The President's Address. 107 



solely to awaken a general interest for science in our own 

 district, it will be better not to consider our lecturers in 

 any way bound to treat of purely local subjects. As^ this 

 part of our work is in fact educational, I am of opinion 

 that any branch of natural history (in its widest sense) 

 may justly come within our scope ; and, in order to give 

 the greater effect to our operations as scientific mission- 

 aries, I would suggest that these lectures, if carried on 

 next session, should take the form of a course on some 

 particular subject. 



As a Club founded for the purpose of studying the natural 

 history, &c., of the county, and of Epping Forest in parti- 

 cular, we have every reason to be grateful to the Corporation 

 of London for their successful efforts in preserving the Forest, 

 and I hope I may add, in accordance with the words of the 

 Epping Forest Act, in maintaining as far as possible its 

 " natural aspect." To us, as naturahsts, the Forest is only 

 of interest so long as it remains as such. When we con- 

 sider that we have within easy reach of the Metropohs a 

 magnificent area of wild and picturesque country freely 

 accessible to the pubhc at large, and long the resort of that 

 more hmited class who wander through its copses or across 

 its heathy expanses as students of nature, the majority of 

 us must feel that it is our duty to express our disapproba- 

 tion of any act that would tend to injure directly or indi- 

 rectly the natural features of that Forest which both in our 

 own interest, and in that of the numerous kindred societies 

 in and around London, we now justly regard as the object 

 of our watchful care. It was on these broad grounds, and 

 quite independent of all questions of private interest, that 

 our Council met on the 8th of this month to consider the 

 proposed extension of the Great Eastern Eailway from 

 Chingford to High Beech. Mr. Francis George Heath, one 

 of our members well known to the .public for his zealous 

 efforts in connection with the preservation of open spaces, 

 brought under our notice a resolution protesting against 

 this scheme. This resolution was carried by a large majo- 

 rity, and has been published in many of the papers, where 



