364
THE ESSEX NATURALIST
In July the Mammal Group had a most successful meeting
when members met for a mass badger watch followed by a night
fox rally and an early morning deer watch. Also arranged by the
Mammal Group was the General Meeting held at the Suntrap
Field Centre devoted to a symposium of Essex Mammal Distribu-
tion.
Attendance at other meetings has been less good and indoor
meetings at West Ham averaged only 26.
European Conservation Year
Several meetings of the Club were open to the public and
advertised in the List circulated by the Essex Naturalists Trust.
Amongst other displays arranged in the county, the Club con-
tributed a display on the theme of Conservation at the Open Day
of the Essex Naturalists Trust held at its Fingringhoe Nature
Reserve. The Club's exhibit consisted of displays arranged by the
Geology, Mammal, herpetological and Botany Groups. The over-
all lay-out, designed by Mr R. Jones was to be highly commended,
particularly the fine frieze incorporating the Club's name amid a
wealth of natural objects. The geologists assembled a splendid
selection of fossils and the mammal group made a convincing
badger sett. The exhibition aroused a good deal of interest and
it is hoped that the Club will be invited to contribute to future
open days of the Trust.
Planning for the Seventies
The main outcome of the questionnaire was the issuing of the
Bulletin to contain articles of a more informal nature than could
be incorporated in the Essex Naturalist. The first issue of the
Bulletin published under the Editorship of Mr R. Masefield was
distributed in December and it is expected that it will appear
thrice annually.
The procedure whereby new members are elected has been
simplified and only one reading of the candidate's name at a
General Meeting will now be required. This necessitates an
amendment to the rules which will be carried out at a Special
Meeting to be called during 1971.
The annual competition which had been in the form of an
essay has been suspended due to the effort involved and the poor
response achieved. Council will be considering other more
popular forms that the competition could take in the future.
Publications
Volume 32, part 3 of the Essex Naturalist was distributed in
January under the editorship of A. C. Wheeler.
Exchange publications continue to be received from many
societies and are deposited in the Passmore Edwards Museum
where they may be consulted on application to the Curator.