36
ANNUAL REPORT.
collection of fishes and reptiles, crustacea, and insects, &c. A full report of
the opening ceremony has been already printed in the Essex Naturalist
(vol. xi., pp. 319-331)
A series of Handbooks to the different collections in the Museum has
already been commenced. One on the scope and business details of the
Museum was prepared by the Curator, and contains a portrait of Mr. Pass-
more Edwards; Mr. Dalton has written one on the collection of Crag Fossils,
and Mr. Reader on the Prehistoric Collections. To these gentlemen the
Council tender their warmest thanks. It is intended to continue the series as
funds will permit and the handbooks will be sold in the building at a small
price.
The Epping Forest Museum —The restoration of Queen Elizabeth's
Lodge in order to afford more space for the Museum, and to put the building
into a thorough state of repair, has now been completed. The matter is thus
referred to in the Report of the Epping Forest Committee of the Corporation
of London, received and passed by the Court of Common Council on
February 14th:—
" The additions and alterations to Queen Elizabeth's Lodge have been
completed at a cost of £1008. The restoration has given great satisfaction,
and the Museum is now in course of re-arrangement, not only in the
Banqueting Room, where it has existed for some years, but also in the
renovated 'Oak Room' on the first floor."
Of this sum of £1008 the Council of the Club contributed £50 out of the
Fund subscribed, towards the cost of fitting up a small room on the ground
floor as a Curator's room. Several meetings of the Council and Committee
have been held to consider and formulate the plans of work for the fitting up
of the Museum in an adequate manner. It is the wish of the Corporation
Committee that no high cases should be placed in the rooms. This necessi-
tated some change of plan, and it has now been decided that no general
collection of vertebrates should be exhibited, and that the upright cases and
such specimens of Vertebrata as were in the Museum (other than loan
collections) should be removed to the County Museum at Stratford. It is
intended to represent the birds, &c., in the Museum by a few cases of
"groups" similar to those in the British Museum; but these will be very
costly and must be specially provided. At the meeting held on December 8th
last, the plans were settled and agreed upon, Mr. E. N. Buxton being in the
chair. See full report in the Essex Naturalist (vol. xi., pp. 300-303). A
subscription list (which now amounts to over £100) has been started, and the
alteration and construction of cases, &c., will be taken in hand at once. At
the wish of the Corporation Committee the building is now open to the
public, but the re-arrangement of the Museum must necessarily take a long
time, and it is obviously better to reserve a full report until the work is com-
pleted. The Curator hopes to get the Museum into a fair state of complete-
ness by the spring of 1902. Meanwhile the active sympathy and support of
all our members is solicited for our Curator, whose task in organising and
arranging two large Museums is one both difficult and onerous.
Retrospective.—Inasmuch as the year 1900 completed the 21st year of
the existence of the Club, it may be useful to record a few brief notes on the
work accomplished during that period.