5<' 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Naturally the new society has had to do quite an amount of 

 missionary work. What our folk-lore scholars are " driving at," 

 the importance of the study of unwritten traditions, the value of 

 Indian myths and rude customs, of negro fables, or of old super- 

 stitions, the great necessity of gathering the lore of American 

 folk while there are time and opportunity — these are matters that 

 the general public do not yet fully understand or appreciate. 

 Folk lore is a study to which every one can add his or her mite, 

 from the farmer to the stock broker, from the servant girl to the 

 mistress. We find many quaint and curious items of superstition 

 or traditionary lore in the parlor, in the kitchen, and in Wall 

 Street. Indeed, we need only to read the daily newspaper reports 

 of clairvoyants, mediums, fortune-telling, haunted houses, etc., to 

 be reminded of those low forms of thought that characterize rude 

 and uncivilized communities. 



The American Folk-lore Society has continued to increase in 

 numbers from the very beginning. It now has a membership of 



five hundred, which exceeds 

 that of any similar organi- 

 zation in Europe. The in- 

 fluence of the society has 

 been strengthened and ex- 

 tended principally by the 

 formation of branch socie- 

 ties in different sections of 

 the country. There are now 

 folk-lore societies in six large 

 cities — in Boston, Philadel- 

 phia, New Orleans, Mont- 

 real, Chicago, and New 

 York. The Chicago Folk- 

 lore Society is an independ- 

 ent body; the others are 

 affiliated with the national 

 society. 



The effect of these local 

 societies on the future study 

 of folk lore in America can 

 not be estimated at the pres- 

 ent time. Already their influence has been felt in many quarters. 

 The meetings bring people together for an interchange of views 

 and for pleasant entertainment. Although these societies have a 

 social side and function, they are in fact working societies, as the 

 following will show : 



The first local branch of the American Folk-lore Society was 

 established in November, 1889, at Philadelphia— a city noted for 



Mr. W. W. Nhwell. 



