REPORT OF COUNCIL
215
the Museum notice-board, and is so arranged that one or more members
of the Club are in attendance during some part of most days when the
Museum is open. Although the Council feel that the desired standard of
upkeep and modernisation cannot be attained until regular paid expert
staff can be appointed, the interim arrangements seem to be working well,
and the assistance of other members who are able to give some time to this
worthy object is requested.
The Hon. Librarian, Mr. C. Hall Crouch, continues to supervise the
Museum Library. He attends for a regular period each week, and there
has been a steady flow of borrowings by members during the year. The
Borough Librarian has kindly consented to undertake a check of all the
books and to rearrange them under the modern decimal system, and this
work is already well advanced. When this is complete, it is the intention
of the Hon. Librarian and the working party to make recommendations as
to the future conduct of the Library.
It is not our practice to mention in detail in this report the ordinary
meetings of the Club, as they are fully reported elsewhere in the journal.
Eight main field meetings were held during the season, but fewer Thursday
afternoon meetings were arranged owing to the reduced support for this
form of informal gathering last year.
Worthy of note was the Club's first meeting with the Suffolk Naturalists'
Society, held in the Stour valley under their guidance. It is hoped that
a similar meeting on our home ground will be arranged for next year.
Widely-varying areas were visited, on five occasions by coach. Attendance
at coach meetings, disappointing in the early part of the year, improved in
the latter part. Unless coach transport is used, it is difficult for meetings
to be held in some of the most interesting parts of the county, as access
by public transport is impracticable.
Mr. Bernard Ward, Honorary Curator of the Epping Forest Museum,
reports that during the early part of the year the Epping Forest authorities
proceeded with the steps necessary to protect the ancient building from
the ravages of woodworm. It was necessary for the entire collection to
be removed from the walls whilst the treatment and subsequent re-painting
were carried out. This involved a very great deal of labour, and we are
indebted to the Forest Superintendent for providing the labour necessary
to move the heavy items. In the course of removal and replacement, a
few breakages occurred, but. worse than this, the removal disclosed that
many of the cases were in a parlous state and required extensive
renovations to restore them before they could be replaced. Further, the
application of the preventative to the show cases was found to be necessary
if complete protection was to be provided. The result of this was that a
considerable number of the botanical exhibits were covered with the oily
fluid and ruined. Although the Museum was closed, the total period of
closure was limited to six weeks, and the work of replacement was completed
before the reopening. Since then, the work in the Museum has been limited
to giving attention to the cases and ruined exhibits. Thanks to the generous
assistance rendered by Miss Barbara Shiach, this work is making steady
progress, and it is hoped to have the cases in good order before next spring.
The collection of replacement specimens will naturally take longer, depend-
ing upon the season. A large number of those needed were collected and
pressed during the past summer, but more specimens and replacement
illustrations will have to be procured before the eases can be considered
satisfactory. The exhibit of living wild flowers, which is the special care
of Mr. Boss, has been maintained throughout the period during which the
Museum was open, and the thanks of the Council are due to him for his
devoted work in this direction.