130 NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



An Ancient Pit at Little Dunmow, Essex. — Referring to my note on 

 an ancient pit at Coggeshall (Essex Naturalist, vii., p. 68), Mr. Hastings 

 Worrin, of Bourchiers, Little Dunmow, has been good enough to inform me that 

 when land-draining in one of his fields some time ago the workmen dug through 

 a number of black places in the clay containing a good deal of pottery in small 

 fragments, and what appeared to be charred wood. The field is called Great 

 Calthorps, and is numbered 107 on the Ordnance Survey (Sheet xxi if. , 14). It 

 slopes towards the Roman Road from Colchester to Bishop Stortford, but the pits 

 were some distance from the road. In this field Mr. Worrin found, some years 

 ago, a bronze fibula. — G. F. Beaumont, F.S A., Coggeshall. 



Chigwell Moat. — It has been suggested that the site of this moat is such as to 

 render it improbable that it surrounded a dwelling-house of the ordinary character. 

 If, however, the evidence of field-names counts for anything, it would seem that 

 Chigwell Hall once stood there; for, in the Tithe Map of 1838 — for an oppor- 

 tunity of studying which I am much indebted to the Vicar of Chigwell — the field in 

 which the moat is, figures as " Little Hall Field," while the two immediately 

 abutting on it were known as "Great Hall Field" and " Park Meadow." In later 

 days, the house (now pulled down) just below the pleasant playing-fields of the 

 Chigwell Grammar School, was known as Chigwell Hall ; but the ancient "site 

 of the manor " is probably to be sought within the moat, — W. C. Waller, 

 Loughton, September, 1893. 



The Joslin Museum. — In c>3nlinuation of the remarks in the present volume 

 (ante, p. 69), we are very pleased to learn from a recent notice circulated by the 

 Committee that this valuable collection will now be secured for the Colchester 

 Museum. Mr. Joslin originally asked ^^2,000 for his treasures, but in the event 

 of their being purchased for Colchester promised a donation of /'300. He has 

 since reduced his terms to ^"1,300 nett cash, and will hand over the collection to 

 the Committee on payment of that sum, subject to a further ;^200 being paid in 

 four years' time at the rate of ;^S0 per annum. Of the amount immediately 

 required upwards of ^1,100 has already been promised, and as active measures 

 are being taken to secure the balance the Committee expect to be in a position to 

 complete the purchase within the year of office of the present Mayor, Mr. Gurney 

 Benham, who has taken so active an interest in the effort to secure this mag- 

 nificent addition to the treasures of the Castle Museum. We heartily con- 

 gratulate the Committee on the approaching success of their labours. To adapt 

 a journalistic phrase, " other towns in Essex, please copy " ! — Ed. 



A Harmless Mnemonic— A useful hint was given me by an esteemed 

 botanist at a recent meeting of the Essex Field Club, and I think it would be well 

 to publish the idea in The Essex Naturalist for the benefit of others. In 

 common, no doubt with many, to whom natural history is an occasional rather 

 than a constant study, I have found that the names of plants have an inconvenient 

 way of being edged out of my brain by the crowd of everyday matters which have 

 to do business in that centre. The suggestion made to me was that the best 

 mnemonic was a study of the meanings of the names as far as possible. I have 

 applied this principle with gratifying success, and find it of great assistance, while 

 it also adds considerable interest to the stud}^ of botany and tends to prevent, 

 moreover, those glaring " false quantities " and mispronunciations which even 

 fairly good botanists sometimes let slip. Who, for example, could forget that 



