288
THE ESSEX NATURALIST
Saturday, 24th October 1959
Indoor meeting at West Ham. This meeting was attended by forty-
seven members and friends and, as the first of the indoor season, was
devoted to members' notes and exhibits. Mr. T. H. C. Bartrop began
the proceedings by showing colour photographs of marine animals and
their habitats at Skippers Island, with a commentary by Dr. R. H.
Nisbet. Mr. 8. T. Jermyn then exhibited some specimens of rare and
interesting Essex plants which he had collected during the summer
season.
An account of a recent visit to the Deneholes at Grays by a party
of Club members was given by Mr. Donald Chapman, who reviewed
past investigations into the subject, and gave an account of the Club's
work there in the last century. His talk was illustrated by colour and
black and white photographs of the dene holes taken by one of the
members of the party, Mr. David Scott. This account of the history
and physical aspects of the deneholes was followed by a brief lecture on
the insects found during the expedition by Mr. Peter Hammond. The
speaker dwelt particularly on the beetles found which totalled more than
fifty, two of which were new records to the county. These two papers
provoked a number of questions which the lecturers dealt with, and the
meeting expressed its interest in the work which was going on in the
deneholes in no uncertain terms.
Saturday, 21st November 1959
Indoor meeting at Colchester Public Library, at 3 p.m. This meet-
ing, which proved to be of exceptional interest was attended by a
disappointingly small audience of twenty persons. The lecture given
by Mr. L. S. Harley on "The Clay Tobacco Pipe, with special reference
to London and East Anglia" contained a brief account of the history of
smoking and thus of tobacco pipes, and then went on to describe the
development of clay pipes, their manufacture, their differences from
age to age and finally the possibility of their use in dating antiquarian
deposits. Mr. Harley's stimulating talk was illustrated by photographic
slides of his own taking, and by many references to local finds of pipes
in the Colchester area.
At the conclusion of his address the President thanked the speaker
for his communications, and the meeting closed at 4.30. Many of the
members present then adjourned to the Natural History Museum,
where by courtesy of Mr. C. E. Owen, the Curator, tea was provided
by the ladies of the party.
Saturday, 12th December 1959
This meeting held at the West Ham College of Technology in the
Chemistry Lecture Theatre was attended by forty-five members and
friends. Following several announcements and the election of members,
Mr. George Malenoir gave a brief account of two remarkable albinistic
animals found during the survey of Epping Forest reptiles and
amphibians. One, a well-grown Slow-worm, had been found at Lough-
ton, and seemed to be almost unique for its kind, the other was a