248 ANNUAL REPORT. 



has since been printed in the Essex Naturalist. The work during the 

 year 1900 was necessarily mainly confined to improving the arrangement and 

 increasing or renewing the specimens in several departments 



'i'he removal of the three centre cases from Chingford to the main 

 Museum has enabled the curator to improve the collection of mammals and 

 at the same time allow of more space being given to the birds. The Corpora- 

 tion Committee largely aided in the reconstruction of these cases, and they 

 also kindly gave orders for the making in the workshops of the Institute of 13 

 square wall-cases for the reception of some of the smaller animals and for 

 botanical collections. Ten of these cases are at present temporarly filled with 

 selections from the Essex collection of Seaweeds. The authorities of the 

 Institute also allowed the curator to place four large cases containing the 

 general collection of fossils in the gallery. Mr. H. E. Smedley, F.L.S., lent 

 his series of wax models of British Fungi, made by himself, and the collection 

 was for some time a very beautiful and attractive exhibit in fhe gallery. On 

 the removal of Mr. Smedley's collection our member, Mr. J. Avery, kindly 

 lent a large selection from his collection of engraved views of Essex, and this 

 has been arranged round the gallery, the Institute constructing the frames to 

 contain the pictures. 



The principal additions to the Museum during the year were the acquisi- 

 tion by purchase of the Cryptogamic collection of the late Mr. E. G. Varenne, 

 of Kelvedon ; a considerable number of specimens of plants from our late 

 member, Mr. Sewell ; a large number of Lepidoptesa Irom our late member, 

 Mr. F.^ Coles ; archaeological specimens from Mr. F. W. Reader and his 

 brother, Mr T. W. Reader ; Palaeolithic implements from Somaliland from 

 Mr. Seton-Karr, together with other specimens of stone implements; and of a 

 beautifully set-up specimen of the Kite, formerly belonging to the late Mr. 

 Henry Doubleday, by Mr. J. E. Harting. 



The arrangement of the specimens in hand will necessarily take a long 

 time. The curator has had the benefit of the assistance of Mr. H. White- 

 head who had been appointed by the Technical Instruction Committee, but 

 Mr. Whitehead's time being largely occupied in other ways, the progress has 

 been slow. The work of the curator is also hampered by want of space, and 

 still more seriously by want of sufficient funds to obtain the necessary cabinets, 

 cases and appliances, and the special specimens and preparations urgently 

 required. Meanwhile he can only once more appeal to the members of the 

 Club, and to those interested in the museum "idea'' for assistance both 

 financial and scientific. There are thousands of species still required, and we 

 are in need of systematic collecting in most groups. Essex is a very rich counts , 

 but specimens must be gathered with skill and care to be available for museum 

 purposes. 



Eppixg Forest Museum.- As reported at the last Annual Meeting, the 

 re-arrangement of the collections, and additions thereto, has now been taken 

 in hand. .\ Committee has been appointed, under the chairmanship of the 

 Rev. A. F. Russell, and a public subscription started to obtain the funds 

 necessary to carry out the scheme proposed by the curator. A considerable 

 sum has been subscribed, but more money is still needed. The work of 

 reconstruction has been carried on slowly through the year, and the major 



