8 



the year, mysteriously disappears for the remainder ; and that 

 the strictest pohce supervision should entail on all insects 

 whose purposes or habits are unknown." 



When we look at the numerous woodland patches scattered 

 throughout the County of Essex, we can entertain no doubt 

 but that our district was originally covered with forest. It is 

 recorded that in the reign of Henry III. a royal forest 

 extended right across the county in a north-easterly direction 

 from Stratford Bridge to Manningtree. In the reign of 

 Charles I. the great Waltham Forest comprised Epping and 

 the now almost extinct Hainhault Forests, thus forming a 

 large woodland area bounded to the east by the Eiver Roding, 

 to the west by the River Lea, to the south by the great 

 Chelmsford and Colchester road, and stretching northwards 

 for sixteen miles as far as Roy don, almost on the boundary of 

 the county. Thus, as might have been anticipated, our 

 district is especially rich in woodland species. Epping Forest 

 itself, so far as my own experience goes, certainly does not 

 appear to be so productive from a collecting point of view as 

 some of the woods of Kent and Surrey to the South of Lon- 

 don ; but our county, taken as a whole, has furnished many 

 rarities. We shall hope in the course of time to be in a posi- 

 tion to furnish local catalogues of animals and plants, for the 

 preparation of which we shall look to our ornithologists, 

 botanists, entomologists, microscopists, &c. I do not propose 

 on the present occasion to enter into much detail respecting 

 the natural productions of our district, as I should thus only 

 have to tax your patience with a long list of specific names ; 

 but I will restrict myself to a few general remarks. 



Mr. Edward Newman has given the names of seven species 

 of bats''' as being found in the Forest ; and with regard to 

 birds, Mr. James English, one of our members, whose name as 

 a collector was long associated with that of the late Henry 

 Doubleday of Epping, has recorded about 120 species,''' 20 of 

 which are occasional visitors driven into the Forest by stress 

 of weather or other causes. The total number of birds consi- 



* See Appendix. 



