86 Rhodora [APRIL 
PLANS FOR 1919 SPRING FIELD TRIP OF THE NEW 
ENGLAND BOTANICAL CLUB. 
During the war the field trips of the New England Botanical Club 
were temporarily abandoned, the last trip two years ago at the time 
of great financial demands having an attendance of only four members. 
Now that more settled conditions are in prospect it is proposed to 
renew these week-end explorations, which have proved so effective 
in the past in largely increasing our detailed knowledge of local dis- 
tribution and in affording a remarkable opportunity for many mem- 
bers who enjoy good botanizing and good comradeship to coóperate. 
This spring it is proposed to spend Friday, Saturday, and for those 
who wish it, Sunday, May 30, 31, and June 1, intensively exploring 
the spring and early summer flora of southwestern Massachusetts. 
The proposition is to gather at Pittsfield Thursday evening, when 
plans for the active field work will be clearly formulated. As in the 
past, the party will be divided into groups of two or three and assigned 
definite tracts of southern Berkshire County to explore.. Each party 
is held responsible for the collection of every vascular plant in recog- 
nizable condition in the area assigned, a full series of these plants to 
be turned in to the New England Botanical Club to add to its detailed 
representation. At the end of the trip each member of the party will 
be asked to supply to the phaenogamic curator the proper data for 
label-forms and indication of the number of labels needed and these 
printed label-forms will be supplied to each member. 
Southern Berkshire is somewhat known in midsummer but only 
very limited areas have been botanized in late spring. The present 
season with Hepatica, Epigaea, and others of the earliest flowers 
expanded in March, promises to be unusually early, so that at the end 
of May the Berkshire party will find all the interesting material it can 
care for. The members should take an abundant supply of specimen- 
papers in which to lay out their daily collections and those who wish 
naturally will take a supply of driers. By laying out the specimens 
in pressing paper without many driers the plants can be kept in rea- 
sonably good condition for two or three days until the return home, 
when they will be in condition for final straightening and drying. 
The particular object of the late spring exploration of southern 
Berkshire, besides enjoying the best botanizing to be found in the 
temperate sections of New England, is to search for the many scores 
of species which closely approach the Massachusetts border from the 
west or southwest but which are not yet definitely known within the 
limits of the state. The region of Berkshire County is geographically 
and geologically so closely allied to Litchfield County, Ct., to Dutchess 
and Columbia Counties, N. Y., and to Bennington County, Vt., that 
