THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 1 85 



drawers to e;ich of ihe principal limber trees. Thie comparliuent fur eacli tree 

 might be about a loot square, and should contain specimens of: 



" The heart-wood, such as these blocks, oi', l.'etter still, a prujier transverse 

 and \ertical section. 



" The trunk bark, showing its typical lorm. 



" The branch zcood, showing the bark in ito )iiutlitul appeaiaucc. 



" The twigs, showing the bud forms. 



" The leaf, of course. 



" The fruit, or seed vessels. 



" In the case of some trees other points should be shown, such a^ the beauti- 

 ful inflorescence of the elm, the flexible inner bark of the lime, known to tom- 

 ir.erce as " bass," and so on. 



" I felt much hesitation in bringing sucii an unscientific collection before 

 the Club, but 1 was re-assured by Mr. Cole ; and if your Hon. Sec. and Council 

 think the blocks exhibited will he uf use, till better sections can be procured, I 

 shall be happy to present them to the Esse.K Field Club Museum." 



The Chairman said that the}- were much obliged to Mr. Gould for bringing 

 his interesting exhibit, and he was sure that the Council and Curator would 

 receive his donation with pleasure. 



Mr. Elliott exhibited some spikes of maii;e which had ripened that season in 

 his garden at Woodford. It was but seldom that maize could be successfully 

 grown in average seasons, but the prolonged hot weather of last summer had 

 been very suitable for the plant. 



Mr. Cole said that maize was grown in some quantity at West Mersea, and 

 in some seasons the yield was good. 



Mr. Oldham e.xhibited some specimens of Lepidoplera from the Epping 

 Forest district, including Corycia teimrata, Platxptervx hcertula and other 

 species. 



Mr. Cole exhibited, on behalf of our member, Mr. Wni. White, Curator of 

 the Ruskin Museum, Sheffield, two splendidly illustrated botanical works, viz., 

 AVilliam Curtis's " Flora Londinensis : or. Plates and Descriptions of such Plants 

 as grow wild in the Faivirons of London," etc. London ; folio ; 1777 ; and 

 Moore's Nature-printed " Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland," Folio ; London, 

 1857- 



These books haJ been sent by '\\x. White for exhibition at the Fungrs Meet- 

 ing, but unfortunately they had not arrived in time. 



Mr. Crouch brought up a portrait of the late Mr. IL W. King, Hon. Stc. to the 

 Essex .\rcha;ological Society, whose recent death they all deplored, and made a 

 few remarks on the life work of his old friend (see notice on p. 195). 



]Mr. Walter Crouch read extracts from his paper "Astronomy in Wanstead : 

 A Chapter of its past Flistory '' (printed in the present number, see pp. 151-163). 



The Rev. W. C. Howell made some remarks on subjects suggested by Mr. 

 Crouch's paper, and cxhiiiited an interesting old telescope of Gregorian construc- 

 tion in his possession, made by J-anies Short, who was commissioned by Bradley 

 to make a tekscope. It is 12^ inches long. The principal mirror is 2 inches in 

 diameter, and the second one, | inch diameter. The name of the maker " James 

 Short " is engraved at the eye end of the tube, together with the formula ''VdV8'7i ' 

 referring to the focal length, etc., of- the mirrors. The eye-piece is Huygenian. 

 The mirrors still retain their exquisite polish, and the definition of the telescope 

 is sharp, and Mr. llowell has recenth' tried it on X'enus and the mnun. It is 



