The President's Address.
107
solely to awaken a general interest for science in our own
district, it will be better not to consider our lecturers in
any way bound to treat of purely local subjects. As this
part of our work is in fact educational, I am of opinion
that any branch of natural history (in its widest sense)
may justly come within our scope; and, in order to give
the greater effect to our operations as scientific mission-
aries, I would suggest that these lectures, if carried on
next session, should take the form of a course on some
particular subject.
As a Club founded for the purpose of studying the natural
history, &c., of the county, and of Epping Forest in parti-
cular, we have every reason to be grateful to the Corporation
of London for their successful efforts in preserving the Forest,
and I hope I may add, in accordance with the words of the
Epping Forest Act, in maintaining as far as possible its
"natural aspect." To us, as naturalists, the Forest is only
of interest so long as it remains as such. When we con-
sider that we have within easy reach of the Metropolis a
magnificent area of wild and picturesque country freely
accessible to the public at large, and long the resort of that
more limited class who wander through its copses or across
its heathy expanses as students of nature, the majority of
us must feel that it is our duty to express our disapproba-
tion of any act that would tend to injure directly or indi-
rectly the natural features of that Forest which both in our
own interest, and in that of the numerous kindred societies
in and around London, we now justly regard as the object
of our watchful care. It was on these broad grounds, and
quite independent of all questions of private interest, that
our Council met on the 8th of this month to consider the
proposed extension of the Great Eastern Railway from
Chingford to High Beech. Mr. Francis George Heath, one
of our members well known to the public for his zealous
efforts in connection with the preservation of open spaces,
brought under our notice a resolution protesting against
this scheme. This resolution was carried by a large majo-
rity, and has been published in many of the papers, where