. Enock informed his audience that the whole of his
"material" had been collected from the ponds in Epping Forest.
The species noticed included the Great Carnivorous Water-beetle
(Dyticus) belonging to the Coleoptera, the Water-scorpion (Nepa cinerea)
Hydrometra, and the "Water-boatman" (Notonecta glauca) all belonging to the
Bugs or Hemiptera. The transformations of one of the greater Dragon-flies
(Aeschna) were demonstrated by a truly wonderful series of photographs show-
ing the gradual development of the nymph into the perfect dragon-fly. The
extraordinary habits of the minute aquatic parasitic Hymenoptera (Prestwichia
and Polynema) were also described. The illustrations were, without exception,
the personal work of Mr. Enock, who had been enabled, after years of experi-
ments, to produce unique series of photographs from the living creatures
showing the individual transformation of the eggs, larvae and nymphs into the
perfect imagoes. It is probable that such photographs indicating by movement
the development of living insects has never before been thrown upon the
screen.