40
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
through the decease of his revered Mother. The members of the Club desire
to make known to His Royal Highness that they, in common with all Her
Majesty's subjects, share in the universal grief which the demise of their
beloved Sovereign has caused throughout the British Empire."—January 16th,
1901.
The vote of condolence was seconded by Mr. Walter Crouch, F.Z.S.,
Vice-President, and passed unanimously by the Meeting in respectful silence.
The following were elected members of the Club: Mr. H. W. Lee and
Mr. Ernest Linder, B.Sc.
Mr. F. C. Clark exhibited a small clay lamp, apparently of Roman make,
which had been found in a garden at Woodford.
In the discussion that ensued it was affirmed that no evidence of Roman
occupation had yet been found at Woodford. Mr. Crouch referred to the
Roman remains at Wanstead, which had been described in the Archaeologia.
Mr. W. Cole exhibited a fine specimen of the true "Old English"
Pheasant, shot in the Forest by Mr. Maitland, Jun., and kindly presented in
the flesh to the Museum by the Rev. J. Whitaker Maitland, Rector of Lough-
ton. Mr. Cole alluded to the rarity of this form of a well-known bird. The
usually occurring pheasant of our coverts was generally considered to be a
hybrid between the true pheasant (such as the Loughton specimen) and the
Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus torquatus).
Mr. Cole also exhibited specimens of a dark variety of the Common
Brown Rat (Mus decumanus) which had occurred very rarely in one set of out-
houses at Buckhurst Hill. It appeared to approach very nearly the form
described many years ago by Thompson as the Irish Rat (Mus hibernicus), but
which the best authorities now held to be simply a local melanic form
of the Brown Rat (M. decumanus), Mr. Cole showed specimens of the Brown
Rat, and the true Black Rat (Mus rattus) for comparison, and said that he
hoped to obtain more information and additional specimens of all the forms,
so as to be enabled to place a good series in the Club's Museum.
Prof. Meldola, in presenting on behalf of the authors a copy of Prof.
Miall and Mr. Hammond's book on the Harlequin Fly, said that in 1897
at the Toronto meeting of the British Association he had had a most
interesting conversation with Prof. Miall on the subject of the study of the
life-histories of British insects. As this seemed a subject eminently fitted for
individual observers in local Societies, Prof. Miall had, at his request, brought
the matter before the Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies,
and his remarks had been published in the Report of the Conference for
that year. The monograph now laid upon the table was an excellent
example of the kind of work that was so much needed in this country,
and he (Prof. Meldola) hoped that the appearance of the book would
have the effect that its authors desired of stimulating research in a much
neglected field.
Mr. J. P. Johnson read a paper entitled "Notes on Palaeolithic Imple-
ments from the Uphall Brickyard, Ilford, Essex." Mr. Johnson exhibited
and presented to the Club's Museum the specimens referred to in the paper
(printed in present part, pp. 52-57).