THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB, lOI 



a meeting of the Club in May, i88S, by Mr. Symons (Essex 

 Naturalist II., 88) who, on that occasion, dwelt more especially 

 upon rainfall observation. A paper on " The use of the 

 Hygro-Spectroscope " was read before the Club in 1883 by Mr. 

 F. W. Cory {Trans. IV., 123). On the other hand exceptional 

 meteorological phenomena — and more particularly those whicli 

 may be considered as having any direct influence upon physio- 

 graphical conditions — should always be fully recorded, and in 

 this respect it will be found that we have not failed whenever 

 our County has been subjected to such visitations. Thus the 

 great flood of August, 1888, was fully recorded by Mr. Radford 

 Sharpe (Ibid. II., igg) ; the prolonged frost of 1890-91 formed 

 the subject of papers by Dr. Thresh {Ibid. V., 64), Mr. French 

 (Ibid., 66) and Mr. Harding {Ibid., 117). Mr. French also has 

 written on the seasons of 1893 {Ibid. VII., 188). An account of 

 the great storm of June 24th, 1897, was compiled by our Editor 

 from materials supplied by Mr. Symons and others {Ibid. X., 

 112). The high tide of Nov. 29th of the same year also formed 

 the subject of an editorial compilation and of the paper by Mr. 

 Percy Clark already referred to under geology {Ibid. X., 277, 

 355). The results of the investigations of the effects of this tide 

 upon the soil of the inundated lands by Messrs. Dymond and 

 Hughes were duly noted in our pages {Ibid. XL, 83). Records 

 of brilliant meteors were also noted in 1890 {Ibid. IV., 231) and 

 1894 {Ibid. VIII., 158). The evidence that the supposed earth- 

 quake shock of November 20th, iSSy {Ibid. I., 277) was due to 

 the explosion of a meteorite was summarised from Mr. Ford- 

 ham's observations and published in i8gi {Ibid. V., 44, from 

 Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc. IV., 33-62). 



VI.— EDUCATIONAL WORK. 

 In a broad sense the whole work of a local society may be 

 regarded as educational inasmuch as any organization for bring- 

 ing scientific activity to a focus must be regarded as a power 

 making for general intellectual enlightenment. In many ways 

 during the twenty-one years of our existence have we made the 

 influence of the Club felt as an educational body. Many lectures, 

 addresses and demonstrations in the field or in museums have 

 been given whicli could not fairly be described as direct contri- 

 butions to local scientific investigation, but which might be 

 considered as pioneering efforts having for their object the 



