a great variety, in C. J, Kortright, F. G. Bull, Mead, and Pickett. It also has several rising youngsters who are bound to be useful in the near future.
In writing an account of Essex cricket, however brief, those who have done service for the county in the past must not be forgotten, and although it is impossible to mention every one by name, still that of the late Frank Silcock, the ever-respected professional, must not be omitted. He was one of the best professionals who has ever played for the county, and he was the backbone of the eleven for many years, and his death was a sad blow to all interested in Essex cricket. Although he had given up playing for the county for many years, he was keen on the County Club till the time of his death, respected and loved by all.
Essex has been very fortunate in having many loyal supporters for the county welfare in addition to those two great supporters, Mr C. E. Green and Mr C. M. Tebbut. The names of Mr Edward North Buxton (father of the late captain Mr C. D. Buxton), Mr A. J. Edwards, Mr C. R. Higgins, Mr C. E. Ridley, Mr James Round, M.P., and of the late Mr G. A. Sedgwick, must not be forgotten; neither must the county forget what it owes to the Earl of Warwick and Colonel Mark Lock wood, M.P, for the keenness they have taken in the county welfare during the last six months, and the special effort they are now making to free the club from debt. In December last the County Club was still £1200 in debt, but, thanks to the appeal that they have made to the county and to cricketers in general, this sum has been reduced to £350, and it is earnestly hoped that this also will be wiped off before the end of the present season, and that for the first time in the history of the club it will be free from debt.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
Though the famous "county of Graces" cannot boast the same antiquity as a cricketing county as many of its rivals, yet Gloucestershire can truly lay claim to the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen, for cannot Dr W. G. Grace look down upon more than a century of centuries? The celebrated Lansdowne Club, which was formed in 1825, may be looked upon as the initiative of cricket in the "west countree." Mr Henry Kingscote, a Gloucestershire amateur, was president of the M.C.C. in 1827. He was educated at Harrow, and occasionally participated
