36 ANNUAL REPORT. 



collection of fishes and reptiles, Crustacea, and insects, &c. A full report of 

 the opening ceremony has been already printed in the Essex Naturalist 

 (vol. xi., pp. 319-331)- 



A series of Handbooks to the different collections in the Museum has 

 already been commenced. One on the scope and business details of the 

 Museum was prepared by the Curator, and contains a portrait of Mr. Pass- 

 more Edwards ; Mr. Dalton has written one on the collection of Crag Fossils, 

 and Ml. Reader on the Prehistoric Collections. To these gentlemen the 

 Council tender their warmest thanks. It is intended to continue the series as 

 funds will permit and the handbooks will be sold in the building at a small 

 price. 



The Epping Forest Museum — The restoration of Queen Elizabeth's 

 Lodge in order to afford more space for the Museum, and to put the building 

 into a thorough state of repair, has now been completed. The matter is thus 

 referred to in the Report of the Epping Forest Committee of the Corporation 

 of London, received and passed by the Court of Common Couucil on 

 February 14th: — 



" The additions and alterations to Queen Elizabeth's Lodge have been 

 completed at a cost of /'1008. The restoration has given great satisfaction, 

 and the Museum is now in course of re-arrangement, not only in the 

 Banqueting Room, where it has existed for some years, but also in the 

 renovated ' Oak Room ' on the first floor." 



Of this sum of ;^ioo8 the Council of the Club contributed /'50 out of the 

 Fund subscribed, towards the cost of fitting up a small room on the ground 

 floor as a Curator's room. Several meetings of the Council and Committee 

 have been held to consider and formulate the plans of work for the fitting up 

 of the Museum in an adequate manner. It is the wish of the Corporation 

 Committee that no high cases should be placed in the rooms. This necessi- 

 tated some change of plan, and it has now been decided that no general 

 collection of vertebrates should be exhibited, and that the upright cases and 

 such specimens of vertebrata as were in the Museum (other than loan 

 collections) should be removed to the County Museum at Stratford. It is 

 intended to represent the birds, &c., in the Museum by a few cases of 

 " groups " similar to those in the British Museum; but these will be very 

 costly and must be specially provided. At the meeting held on December 8th 

 last, the plans were settled and agreed upon, Mr. E. N. Buxton being in the 

 chair. See full report in the Essex Naturalist (vol. xi., pp. 300-303). A 

 subscription list (which now amounts to over £100) has been started, and the 

 alteration and construction of cases, &c., will be taken in hand at once. At 

 the wish of the Corporation Committee the building is now open to the 

 public, but the re-arrangement of the Museum must necessarily take a long 

 time, and it is obviously better to reserve a full report until the work is com- 

 pleted. The Curator hopes to get the Museum into a fair state of complete- 

 ness by the spring of 1902. Meanwhile the active sympathy and support of 

 all our members is solicited for our Curator, whose task in organising and 

 arranging two large Museums is one both difficult and onerous. 



Retrospective. — Inasmuch as the year 1900 completed the 21st year of 

 the existence of the Club, it may be useful to record a few brief notes on the 

 work accomplished during that period. 



