FIELD MEETING AT OAK DELL, GEORGETOWN. 



THE first field meeting of the season was held at Oak 

 Dell, on Tuesday, June 13, 1883. It is a picturesque 

 spot in South Georgetown, as its name signifies, an oak 

 grove. A beautiful pond is within easy walking distance, 

 and the surface is pleasantly diversified. The proprietors 

 have taken advantage of the natural attractions of the 

 place in order to adapt it to picnics and other gatherings. 



A raised platform for speakers and seats for an as- 

 sembly of two hundred are placed under the oaks, and 

 near by, a cook-house and tables for refreshments. The 

 party from Salem and vicinity went in barges and car- 

 riages, and were joined at the grounds by others from 

 Danvers, West Newbury, Boxford, Georgetown and 

 Groveland. Exploring parties were at once formed, the 

 botanical work alone promising good results. Mrs. Char- 

 lotte N. S. Horner chiefly conducted this part of the 

 work ; others visited the lake and other points of interest. 

 At 2 o'clock P. M., the meeting was held in the grove, 

 President Wheatland presiding, who prefaced the exer- 

 cises with remarks on the utility of field meetings and 

 the pleasant auspices under which this one was held. Mrs. 

 Horner was introduced as one highly conversant with 

 natural history, and who has devoted herself to the study 

 of the flora of Essex County, especially of her own dis- 

 trict, Georgetown and vicinity. 



She exhibited and described a number of plants col- 

 lected in the forenoon's ramble, indigenous to the locality. 

 She considered ^this a rare field for botanical study, and 

 stated that more species of plants can be found in it than 

 in any other district of equal extent in the county. 



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