Appendix No. 1. ix
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB,
held February 25th, 1882.
A meeting of the Society was held at the Head-quarters, Buckhurst
Hill, at 7 o'clock, the President, Mr. Meldola, F.R.A.S., F.C.S., Ae., in
the chair.
After the despatch of the ordinary business of the meeting, in accord-
ance with the agenda paper, the subjects of the protection of our native
animals and birds from wanton destruction by gamekeepers, birdcatchers,
and others, and of the management of Epping Forest and other " open
spaces," came before the Club for discussion.
The Secretary read a letter from Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Bart. (one
of the Verderers of Epping Forest), asking for the opinion of the Society
as to " the expediency and the possibility of preventing the killing of all
birds by keepers. No shooting is now allowed in the forest. It would be
interesting to observe the effect after some years, and it would greatly
add to the value of the experiment if the same rule could be observed
throughout the valleys of the Boding River and Cobbin Brook."
The President pointed out the importance of the subject, which came
so fully within the scope of the Society, and hoped that the question
would be thoroughly discussed. It was hoped that Sir Fowell Buxton
would have been present to start the debate, but he was unavoidably
detained in another part of the country, and the President therefore
called upon Mr. Andrew Johnston (also one of the Verderers) to give his
views on the matter.
Mr. Johnston having explained the reason of Sir Fowell Buxton's
absence from the meeting, observed that he could say but little about his
brother Verderer's views, as he had had no special communication with
him on the subject, and further he (Mr. Johnston) was not a naturalist,
and had only considered the question in the most general way. A very
strong feeling had been growing up of late years in favour of giving
Nature freer play, and preserving wild animals and birds from wanton
destruction, not only on account of their interest to the naturalist and
lover of Nature, but also from motives of humanity [hear, hear], and it
certainly seemed to him that there was a grand opening for trying such
an experiment as he understood was proposed by Sir Fowell between the
valleys of the Roding and the Lea, seeing that in that area there were
6000 acres of forest land, the governing body of which had forbidden the
slaughter of any animal or bird, with one exception, the trapping of
jays. He believed that exception was contrary to Sir Fowell Buxton's
ideas, but the destruction of the jays was allowed to be continued on the