Early Days of the American Fern Society

Abstract

The roots of the American Fern Society run back to 1875, when Harlan H. Ballard established a society for the study of nature in connection with classes which he was then teaching in Lenox, Massachusetts. This was so well received locally that he decided to extend an invitation to the young folks in other communities to join the new movement, and a note to this effect was published in St. Nicholas, at the time the leading nature magazine for young people. A large number of replies were received, and as a result the Agassiz Association for the study of nature by correspondence was formed in 1880 and named for the distinguished naturalist, Louis Agassiz. In a day when movies, autos, radios, bicycles, telephones, and interurbans were rare or absent, people had more time for a study of their surroundings and the chance of being helped over the hard places in a new study was not to be neglected. Not only did the idea appeal to the children for whom it was originally intended, but many grown-ups, interested in a study of the out-door world, were attracted. Local groups, known as Chapters, were formed in many places, and three years later there were more than 650 Chapters in existence, with a total of some 15,000 members. Soon other Chapters, known as Corresponding Chapters, were formed for