THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. II3 



Biographies. Among the biographical notices of Essex 

 scientific worthies I may refer to Professor Boulger's presi- 

 dential address in 1885, dealing with the life and work of 

 our most illustrious naturalist, John Ray {Trans. IV., 171), 

 supplemented by another paper on the domes'ic life of 

 John Ray at Black Notley, also by Prof. Boulger [Proc. IV., 

 clix.), and by another on John Ray as an entomologist, by Mr. 

 Fitch (Ibid, clxv.) A notice of Benjamin Allen, of Braintree, 

 the contemporary of Ray was published by Mr. Fitch in iSgo 

 (Essex Naturalist IV,, 192). Prof. Boulger also gave us in 

 1888 a paper on the life and works of the celebrated Dr. Derham 

 of Upminster [Ibid. II., 133), but this does not appear to have 

 been published. A meeting in conjunction with the Gilbert 

 Club at Colchester, in i8go [Ibid. IV., 174), gave .in opportunity 

 for the communication to the Club by my colleague, Prof. 

 Silvanus P. Thompson, of a life of Dr. William Gilberc, the 

 author of the great work on The Magnet and founder of the 

 science of electricity (Ibid. V., 50). Prof. Thompson, I may 

 add, had previously in 1887 lectured to the Club on Gilbert's 

 magnetic work (Ibid. I., 94). Christopher Saxton, the draughts- 

 man of the oldest known map of Essex, formed the subject of a 

 notice by Mr. Avery, in 1898 (Ibid. XI., 240). Izaak Walton's 

 association with the River Lea formed the subject of a paper 

 read by Mr. Harting in 1894 (■^^'«<^- VIII., 186). Among Essex 

 scientiric worthies of later times I may refer to Christopher 

 Parsons, noticed by Mr. Fitch (Ibid. III., 55), and John Brown, 

 of Stanway, whose life was published by Mr. A. P. Wire in 1890 

 (Ibid. IV., 158) and supplemented in 1898 by a note by Messrs. 

 Kennard and Woodward on a manuscript note-book left by that 

 famous old naturalist and now in the library of the British 

 Museum of Natural History (Ibid. X., 288). 



A visit of the Club to Constable's country, the vale of 

 Dedham, in 1893, enabled us to receive from Mr. Charles 

 Benham a paper on "John Constable as a Naturalist" (Ibid. 

 VII.; 112). 



Topography. The conductors of our field meetings have in 

 many cases been at great pains to draw up interesting accounts 

 of the places visited, and we have thus published some few 

 papers and many notes which may be classed as topographical 

 contributions. A meeting at Chigwell in July, 1881, produced a 

 most interesting history of that place from the pen of Mr. T. 



