100 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
much effect. An extension of the weed survey is being carried on with
the co-operation of workers in all parts of the country, and assistance in
this work would be much appreciated. The information desired is:—
1. Place and County.
2. Date.
3. Soil (clay, loam, sand, peat, etc.).
4. Geological formation.
5. Manuring.
6. Crop.
7. List of Weeds:—
a. Dominant.
b. Sub-dominant
c. Distributed.
d. Occasional.
e. Scarce or rare.
8. Calcium Carbonate content of soil.
9. Any further information available.
More detailed and additional information will be gladly supplied
from Rothamsted, and it is hoped that many members of the Essex Field-
Club will find it possible to help in obtaining records.
An interesting discussion ensued, and many questions were answered
by the lecturer; and a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Dr. Brenchley.
The meeting then closed.
VISIT TO WALTHAMSTOW (543rd MEETING).
SATURDAY, 11TH MARCH, 1922.
An all-day visit to Walthamstow, in conjunction with the Gilbert
White Fellowship and the Walthamstow Antiquarian Society, was ar-
ranged for this date at the kind invitation of Mr. George E. Roebuck,
the Hon. Secretary to the last-named Society, and Librarian to the Wal-
thamstow Urban District Council. The object of the meeting was to inspect
the many places of antiquarian interest still remaining in the neighbour-
hood, and Mr. S. J. Barns, who acted as guide throughout the day, proved
to be a well of learning in respect of the various spots visited.
Brilliant spring-like weather favoured the party and added greatly
to the enjoyment of the excursion.
Just over 30 members of the conjoined societies assembled at St. James's
Street Station shortly after 11 o'clock, and proceeded to the first place
in the itinerary. The Elms, an old late 17th century house in the Lea
Valley, where, to the party grouped in the forecourt of the house, Mr.
Barns read an account of the building and its former owners; one of
these, Anthony Todd, was secretary to the postmaster-general and in his
official capacity wrote the letter to Benjamin Franklin, on 31st January,
1774, which dismissed him from his post of Deputy Postmaster-General
for America. Mr. Barns's reading of an auctioneer's account of the house
and its surroundings, drawn up when the property was advertised for
sale in 1813, provoked much amusement, and showed that the art of
"puffing" is by no means exclusively a modern one.