28 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



In concluding I present to you the portrait of tlie revered 

 Swedish mycologist, Elias Fries, who first introduced logical order 

 into the systematic arrangement of mushrooms. After a life 

 devoted to botany, and principally to mycology, he died in 1878 

 leaving all subsequent students of his chosen field everlastingly 

 indebted to him. The portrait is taken from the second volume 

 of his classical " Icones," or illustrations of mushrooms, which, 

 together with his earlier work on the edible and poisonous species 

 of Sweden, may be seen in the library of the INIassachusetts Hor- 

 ticultural Society. 



Hoping that this brief exposition in connection with the figures 

 that you have seen may have cleared the ground a little, I refer 

 you for more detailed information to the many good books upon 

 the subject, and particularly to the mushrooms themselves. 



MEETII^G FOR LECTURE AI:^"D DISCUSSION. 



Saturday, January 23, 1897. 

 A meeting for Lecture and Discussion was holden today at 

 eleven o'clock, the President, Erancts H. Appletox, in the chair. 

 The following paper was read by the author : 



The Chrysanthemum: Its Past, Present, and Future. 



By Edmund M. Wood, Natick, Mass. 



I have the honor, and most assuredly the pleasure, of address- 

 ing you upon a subject dear to us all, if for no other reason than 

 that it is a part and parcel of '' the means by which we live.'- The 

 Chrysanthemum has, not inaptly, been termed " the Queen of the 

 Autumn," and it is certainly, as it well deserves to be, one of (if 

 not altogether) the most popular of autumn flowers, a special 

 reservation being made at all seasons for the incomparable and 

 unexcelled Rose. 



A famous Irish poet, William Allingham, tlius sings : 



" The rustic family of ox-eyes claim 



A royal cousin clad in purple and gold, 



Pearl, ruby, fleecy colors, such as fold 

 The couching sun, and with a lofty name 



Chrysanthemum, — appearing l)right and bold 

 To startle poor November with a flame 



