And this is where the health inspector naturalist has the
edge over his colleague who doesn't take the trouble to find
out the ecology and life history of the pest he is dealing
with. We get some odd cases; one such, and rather unusual,
was a call to see what appeared to be sewage oozing out of a
lawn, near the base of an elm tree. The first thought was
that perhaps a root had fractured and then blocked a drain,
but there were no drains in the vicinity. Further investig-
ations, and advice from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
pointed to this being a case of wet-wood or slime flux, and
this is attributed to the activities of a bacterium (Erwinia
numipressularis).
Q. It certainly is a wide field you deal with. Do you have
a special field in which you are particularly interested?
A. No, not really. There is more of a general interest.
Over the years I've dabbled in ornithology, geology, micology
entomology, but I've probably stuck longest with botany. But
they are all interrelated; and here, I think, is one of the
advantages of joining a multidisciplinary society such as
the Field Club. I think there is a risk of many of our
colleagues getting into water-tight compartments and not
seeing the interrelationships of the various disciplines.
Q. Now, to my next question, which you have, in fact, half
answered already. How do you relate your connection with
the Field Club; does it fulfil a need in your activities?
A. Yes indeed. I regret that I've rather lost active
contact with the Club, but I'm hoping it is only temporary.
But the strength of the Club is, and always has been, in its
broad spectrum of interests, with the blending of the
professional and the amateur, the learned with the un-
learned, and, of course, for its scope in making friendships.
A lot of friendships of mine were started in the Club and
have been held over many years.
Q. Now, I know that you, with Bernard Ward and Alwynne
Wheeler, were very instrumental in the formation of the
Essex Naturalists' Trust. Did you ever envisage it growing
to such a size and having so much influence in the county?
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