64 



THE FERN BULLETIN 



most obnoxious is the suggestion that members pay 

 dues for two years in advance in order to allow abso- 

 lute novices an opportunity for experimenting in 

 editorial work. Who will supply the money for the 

 second year's experiments? One reason most persist- 

 ently advanced in favor of an official organ is that 

 there will be more space for the use of the Society. 

 Just how pressing such need is may be judged from the 

 fact that the Secretary does not look after the single 

 page allotted to the Society now. What would he do 

 with thirty-two pages waiting for him? 



A serious omission from the Secretary's notes in 

 the last Annual Report, was an account of the meet- 

 ing of fern students held under the auspices of the So- 

 ciety in Boston, Dec. '29, 1909, at the time of the meet- 

 ing of the American Association for the advancement 

 of Science. This is the sixth meeting of the kind, five 

 others having been held in Boston, New York, St. 

 Louis, New Orleans and Forestville, Conn. At the 

 recent meeting twelve members were present with 

 President Winslow in the chair. The leading feature 

 of the meeting was the address of Raynal Dodge 

 printed elsewhere in this issue. This was discussed by 

 several members. A committee was appointed to plan 

 a field meeting somewhere in New England during 

 the summer. Specimens of ferns were exhibited by 

 Messrs. Robt. Ware, H. G. Rugg, Henry Bigelow and 

 E. J. Winslow. The. first Boston meeting was held in 

 1898 and though fern study was then in its infancy, 

 nearly a hundred fern students attended the meeting 

 and nearly twice as many members of the Society 

 were present as attended the recent meeting. F. G. 

 Floyd had the arrangements for the recent meeting in 

 charge. 



