AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 93 
like our own, maintain as their chief form of activity a 
Journal for the advancement of their special field of. 
study. In our own Society, the strictest economy hav-— 
ing been practiced before, the question becomes one either 
of reduction in printing or of securing additional funds. 
Curtailment is possible in three ways: by decreasing the 
edition of the JourRNAL, by issuing fewer pages per num- 
ber, and by omitting free illustrations. For several 
reasons the first method suggested is undesirable; in 
particular, it would result in uneven sets, which would 
be especially unfortunate in meeting the steady demands 
of the larger new membership which we expect even- 
tually to have. As to issuing smaller numbers: Al- 
though the budget for 1920 as agreed upon contemplat- 
ed publishing two 32-page numbers and two others of 
smaller size, if necessary, the council has hesitated to put 
this plan into operation, preferring to draw upon the re- 
serve emergency fund for making up any deficit which 
might be incurred by the publication of four 32-page 
numbers, in the belief that under the present unusual 
conditions a more legitimate use for a part of this fund 
could not be found. The third suggested means of re- 
ducing expenses, by eliminating free illustrations, has 
been adhered to with a considerable resultant saving. 
Nevertheless the day of reckoning has merely been 
deferred, since the emergency fund is not a large one and 
in any case ought not to be exhausted. Although not 
indispensable, illustrations are an extremely desirable 
feature of the JourNnaL and should be continued, the ex- 
penses being borne partly by the JourNaL; and in 
other respects the JouRNAL should be continued very 
much as at the present time, certainly in an edition 
of the present size and with the present number of 
pages. There should be no backward steps. 
Equally true it is that the costs of printing have 
mounted greatly, with no immediate reduction in pros- 
