Volume 14, Part 3, August 2000

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ReferencesMoore, F. J. (1979) Presidential Address. A discipline's

debt to a learned society: plant pathology and theBMS. Transactions of the British Mycological Society73: 1-7.

Moore, W. C. (1942) Presidential Address. Organisationfor plant pathology in England and Wales - retrospectand prospect. Transactions of the British MycologicalSociety 25: 229-245.

Outen, A. R. (1999) Margaret Holden 1922-1998: anappreciation. Mycologist 13: 143-145.

Webster, J. (1997) Presidential Address 1996. The BritishMycological Society, 1896-1996. Mycological Research101: 1153-1178.

David Hornby22 Chartwell Drive

LutonBeds . LU2 7JD

AcknowledgementsI am indebted to those who helped me to piecetogether the above story: Dr M. E. Brown, Dr R.J. W. Byrde, Dr D. H. Lapwood, Miss M. A. Pratt,Dr W. S. Pierpoint, Dr T. F. Preece , and ProfessorJ . Webster.

Slides 4, 6 and 11: lists of locations for FieldDays, 1923-1929, 1931-1939 and 1946-1966 , respectively. Years in whichlocations were revisited are given inparentheses ; some return visits weremade during World War II.

Slides 7, 8 and 9: PPC chairmen and secretaries1932-1945, 1945-1956 and 1957-1966,respectively.

The layout and topics of the slides resembleaspects of the published version of Joan Moore'sPresidential Address to the BMS (Moore, 1979).It seems likely, therefore, that these were theslides shown during her oral presentation of thataddress. Since it is also known that Joan Moorepractised calligraphy, the handwriting is probablyher own . The slides may have come intoMargaret Holden's possession because of her rolewithin the BMS and/or because at one time sheand Joan lived close to each other in Harpenden.

Three BMS presidential addresses (Moore, W.C., 1942; Moore, F. J. , 1979; Webster, 1997)contain fuller accounts of most of the topics inthese slides, which are now lodged in theSociety's archives.

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A calligraphic record of organised plant pathology in Britain

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Margaret Holden, curator of the slide collectionof the British Mycological Society (BMS) for 30years , died in 1998(Outen, 1999). Early in 1999, abox of photographic slides from her effects waspassed to me with the query, "Are these of anyinterest?" . The slides are a potted history, incalligraphy, of the organisation of plantpathology in Britain from 1896-1966. The originsand history of the Plant Pathology Committee(PPC) of the BMS have prominence. On theslides, PPC is used also for the Plant PathologySub-Committee, which existed from 1919to 1931.

The slides are numbered 1-9, 11, 12, suggesting

that originally there was also a number 10. Slide3 (Fig 1) illustrates their style.

The subjects are briefly:Slide 1: 1896-1919. Board of Agriculture; BMS

presidents with plant pathologicalleanings; BMS Plant Pathology [Sub-]Committee.

Slide 2: Advisory and Research Service in 1924.Slides 3, 5 and 12: milestones in the

phytopathological service and in thePPC 1920-1930, 1930-1945 and 1945-

1966, respectively. Slide 3 also namesthe first appointments to the PlantPathology [Sub-] Committee.

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