THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA II 



On this, our Fiftieth Anniversary (or our Sixty-third Anniversary, if you 

 prefer), we may well ask what have been the accomplishments of the Botani- 

 cal Society of America. I would list the following: 



1. The establishment and the publication of forty-three volumes of the 

 American Journal of Botany. This is certainly an accomplishment of which 

 we all can be proud. The Journal's high standards are praised by all botanists, 

 and our Journal has come to be recognized as one of the leading botanical 

 journals in the world. Our Society has been most fortunate in its appointment 

 of outstanding and devoted editors -* — F. C. Newcombe, C. E. Allen, E. W. 

 Sinnott, S. F. Trelease, R. E. Cleland, B. S. Meyer, and the present incum- 

 bent, W. C. Steere. And we should not forget the business managers who 

 have administered the finances of the Journal, and the innumerable authors 

 and reviewers who have made the Journal what it is today. 



2. We may also point with pride to our successful annual meetings with 

 their galaxies of scientific papers, symposia, addresses, panels, etc. 



3. Our membership has grown by leaps and bounds, especially during 

 the last few decades. You will recall that in 1893 the Society began with 

 21 charter members, while at the time of the fusion of the three societies 

 in 1906 there were 119 members. In 1956 we have nearly 2000 members. 



4. On this festive occasion we can take considerable satisfaction in the 

 role that the Society and its representatives have played in the affairs of the 

 National Research Council, the American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, and, more recently, the American Institute of Biological Sciences. 



5. One of the more significant developments of the past few years has 

 been the work of the Committee on the Role of Botany (or the Greenfield 

 Committee, as it has come to be called). The provocative reports that have 

 come from this Committee have done much to open the eyes of Society 

 members to the status of Botany in the colleges and universities. It has led 

 to much discussion, considerable thought, and, we hope, eventual results. 



6. A year and a half ago the Plant Science Bulletin appeared. Although it 

 is still a struggling seedling, we hope that it will eventually become as sturdy 

 and respected as the American Journal of Botany. 



7. This summer the Botanical Society of America cosponsored, with Cor- 

 nell University, the National Science Foundation-financed Summer Insti- 

 tute of Botany at Ithaca, New York. We hope that this will be the first 

 of many such institutes to be held throughout the country in future years. 



8. After several years' work on the part of a special committee, the Bo- 

 tanical Society is ready to publish a career-guidance pamphlet. 



9. To celebrate the Golden Jubilee year, the Society has invited some 

 forty of its members to prepare special articles summarizing developments 



28 Editor's note — The author has himself been for several years a member of 

 this group, as Editor-in-chief, but modestly does not list his own name. 



