OF FIELD CLUBS 169
most people : it is possible to build up, in a few years, a handy
little reference library of one's own on quite a small annual
outlay. Nor is this all ; library facilities put almost any book
within reach of anyone who desires to consult it : there are
efficient corporation and county libraries and while these institu-
tions may not possess many of the books which we are likely to
require, most books can be obtained on loan through the Central
Library scheme. Compared with the early days of our Club,
facilities for obtaining scientific literature have improved enor-
mously.
One handicap which the possession of a museum and library
has imposed on our Club is that it has caused us to settle in one
place. History teaches us that a settled existence leads to civilisa-
tion and that the nomad does not progress as fast or as far, but
I think this scarcely applies to a county field club. It has meant,
in our Club, that we have tended to remain static and to regard
West Ham as our headquarters or, in other words, we have,
become parochial. Whatever its disadvantages it would be
worth taking to a nomadic existence. I should like to see us on
the move, holding meetings, and not only field meetings, in all
parts of the county, and appointing local secretaries responsible
for the Club's welfare in different parts of Essex. It will be
objected that this means lengthy journeys and with present-day
fares, expensive ones into the bargain. That must be admitted,
but there is no reason why we should think of the membership
of meetings as immutable ; there is no reason why it should not
vary in different parts of the county ; it need not stop those who
have the time, means and inclination to attend every meeting,
from so doing, and it would put meetings within range of most of
our members. I suggest that when Club funds permit, my pro-
posal of open meetings might be interpreted broadly ; they need
not all be in West Ham. We must lose our parochial outlook
and may we lose it quickly.
If we can develop the Club on county lines, as I have just
suggested, there seems no reason why sections of the Club in
different areas of the county should not develop some degree of
autonomy and thus make the Club flexible enough to adapt itself
to local needs. This, of course, is approaching the stage of
independent clubs in various parts of the county and this is a
development I should welcome if it were built up on a sound
foundation. It could lead to an Essex Naturalists' Union, with
perhaps the Essex Field Club as the mother club. This is no
original idea ; there is the Northern Naturalists' Union, the
Yorkshire Naturalists' Union and, of course, the South Eastern
Union of Scientific Societies. If it be asked, why an Essex
Naturalists' Union when there is the South Eastern Union of