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EDITORIAL. OUT-PUT must not out-run the Society's in-come ! Hence articles by Mr. Powell upon Ornithology, Dr. Ticehurst upon local Mammals and Major Cooper upon coast Migration, are held over by lack of space this year, with various detailed Observations on Fungi, Crustacea, Cuckoos, Trout, etc., etc. " T H E OLD DOCTOR."

It is well to keep in mind those ' openers of roads ' who have paved the way for our present knowledge of Suifolk, because, without their often tedious investigations, our work would be far less stable. John Ellor was the eldest son of William Taylor of Levenshulme near Manchester and his wife, Miss Maria Ellor. After working at Longsight and Crewe, in 1863 he went to Norwich as a sub-editor and later took the chair of theNorwich People's Journal ; there he was a founder of both the Geological Society in 1864 and Science Gossip Club six years later. Three daughters were born of his marriage, on 31 January 1866, with the daughter of the Norwich boys model school's headmaster, Sarah Harriet Bellamy. To the Curatorship of Ipswich Museum he came in 1872 and held the post for one-and-twenty years, which involved much and very populär lecturing, extended during 1885 in a tour through Australia. He was editor of Hardwicke's ' Science Gossip ' monthly magazine during just the same period. Geology of Suffolk was considerably elaborated under his guidance ; and in that broad subject he held the Hon. Secretariate at Norwich,whence he displayed to the great F.R.S., Sir Charles and Lady Lyell, crag at Bramerton, Chillesford-clay at Surlingham and pebble-beds at Thorpe. We knew The Old Doctor intimately during the last few years of his life, and yet possess Sir Charles' original letter to him, dated from Royal Hotel, Norwich, 10 April 1869. As an unusually populär author upon Nature subjects, Taylor is still read, thougb becoming fast sjiperceded. With small leisure for close work, he covered a peculiarly wide field adequately and was thorough in such as he did, persistently averring that " the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small."—C.M. T H E BRITISH ASSOCIATION'S EXCURSION.

The recent centenary meeting of the British Association in London was preceded by an excursion of its geological section during 16-22 September in East Anglia. Deposits were examined at most typical exposures from Walton-on-Naze to Hunstanton, with special attention to the chaxacteristic Drift and Pliocene crags. From Colchester the party, led by Professors Boswell and our member Kendali, proceeded to the cliff

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section at Walton, so fully described by the latter in the current Geological Magazine, examining the bighly fossiliferous sands which comprise the earliest ( " Waltonan ") division of Red Crag. Thence a move was made to Beaumont Hall and Harmer's classical gastropod-locality, Foulton Hall in Oakley Parva, where sections had been re-opened and faunal differences were pointed out. Essex was left for Ipswich, in which district the first exposure visited was of " N e w b o u r n a n " Red Crag at its nominal locality ; many fossils of interest were found, the best in Mr. Booth's quarry. Here Prof. P. F. Kendali, F.R.S., amplified Mr. Booth's remark that there exists intimate relation between Coprolites and plant-growth. These phosphatic nodules are well known as productive manure ; less known is it t h a t the latter's roots, such as wheat, are enabled to search out and embrace Coprolites, sometimes as deep as ten feet down in the Crag, whereupon they feรถd to a certain extent and in so doing cover their surface with well-marked lines, by an etching effect produced by their rootlets: many such nodules, curiously etched, were discovered in situ.

From Newbourn the party moved to see the newest (" Butleyan ") Red Crag at Butley. The Chillesford Bed was examined at Chillesford church, where members came to appreciate the still problematic nature of it, considered by Harmer to represent an erstwhile affluent of the Rhine.* A specially-dug, and at once refilled, pit at Gomer-field in Gedgrave exposed the Coralline (" Gedgravan ") Crag in all its glory ; many tinsfull of shells were extracted, and an interesting fossil was an Elephant's vertebra (none of the seven elephants and mastodons, enumerated in the 1911 Vict. Hist., are from older strata than the Red Crag). Examination of the Castle quarry at Orford preceded an evening in Ipswich Museum, where our member Mr. Maynard discussed exhibits with the party and explained the fine collection's arrangement ; pre-Crag rostro-carinate flints, claimed to be human work, aroused great interest : some members seemed very unconvinced ! The excellent manner of display of all geological specimens was fully appreciated. Next day, the local sequence from Chalk to Drift was beautifully exemplified at the Bramford quarries, and the Boulder-clay C h a n n e l in Mason's pit at Claydon proved interesting.

Bolton's brick-pit and its curious Glacial disturbances were discussed, * H a r m e r ' s c r a g " M o n o g r a p h " a t p a g e 501 s h o w s t h i s a f f l u e n t flowing t o or f r o m Chillesford b y w a y of O r f o r d , across t h e Aide, via A l d e b u r g h w h e r e i t e m b r a c e s s o m e of t h e p r e s e n t N o r t h Sea, s e r p e n t i n e l y i n l a n d of W e s t l e t o n , t h r o u g h H a i e s w o r t h a n d across t h e B l y t h t o S o u t h w o l d a n d E a s t o n B a v e n t s , b a c k w e s t w a r d o v e r t h e W a v e n e y a t Beccles, a n d t h e n c e t h r o u g h t h e Y a r e a n d B u r e broads, via R e e d h a m , R o c k l a n d , B r u n d a l l , W r o x h a m a n d Coltishall t o B u r g h : with b o t h e x t r e m i t i e s i n d e t e r m i n a t e .

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for here had been found the first rostro-carinates along with Mousterian, Aurignacian, and other industries of early flint implements.

The Forest Bed at Corton near Lowestoft, in Norfolk the first Norwich Crag at Thorpe, the Norwich Brickearth (oldest Glacial deposit of East Anglia, excluding the very hypothetical preCrag ' glaciation'), the glacial sands and chalky Jurassic boulderclay (second Glacial deposit), were in turn examined. Later the extreme north was traversed : the fossiliferous Trimmingham cbalk which is the bigbest Chalk in Britain, tbe Forest Bed at Croraer, Leda-myalis Bed, the Cromer Till, and the famous Contorted Drift. Westward the route ran by Sheringham and Weybourne to Stiffkey and Hunstanton ; Weybourne crag was exanimed, along with Mr. Solomon's new Brown Boulder-clay discovery, with its associated upper Palaeolithic Implements.

Finally the environs of Hunstanton afforded interest in their Carstone, Red Chalk, White Chalk and the Aurignacian brown boulder-clay.—F.H.A.E. MR. ROPE'S

TORTOISES.

Our late public-spirited Original Supporter, Mr. George Rope, put eleven specimens of Emys lutaria into a Blaxhall pond during 1889, of which one was found in the Aide River five years later, with some elsewhere. He turned down forty-nine more into ponds and ditches in the same village, and a few others into a pond at Glemham Parva, during 1894-5 ; and in both places specimens survived in a healthy condition, though no young had been observed, up to 1908 (Vict. Hist. 1911, pp. 173 and 176) and our climate was supposed too cold to induce breeding. Hence we are, indeed, delighted to hear from Mr. Francis Saunders of Eye on 4 December 1931 t h a t " very numerous" Tortoises were discovered on the low meadows, adjoining the Aide River, of Elm Tree farm in Farnham, while they were hibernating in dykes that were being cleared during February 1929. The first dozen turned out included mature and nearly black specimens, having the carapace some nine inches in length, with young ones of all sizes from that of a walnut. In these meadows this European Tortoise has been frequently observed since that time ; and " anyone, who is a little cautious in movement, may see them at anytime in warm weather basking upon stumps, etc., beside the water : any amount of them could be found, if required."

Several have been annexed as pets by labourers there, but apparently none carried out of Farnham village. We consider it most satisfactory to find, twenty years after, that Mr. Rope's introduction has thus justified itself by ample propagation.