12 



Independence adopted by our General Court, April 11, 1776, a white 

 flag, with a green pine tree in the middle. This flag, the first standard 

 bearer of liberty, was hoisted at Salem, Felt thinks, as early as 

 March, 1775, and Salem was the first place reported in England as 

 having raised it. Mr. E. writes that no such die as this has been used 

 at the Custom House for many years, and is unable to give any satis- 

 factory account of it. 



Mr. George D. Phippen occupied the hour of the evening in pleas- 

 ant and interesting remai'ks on some points in botany, suggested 

 mainly by the lectures which Mr. Horace Mann is delivering at the 

 rooms of the Institute on alternate Monday evenings. 



Botany may be considered under four great heads, or divisions. 

 PJiysiological, Systematic, Geographical and Paljeontologdcal. He 

 chose for his subject the first of these diAasious, and spoke of the 

 cells, the vascular tissue, the circulation and the growth' of plants. 

 Plants may be arranged under four heads : 1st, Thallogens, as the 

 mushrooms, lichens and sea-weeds ; 2d, Acrogens, consisting of ferns, 

 lycopods, etc. ; 3d, Eadogens, or inside growers, as the grasses, corn 

 and lilies, etc., but characterized in the tropics by the noble palms ; 

 4th, Exogens, or outside growers, combining our trees, shrubs and 

 most of the fiowering plants. He concluded by speaking of the Cam- 

 bium and Bass tissue, the latter of which constitutes the material 

 used in the various textiles, and showed specimens which were ob- 

 tained from the Roxbury waxwork, and the milk weed. He also 

 alluded to the lactiferous vessels, which, however, are only found in 

 some plants, and from them are derived India Rubber, Gutta Percha, 

 etc. The most common with us are the milk weeds, celandine, and 

 some of the composite plants. 



Lizzie H. Smith, David Piugree Waters, John Henry Goldsmith, 

 all of Salem, were elected Resident Members. 



MoNDAT, March 30, 1868. — Regular Meeting. 

 Vice President Goodell in the chair. 



Donations and Correspondence announced. 



Mr. Horace Mann gave his fifth lecture on Botany. Subject : the 

 leaf, its development, death and fall, sensitiveness, situation on the 

 stem, etc., etc. 



Monday, April 6, 1868. — Regular Meeting. 

 Vice President Goodell in the chair. 



Mr. F. W. Putnam was elected Secretary pro tem. 

 Donations and correspondence announced. 



The Secretary read by title a paper from Edward Norton "on 

 Mexican Ants," referred to the Publication Committee. 

 The CHAIR presented a Pitch-pipe in the name of Samuel Day, and 



