26 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
which contained 40 plant names down the left-hand side and the
57 square numbers across the top. By making a tick in the
appropriate column I could see very quickly where the plants
had been recorded, and the total number of species for each 10 km.
square. The deficiencies were also obvious and in square after
square extremely common plants were missing. While this was
the type of information I wanted the schedules to show, to enable
me to plan future outdoor work, I had hoped for better results.
This gave me another idea. I knew that the Botanical Society
of the British Isles had collected records in connection with their
Maps Distribution Scheme, so I wrote to Dr. F. Perring at Cam-
bridge and asked if he could help. He gladly loaned me all the
Essex Master Cards of plants recorded by different botanists since
the scheme started in 1952.
The major problem, which had to be overcome with these
cards was the fact that they were printed in alphabetical order of
plant names, whereas all the previous records had been compiled
in alphabetical order of families. I overcame this difficulty
eventually and marked up all the records on my maps and sheets.
The B.S.B.I. records were marked in green ink to distinguish them
from the other records.
These records proved to be invaluable for two main reasons.
Firstly, they eliminated a large number of common plants not
previously recorded from a large number of squares, and, secondly,
they gave a lot of unusual plant records, which were new to me
in Essex. Eventually I was able to track down a number of these
and confirm the records. In all, I went through approximately
50,000 records, which gave me 1,145 individual species, recorded
18,350 times in the 57 squares.
From the very valuable information gained by my five months
winter work, I was able to plan my 1961 activities and direct my
excursions to underworked areas. During the year I made 37
major trips to various parts of the county and covered about
3,000 miles by car. I stayed at Colchester for the Whitsun week-
end, with the B.S.B.I., whose members visited many places in
the North-east and contributed a large number of valuable
records*. Later in the year I had a week at Halstead, which
enabled me to work in the mid and northern squares. The year's
work contributed a further 4,200 new records, which were added
to the maps and an additional 20 new plants.
I have made a selection of the plants recorded this year, which
are listed below and for the benefit of readers I have given the
10 km. square number with the parish name.
*For these records the name of the person is given where known or
"B.S.B.I." if not known.