158 FIELD MEETING AT BOXFORD. 



and received the party on arrival. After depositing the 

 baskets, the time previous to lunch was occupied by a 

 ramble through the fields and woods. The rich bloom of 

 vegetation was past, a few autumnal flowers yet lingered, 

 and the dry and withered leaves as they fell to the ground 

 indicated that summer was ended and that the winter was 

 near. 



After partaking of a lunch in the basement of the 

 church, the afternoon session was held in an adjoining 

 room. The Rev. W. P. Alcott, in the chair, extended a 

 cordial welcome and said that such visits from the older 

 societies would do much to stimulate those that are re- 

 cently formed, to increased efforts in the cause of science. 

 He exhibited a fine collection of plants prepared by him- 

 self; several of these were found in the refuse heaps of 

 a woollen mill — the seed undoubtedly imported with the 

 wool, finding a lodgment in the bales during the process 

 of packing. Several quite rare plants, of foreign origin, 

 have thus been detected and have become naturalized. 



Since the meeting Mr. Alcott has prepared a list of the 

 plants exhibited with accompanying notes, and it is ap- 

 pended to the report of this meeting. 



Mr. Alcott then called upon Mr. John Robinson, of 

 Salem, who read a very interesting paper entitled "A 

 Study of Botany in Essex County," alluding briefly to 

 those plants that characterize our local flora, spoke of the 

 condition of botanical science during the time of Rev. 

 Dr. M. Cutler, when he was the devoted minister at the 

 Hamlet church in Ipswich, now Hamilton, during the lat- 

 ter part of the last and the beginning of the present cen- 

 turies, devoting much attention to scientific pursuits, 

 and may be considered the pioneer botanist of Essex. Brief 

 sketches were given of Dr. George Osgood, Dr. Andrew 

 Nichols, Dr. Charles Pickering, William Oakes, John 



