230 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
of illness Mr. Richard Ward, the Excursions Secretary, was unable to be
present and that he had therefore undertaken to lead the party.
Proceeding first to Ongar Parish Church the attention of the members
was drawn to some of the external features of interest ; as service was being
held it was not possible to view the interior. Hard by is Ongar Castle and a
brief resume of the history of the castle and its surroundings was given by
the leader. At the entrance to Castle Farm a footpath skirted the remains of
part of the moat and then cut across the fields to the River Roding. A
conspicuous feature of the landscape here was a large number of "Cricket
Bat Willows" (Salix coerulea) whose slightly fastigiate habit and glaucous
blue-green foliage occasioned comment from the botanists of the party.
The entomologists were soon busy, for many specimens of the Painted Lady
butterfly were seen.
Crossing the Chelmsford road close by Roding Bridge the party took a
path which followed a hedgerow for two fields and then emerged on the bank
of the Roding; here a suitable place was found for lunch. The river was
found to be of great interest because of the shoals of fish which could be seen
in its depths, the plants which grew along the brink and in the stream and
the dragonflies which hovered over its surface. Lunch was often interrupted
by the entomologists who went chasing, net in hand, after the Painted Lady
butterflies of which there was a constant procession. Many members en-
joyed the sight of a Kingfisher which flew downstream in full view.
Lunch finished, the party proceeded to Cannons Green Bridge whence,
after crossing the river, the route lay along a green lane, through the hamlet
and on to Fyfield. The great heat of the day made the cool interior of
Fyfield Church specially welcome and here the font was inspected before
the party walked on to the Gipsy Tea Rooms.
After tea a meeting was held with Mr. S. Waller in the chair, and the
following were elected to membership of the Club :
Miss F. A. Findlay, 66, The Drive, Ilford.
Miss E. Godfrey, of 17, Beacontree Road, Leytonstone, E.11.
At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Dyce commented on the insects
seen and Mr. Bernard Ward made some observations on the plants. Mem-
bers then made their way back to Ongar Station either by hired car or on foot.
Mr. Dyce reports that nine species of butterflies, three species of moths
and four species of dragonflies were noted and that three species of lepidop-
terous larvae were identified. The Orange Tip and Small Tortoiseshell
butterflies were recorded both as larvae and in the perfect state and the
outstanding feature was the great abundance of the Painted Lady butterfly
all along the route.
Mr. Howard reports that the list of sixty-eight species of plants seen in
flower is representative of the June flora of the district. Though none
of very special interest was seen, the following species are most worthy
of note : Common Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia), Rosa dumetorum,
Hemlock (Conium maculatum), Marsh Valerian (Valeriana dioica), Corn
Gromwell (Lithospermum arvense), Water Figwort (Scrophularia aquatica)
and Crow Garlic (Allium vineale).
Visit to Chalk Quarry at Grays (908th Meeting)
SATURDAY, JULY 9TH, 1949
The fine weather encouraged a good attendance and thirty-three members
and friends met at the War Memorial in Grays at 11 a.m. Going straight
to the disused quarry which was to be the site for the day's work, the party
was soon engrossed in the wealth of botanical and entomological material
characteristic of the chalk. The hot dry weather had not affected the flora