AMERICAN FERN Socretry 95 
wish to congratulate them all; and, still more heartily, 
to congratulate the Society on their continued interest 
and service in it. 
In connection with the Fern Exhibit of the Mass. 
Horticultural Society there was called a meeting of the 
members of the American Fern Society, living in and 
near Boston. About twenty members were present, 
with Mr. Wm. R. Maxon, President, in the chair. Mr. 
Maxon was president in connection with the Fern Ex- 
hibit for which he had been asked to serve as one of 
the judges. Dr. Benedict was in charge of the exhibit 
sent by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; he also delivered 
an illustrated lecture on ferns and prepared a pamphlet 
on cultivated ferns which was distributed by the Horti- 
cultural Society to persons attending the exhibit. Miss 
Marshall and the other two editors were also present, so 
that the officers were pretty well represented. 
The meeting included a discussion of various items 
connected with the increase in membership,—the So- 
ciety has now for the first time, reached the mark of 
three hundred members and is still growing. Mrs. 
Scott suggested that members locally might well en- 
deavor to interest their park authorities in establishing 
plantations of local hardy ferns, both for their beauty 
and to educate the public to a better knowledge of these 
plants. : 
The question of enlarging the scope of the American 
Fern Journal by endeavoring to secure more articles on 
various greenhouse ferns, especially those which are 
valuable as house plants, was discussed. It was pointed 
out that, even if we were disposed to interpret with en- 
tire strictness the statement on our stationery that the 
Society is devoted particularly to the study of native 
ferns, the tropical ferns of Porto Rico, Panama and the 
Philippines might now be said to be natives of the United 
States. 
