THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 241
THE 292nd ORDINARY MEETING.
Saturday, 17TH December 1910.
This Meeting was held at Stratford, the President, Mr. T. S. Dymond,
F.I.C, F.C.S., in the Chair.
New Member.—Mr. H. Scott Orr, of "Haddon," Fairfield Road,
Woodford Green, was elected.
The President announced that Professor R. Meldola, F.R.S., first
President and one of the Permanent V.P.'s. of the Club, had received the
Honorary Degree of D.Sc., at Oxford University, the announcement being
warmly acclaimed by the members present ; on the motion of Mr. Whitaker,
seconded by Mr. E. T. Newton, the meeting decided that the hearty con-
gratulations of the Club should be sent to Prof. Meldola on the honour
conferred upon him. (See ante p. 192.)
On the motion of Mr. Avery, the Secretary was requested to send
a letter of condolence to Sir Archibald Geikie, P.R.S., one of the Honorary
Members of the Club, on the recent sad loss which he had sustained by
the death of his only son.
Exhibits.—Mr. Nicholson exhibited six clutches of eggs of the House
Sparrow, showing the "odd" egg in each clutch, supposed to be either
the first or last egg laid of each "clutch." Mr. Miller Christy, while
fully recognizing the common occurrence of the "odd" egg, could offer
no scientific reason for its existence. Mr. Whitaker remarked on one pig
in each litter being commonly smaller than the others ; which pig, Mr.
Christy mentioned, was in Essex known as a "cad" (pronounced "kaid")
pig ; and Miss Jane Cole added that this was a term of endearment, known
also in Huntingdonshire, signifying "pet."
Mr. Paulson exhibited an enlarged photograph1 of a recently described
lichen, Gongylia viridis A.L. Sm., first recorded from Surrey in the beginning
of the present year (1910), and which had been lately found in Epping
Forest on the occasion of the Club's Lichen Foray on 12th November last.
The lichen was described by Miss A. Lorrain Smith in the Journal of Botany
for February 1911, and is included in the Monograph of British Lichens,
prepared by Miss Smith, and printed by order of the Trustees of the British
Museum. In Epping Forest G. viridis occurs on sandy soils round gravel-
pits, and it has since been found by Mr. Thompson in at least three localities
in the forest.
Mr. Francis W. Reader read a paper entitled "Notes on a Neolithic
Floor near Rayleigh, discovered by Mr. H. Rand," which he illustrated
by lantern photographs and followed by sundry remarks on the accom-
panying specimens of pottery and flint implements and flakes, which
evidenced, in his opinion, a stage of Neolithic culture.
Mr. Hazzledine Warren read a paper, "Remarks on the Correlation of
the above 'Floor' with similar Beds elsewhere," and followed with some
general observations on the chronology of prehistoric archaeology, illustra-
ting his remarks with lantern photographs of Neolithic implements and
pottery, found by himself at various sites on the Essex coast and else-
where.
1 The photograph has since been reproduced in Knowledge (May, 1911), together with a
description by Mr. Paulson. (Ed.) Q