Preface 



THE Committee on Editing Transactions has considered that this volume 

 will be useful chiefly as a book of reference to the events and current 

 thought of the A. S. L. A., not only for its members but for others. Con- 

 ciseness has therefore been sought and repetition avoided; matters that 

 seemed of merely temporary interest have been omitted, and facts placed so as to 

 be easily accessible. Lists of members, executive and special committees, and 

 treasurer's reports have been tabulated so that the standing of members, officers, 

 committees, and finances of any year can be quickly found and compared with 

 those of other years. 



Reports of meetings have been standardized, attention being paid even to 

 such details as the order of statement of time and place of meeting, the omission 

 of initials of those present (which can be found in the membership list) and of the 

 chairman, who is the highest officer present. The membership list has been 

 brought up to January, 191 2, the year of publication, in order to make it as useful 

 as possible. 



It has been thought best to record the meetings separately, not only because 

 they form a sequential history of the Society, but because of the individual and 

 intimate character which they still retain. 



It has been a common practice for members to bring plans of work in progress 

 to the meetings for criticism; but, as the discussions of these plans have not been 

 preserved, it is held sufficient to refer to the custom in these general terms. 



The papers have been printed entire, abbreviated or even rewritten and, in 

 several cases, revised by the authors; but it is beheved that nothing of permanent 

 value has been lost. In two instances (papers by Mr. J. C. Olmsted and Mr. 

 F. L. Olmsted on the Boston Park System, and by Mr. Vitale on Italian Gardens) 

 illustrations have been added to elucidate the text. 



The subject of exhibitions of works of members has often been discussed and 

 several committees have been appointed; but only two meetings have been held, 

 one in 1902 and one as part of the exhibition of the Municipal Art Society, in 1907. 

 The catalogue of the former, as the only one yet held by the Society alone, is 

 printed entire. An index to the whole, with many cross references, is given. 



It has not always been easy to decide what material should be rejected and 

 what retained, and complete consistency therein is not claimed. It is only to be 

 expected that opinions will differ as to judgment in selection, but it is hoped that 

 the book may aid in establishing a standard for revised Transactions and thus 

 lighten the labors of future editing committees. 



