THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 6j 



Death of Professor Howes. — The President said that the Council had 

 received with great regret the news of the death of Prof. G. B. Howes, 

 LL.D., D.Sc , F.R.S., &c, one of the Honorary Members of the Club. He 

 made some very interesting and appreciative remarks on the life and work of the 

 lamented scientist, and proposed that the meeting should unite with the Council 

 in recording their sense of the loss the Club had sustained, and that a letter of 

 condolence should be sent to Mrs. Howes by the Secretary. This was cordially 

 approved. 



New Member.— Mr. Mark Wilks, 24, Lower Clapton Road, N.E., was 

 elected. 



Nomination of Officers and New Members of Council. — In view 

 of the annual meeting, nominations of officers and members of Council were made 

 (See report of Annual Meeting on April 8th). 



New Cockroach in Essex. — The Secretary exhibited on behalf of Mr. E. 

 C. Horrell, F.L.S., specimens of Leucophce,i surinamensis, which had occurred 

 in a garden near Chelmsford (See " Notes," E.N. Vol. XIII , p 365). 



Injurious Fungi on Hornbeam Trees — Mr. Robert Paulson exhibited 

 some photographs he had made of twigs of Hornbeam attacked by Corticium 

 co?nede>is. This fungus does much harm, and Mr. Paulson made some remarks 

 on the life-history of the pest. He also showed a photograph of the " Witches' 

 Broom " caused by the attacks of Enviscns cai pini on hornbeams, and of 

 Stereum Itirsntum, found on old stumps. 



Mr. Cole said that the late Miss Ormerod had described the Witches' Broom 

 as being caused by a Mite (Aearns), belonging to the Phytopti, in a paper in 

 volume x. (1S77) of The Entomologist (pp. 83-h), " Phytoptus of the Birch- 

 knots." Miss Ormerod traced the development of the infected buds, which grow 

 clustered together, and their abnormal growth in the course of years caused the 

 buds to expand from a small cluster to a great bunch of twigs sometimes as much 

 as a yard in diameter. Mr. Cole said that the matter evidently needed investiga- 

 tion. Of course it was possible that the " Witches' Broom " might be caused in 

 two ways or it might be a case of dual parasitism. 



Medallion Portrait of Peter Muilman. -Mr. J. Avery exhibited a medal 

 struck to commemorate the 40th Marriage-day of Peter Muilman, patron of the 

 well-known History of Essex, By a Gentleman (1770). It was believed that no 

 other portrait of Muilman was in existence, and the medallion was consequently 

 of very considerable interest. 



The several exhibitors were thanked for their communications. 



" The Family and Life of Gilberd of Colchester." — Professor Silvanus 

 P. Thompson, D.Sc, F.R.S., &c, then delivered a Lecture on this subject, which 

 was illustrated by the exhibition of rare books, autographs, and by a series of 

 lantern-slides. The Lecturer dwelt principally on the many interesting problems 

 connected with the pedigree of the familv and of Gilberd's professional life in 

 London. The lecture was a measure supplemental to Professor Thompson's 

 former lecture which was printed in volume v. of the Essrx Naturalist, and 

 it is to be hoped that a full abstract of the Address may be published at some 

 future time. 



The Lecturer was most cordially thanked by the President, and Professor 

 Meldola made some remarks upon Gilberd's position in the history of scientific 

 thought, and referred to his high character as probably the first real experi- 

 mentalist in English science. 



