9.
archaeology and social history a little
closer together.
Like other museums we have large
reference collections of animals and plants.
Some old, some new. We have a large collec-
tion of stuffed birds formed by the
collectors John Davey Hoy and Christopher
Parsons last century. There are large
collections of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and
birds' eggs donated several decades ago, and
more recent collections of plants, fungi and
marine life. These collections can be
examined, by appointment (Tel: Southend 330214)
Reference collections exist to be used, for
identification purposes and for furthering
study, so please don't feel you have to be an
expert before you can see reference material.
As at Colchester (see Bulletin No. 19: Ed)
a Biological Records Centre is maintained at
the museum and a "User's Guide" is available
here. In the centre we keep information on
sites of wildlife interest in South East
Essex. This has already been used to help
preserve several valuable areas from destruc-
tion or unnecessary interference.
I should mention how much we depend on
the support and interest of local naturalists.
A large number of specimens are brought in
each year, ranging from Seashells to dead
birds. These we gladly accept and add to the
collections where they can be of use to other
people in the future either on display, in
the reference collections or in our modest
school loans collection. People who under-
take projects in the area, perhaps making use
of records or specimens in the museum, are
often kind enough to let us look at their work