10 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



Act to incorporate the Massachusetts Horticultural Society was 

 approved June 12, 1829. 



On looking through that Act of Incorporation, I see that the 

 Trustees are unable to lay and collect assessments on members of 

 the Society' in excess of two dollars per annum. An annual assess- 

 ment of two dollars seems inadequate. I do not believe that there 

 is a Society of our importance where the assessment is so small. 

 Before long this Act of Incorporation should be amended in such a 

 way that it will read : " To lay and collect assessments on members 

 in such sums as shall be decided from time to time by the Trustees." 



Since the foundation of the Society, the membership fee for life 

 members has been thirty dollars, with the exception of a few of the 

 earlier years, when it was twenty dollars; and for annual members, 

 an entrance fee of ten dollars and an annual payment of two dollars. 

 The fee for life members might well be increased to fifty or even one 

 hundred dollars, and for annual members an entrance fee of ten 

 dollars as at present and the annual payment of new annual mem- 

 bers of five dollars. Annual payments for annual members who 

 have already joined the Society should not be changed. The 

 Trustees, however, should be given full power to decide in future 

 as to what fees are to be levied upon life and annual members. I 

 doubt not that members of the Society would be willing to pay a 

 larger assessment which would assist the Society financially and 

 would enable the Trustees to extend their work. 



It seems almost unbelievable that our membership on December 

 31, 1918, consisted of only 45 Honorary and Corresponding 

 members, and of 985 life and annual members: 



Honorary members 3 



Corresponding members 42 45 



Life members 790 



Annual members 195 985 



These are all the people in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

 we have been able to persuade to join our Society. During the last 

 two years, Mr. Saltonstall, on behalf of the Trustees, made a 

 vigorous campaign for new members. Lists were carefully pre- 



