Il6 THK ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 



reason to be dissatisfied on the whole with our output. It must 

 be remembered that the chief source of expenditure in a society 

 such as this is pubHcation. By this is our utility made manifest 

 to our members and to the public at large. But publication is 

 liniited by income, and the latter is dependent upon our member- 

 ship. We have, like most other societies, seen periods of 

 elevation and depression - we liave passed through our crises and 

 we may now flatter ourselves that the Club has found a home 

 where its labours can be carried on pea,cefully and uninterrupt- 

 edly. In view of our past achievements we are at any rate 

 justified now in pleading for further support. A list of Members 

 of under 300 means an income of about £150 to /200 per 

 annum, out of which we have to meet the cost of publication and 

 to furnish our contribution to the curatorial expenses of the 

 museum. If our members would like to have a larger volume of 

 the Essex Naturalist every year — and this is a consummation 

 devoutly to be wished — we must increase the numbers of our 

 subscribing members. Our subscription is not ruinous ; I know 

 of no society of a like nature from which its members get so 

 much in return for their subscription in the way of meetings and 

 publications. I certainly think that our journal might be issued 

 more frequently and more regularly, and now that the chief 

 burden of organizing the museums is off our Editor's shoulders 

 we may look for improvement in this respect. But the total 

 amount of printed matter— apart from the frequency of issue — 

 cannot very well exceed our present volumes with the income at 

 present available. It is an encouraging indication that we have 

 discharged our functions towards the scientific world that the 

 supply of original contributions has practically never failed 

 durmg the twenty-one years of our existence. That seems to 

 me one of the very healthiest signs of our vitality, and I confess 

 that it is an experience which, in view of the history of many 

 local societies, has caused me no little surprise. Our position 

 has generally been that we have had more material in hand than 

 we have been able to afford to publish. That is the state of 

 affairs at the present time Much as we have accomplished 

 during the twenty-one years passed under review there yet 

 remain vast fields for future workers. To encourage this work 

 by joining our ranks, if only out of public spirit for the credit of 

 the County, is assuredly the duty of all who have the intellectual 

 and scientific welfare of that County at heart. 



