— 3 — 



The Members were 34 in all. Associate Members were soon merged with 

 the Active, as after the first few months all were found to be active. Of 

 these 34, five have died: Mrs. Emilia C. Anthony, March 17, 1904; Mrs. Adele 

 D. Moore, in 1901 or 1902; Mr. John A. Wheeler, Sept. 4, 1905; Prof. A. A. Eaton, 

 Sept. 29, 1908, and Mrs. Mary L. Stevens, Sept. 17, 1907. Mrs. Stevens, it will 

 be remembered, left a bequest to the Society including her fine compound micro- 

 scope. Twelve have resigned or been lost track of, leaving 17 Charter Members 

 listed on January ist, 19 16. Rev. Charles H. Demetrio and Mr. J. Warren 

 Huntington have written cordial letters of greeting at this time. 



The first ticket for election of officers was printed in the October, 1899, 

 issue with Mrs. M. L. Stevens, Judge of Elections. Candidates for President 

 were Miss Mary E. Hart and Dr. A. J. Grout; for Vice-Pres., J. Franklin Collins 

 and W. R. Maxon; for Sec.-Treas., Miss Harriet L. Wheeler and Mrs. Smith. 

 Result — the election of Messrs. Grout and Collins and Mrs. Smith. 



With the January, 1900, number The Bryologist began an independent 

 existence, a fully fledged magazine, with covers and all complete, under the 

 joint editorship of Dr. Grout and myself, with 58 members listed and a subscrip- 

 tion list of 203 in addition; that is, 261 copies were sent out. 



Just here it may be well to clear away the haze which even at this date obscures 

 some of the facts. Strange as it may seem, it is even now too late to be quite 

 certain as to who first thought of having a moss society. Some years ago I con- 

 templated writing an historical sketch for The Bryologist, at the time I turned 

 it over to the Society, and in trying to put words on paper I found my own mem- 

 ory at fault. I consulted Dr. Grout and he gave me little satisfaction. Mrs. 

 Britton, when asked who first thought of the idea, would neither claim it for 

 herself, nor impute it to either Dr. Grout or Mr. Clute. It probably shares with 

 so many other large and glorious enterprises and inventions, in being the joint 

 product of several brains. It certainly originated within the trio just named, 

 though I personally feel that Dr. Grout was responsible for starting The Bry- 

 ologist, and that Mrs. Britton stands as the God-Mother of The SuUivant Moss 

 Chapter, and that it is a happy coincidence that she is now our honored Presi- 

 dent. To many unacquainted with the inner history of the Society it may 

 seem late in the day to pay her this honor, but I can assure you she has always 

 refused heretofore to act in this capacity, though often urged. She has however 

 in an unofficial capacity always done her full share to promote the interests of 

 the Society as well as its magazine. 



As you have noted I have used so far "Chapter" more frequently than "So- 

 ciety." From the first I personally was not in favor of placing our organization 

 under the wing of the Agassiz Association, as at that time the latter was only 

 emerging from a protracted sleep. Mr. Clute's only contribution so far as I am 

 aware was insisting on our becoming a Chapter of the Agassiz Association with 

 which he had affiliations. It was soon found that we were tied to a moribund 

 association, and we dropped that connection after the first year. The Chapter 

 paid the Agassiz Association membership dues only that first year, and on Janu- 

 ary I, 1899, the President, Mr. Harlan H. Ballard, Pittsfield, Mass., was notified 



