448 
a quasi-political aspect during the last few years in this 
neighbourhood. 
As far as I have been able to learn, the motives lead- 
ing to the preservation of our Forest at the great cost 
specified appear to have been pnrely philanthropic. The main 
object was to secure this splendid area for the ‘recreation and 
enjoyment” of Londoners generally, and more especially for 
the East-End inhabitants, whose chances of holiday-making are 
only too often limited to an occasional day in the country. In 
one sense the latter class may now, thanks to the movement first 
set in action by Mr. J. T. Bedford, claim to have a decided 
advantage over their wealthier West-End brethren, for the total 
area of theWest-End parks (including Regent’s) amounts only to 
about 1150 acres as compared with the 5000 to 6000 acres of 
open country so easily accessible to East Londoners, In the 
face of such an obviously enormous gain to the country rambling 
holiday folk, it may perhaps seem ill-advised to attempt to | 
criticise the action of the Conservators in their dealings with the 
Forest. It is with great reluctance on my part that I forsake 
the peaceful paths of scientific study to take up a question which 
generally appears to lead to nothing more than a manifestation 
of angry controversy, and I only do so now on behalf of that 
numerous and ever ircreasing scientific class of holiday-makers 
whose claims thus far appear to have been altogether put out of 
court. 
Long before the question of encroachment or of preserva- 
tion had been brought into its present prominence, botanists, 
entomologists, microscopists, and students of nature generally 
were in the habit of frequenting our Forest and of rambling in 
quest of the objects of their study through this woodland expanse 
so conveniently situated with respect to the great scientific centre 
of this country. There are records which prove that Epping 
Forest has been for more than a century the hunting ground of 
many who have gathered materials from its glades for the great 
storehouse of human knowledge, and who have taken a true 
and purely intellectual delight in studying its animal and vege- 
table productions. The London naturalists of the present time 
should surely have something to say in connection with the fate 
of this favourite haunt, made classic ground to them by the 
memories of such men as Richard Warner, the author of the 
“*Plantze Wocdfordienses ” (1771), Edward Forster, the Essex 
botanist, who wrote between the years 1784 and 1849, and 
Henry Doubleday, of Epping, our own grocer-naturalist, who 
died in 1877. It is time for the natural history public, by no 
means such an insignificant body as is generally supposed, to 
raise their voice on behalf of these ‘happy hunting grounds.” 
The position to be taken up is not necessarily one of antagonism 
towards the Conservators, but it is certainly desirable that some 
understanding should be come to respecting the claims of those 
who, im pursuit of knowledge, have long been contented to bear 
with the pitying smile of the ignorant for “*trifling away their 
time upon weeds, insects, and toadstools.” The numerous 
scientific societies and field clubs of the metropolitan districts 
have already declared their views on former occasions, and it is 
chiefly with the object of attempting to define the respec- 
tive attitudes of the parties concerned that I have entered the 
arena on the present occasion. 
‘There are at the present time more than twenty Natural History 
Clubs in the environs of London, and of these many have long 
been in the habit of making collecting excursions to our Forest. 
Our own Society and our Walthamstow colleagues have their 
head-quarters in the Forest district. Some of the East-End 
clubs are entirely composed of working men, and have done 
excellent work in fostering a healthy taste for the study of out- 
door natural history among this class of the community, a 
matter of considerable importance to us when we so often hear 
that the Forest has been acquired as a recreation-ground chiefly 
for the working men of East London. 
numerous local clubs, there are the great London Societies, 
which, like the Linnean, Zoological, Entomological, Royal 
Microscopical, and Quekett Club, are all interested in promoting 
the study of biology in its various branches. Now, in face of the 
rapid destruction of all the truly wild tracts of country in the 
vicinity of London, it must assuredly be of the greatest import- 
ance to the natural history public as a body to watch with a 
most jealous eye the dealings by those in authority with this the 
largest, wildest, and most accessible of all the open spaces in 
the metropolitan district. To naturalists generally such a tract 
of primitive country as that which has come under the manage- 
ment of the Corporation is something more than a mere pic- 
NATURE 
In addition to these | 
(March 8, 1883 
nic-ing ground—to: all students of nature it is a d/ological pre- 
serve. Nay, I will even go so far as to declare that forest 
management is essentially a scientific subject in itself—a natural 
history question in the | roadest sense. Now with the exception 
of our esteemed members, the Verderers, by whom we were 
invited to a conference some months ago, it appears to me that 
the Conservators as a body—and a confessedly unscientific body 
—are not aware that scientific counsel is necessary to enable 
them to faithfully carry cut the Act of Parliament, zz. to keep 
the area committed to their charge in its ‘‘ natural aspect ” 
as a forest. I will therefore take the present opportunity of 
pointing out that scientific criticisms would have been disarmed 
and the fears of natural history students allayed it the Epping 
Forest Committee had only recognised the claims of science by 
consulting, let us say, the Directorate of Kew Gardens, or by 
appealing to the Councils of some of the London Societies. 
If we consider the actual work done during the period that the 
Forest has keen under the jurisdiction of the Corporation, we 
may fairly say that the energies of this body have hitherto been 
developed in the direction of landscape gardening ; z.e. of arti- 
ficialiang certain portions of the Forest. The great hotel at 
Chingford has been made the centre of convergence of a 
number of roads, some of which have been newly cut 
even at the risk of being superfluous. The aquatically- 
disposed holiday-maker may hire boats in which he can 
paddle about on an ‘‘ornamental water,” or can embark on 
a floating machine turned by hand-paddles, and possibly con- 
structed with a view to delude the occupants into the belief that 
they are on board a steamer. The exhausted East Londoner 
whose vitality appears to require that recuperation which seems 
to be derivable from swinging, steam-roundabouts, and throwing 
sticks at cocoa-nuts, has been amply provided for, and his wants 
| have in every way been attended to. In 1881 the Forest was 
threatened by a railway ; in 1882 by a tramway, and again this 
year another railway billis about to be introduced into Parliament. 
To all these schemes the Committee, no doubt with the best 
motives, gave and still give their support, and one has to seri- 
ously ask what is the meaning of the word ‘‘ conservator,” and 
how far this attitude is compatible with the instruction that 
“‘the Conservators shall at all times as far as possible preserve 
the natural aspect of the Forest,” and ‘shall by all lawful 
means preyent, resist, and abate all future inclosures, encroach- 
ments, and buildings, and all attempts to inclose, encroach, or 
build on any part thereof, or to appropriate or use the same, or 
the soil, timber, or roads thereof, or any part thereof, for any 
purpose inconsistent with the objects of” the Act of 1878. It 
must not be supposed that there is any desire on the part of 
naturalists to exclude the general public. I wish only to em- 
phasise the fact that up to the present time it would appear that 
the Forest has fallen into the hands of those who are disposed to 
regard it exclusively from the point of view of excursionists and 
““cheap trips,” and in accordance with the principle that :upply 
and demand act and react, it may be expected that this class— 
which has thus far alone been catered for—will more and more 
frequent the Forest district. Increased accommodation for ex- 
cursionists means, if we may judge from the line of action pur- 
sued by the Conservators, an extension of facilities for swinging 
and donkey-riding. The ‘‘improvements” that have hitherto 
been made have not been of such a nature as to preserve the 
woodland in its native beauty, but have been limited to the con- 
version of a portion of the Forest land into a resort for pleasure- 
seekers of the class indicated. To the naturalist—and I am 
sure I may say to the intelligent public generally—such a tract 
of primitive country is beautiful only so long as Nature is given 
full sway, and the adjustments which for long ages have been 
going on slowly and silently under the operation of natural laws 
remain unchecked and uninterfered with by man. No unscien- 
tific body of Conservators can possibly realise to the fullest 
extent the seriousness of the charge committed to their care, 
With respect to the management of the Forest, the views of 
| naturalists are now so well known that no excuse can be made 
| for ignoring them, Our wants are of the simplest and most 
economical nature—our case is perfectly met by the trite aphor- 
ism, ‘‘let well alone.” The whole Forest area at present exist- 
ing may be considered to consist of primitive woodland and of 
tracts formerly under cultivation. The former can best be dealt 
with by leaving the ‘management ” to Nature ; whilst the latter 
should be naturalised as soon as possible. And here we cannot 
| close our eyes to the fact that while a large amount of money has 
| been expended in altering portions of the Forest proper, no 
