ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GEOLOGICAL GROUP 341
At the foray the moss enthusiasts were very pleased to note
a small amount of Dicranum majus. This may well be its last
stronghold in Epping Forest.
On October 13th an indoor meeting was held at the museum
where members' specimens were identified, and an informal dis-
cussion was held when some members displayed exhibits from
their collections. Mr. E. Saunders explained how some of the
species of Sphagnum might be identified.
It was, therefore, with interest that an enthusiastic party of
seven set off in the pouring rain with him on November 12th to
search for bryophytes in the forest near the Wake Arms. Some
rather uncommon ones were seen. These included Pohlia
annotina, Philonotis fontana, Riccardia sinuata and Lophozia
ventricosa, and a fine collection of Polytrichums that had come up
after the fires of the previous year. Most notable of these was an
abundance of Polytrichum gracile, a species that has only recently
been recorded for V.c. 18 by Mr. R. Payne. Also seen were
various species of Sphagnums, the main one being Sphagnum
recurvum, which is locally abundant.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GEOLOGY GROUP, 1960
THE earlier volumes of The Essex Naturalist show that there
was once an active geological section of the Field Club
which seemed to die out about 1914. Since then there have been
only occasional papers. Now a Geological Group has been formed.
The inaugural meeting of the group, attended by 20 members,
was held at Stratford on 3rd December 1959. The President
introduced the purpose and functions of the group to the audience
and a committee, comprising J. M. Branson, B.Sc., F.G.S.; R. E.
Coates; K. Clayton, M.Sc., Ph.D.; and I. Hunter, was elected.
It was decided that the group would (1) set up a register of
temporary exposures and sections; (2) list all the pits and
quarries within the County, together with the names and addresses
of owners; (3) compile a geological bibliography of the County;
(4) arrange field meetings to places of geological interest.
Two field meetings have been held. The first, on 27th February
1960 was in the Chelmsford district and thirty members and
friends were able to continue in the field the interest raised by
Dr. K. Clayton's lecture at Chelmsford in various aspects of the
local glacial deposits and learn what they and fluvioglacial deposits
look like.
The second field meeting was held on the highly fossiliferous
Red Crag deposits at Walton-on-Naze on 3rd September 1960.
The last meeting of the club for this purpose was in 1910. Many
specimens, including the diagnostic Neptunea contraria, were
collected and identification was aided by J. M. Branson's keys to