Xotes and News 29 



Alas 



their 



entire attention. 



After the slopes of the Taconic mountains, which run 

 through the southeastern half of Bennington county, 

 were stripped of their evergreen timber the original 

 growth was followed by a forest of hard wood and with 

 it came the ferns, which in many sections completely 

 covered the ground. Only two varieties are used by 

 the greenhouses, the hardy rock and serrated ferns, for 

 the reason that they are tough and capable of with- 

 standing rough handling to which they are subjected 

 during the picking and shipping. 

 ^ The pickers are paid four cents a hundred for ferns 

 tied in bunches of 25. Some of the experts have earned 

 at that rate between $7 and $8 in a single day. In the 

 last two years the industry has grown to such an extent 

 that the lumber companies which control the mountain 

 land on which the ferns are gathered now lease the 

 picking privileges, instead of permitting free access to 

 the property, as was formerly the case. 



The business is rather precarious. Some years the 

 ferns keep well in cold storage and at $2.50 a thousand, 

 the price charged the florists, good profits are made 



mfreq 



The 



ferns, for some reason that has not yet been discovered, 

 turn black or yellow and become worthless. 



[From a newspaper clipping] 



American Fern Society 



The recently appointed Treasurer asks all members to 

 remit dues for the current year as promptly as possible. 

 Following a new policy bills will be sent out with the 

 Journal. Members in arrears for 1913 will confer a 

 favor by cancelling their obligation at once and thus 



