NEW YORK, Monday—My son, James, arrived here on Friday night and has been here for two days, which is a treat for us. He so rarely comes on from the West Coast.

On Sunday at Hyde Park I went over to meet the members of the J. Hood Wright Men's Club at the library after church. James went to church with me and was greeted with surprise and pleasure by a number of people. As he was still in the uniform of the Marine Corps, since he had been in Newport, R.I., for a three-weeks reservists' course, he was immediately asked whether he was back in the service. He explained it was only temporary.

At the library I also met Dr. Heinrich L. Krekeler, German Charge d' Affairs in Washington. He brought me a book written by a German scientist last year, based on a very careful study of our TVA. I gave it at once to Mr. Herman Kahn, director of the library. Books on subjects that deal with government undertakings during the time my husband was in Washington are very much in demand by students, not only those who visit here, but through requests for microfilmed copies from all over the world.

Mrs. Aung San of Burma and Mr. Sudhir Ghosh, director of Faridabad, India, who are here under the auspices of the State Department, both came up by train on Saturday. They were met and taken to the library and Jimmy and I picked them up there after church and brought them back to my cottage for lunch. We had our first picnic down on my picnic grounds under the trees and found it very pleasant and not too warm.

It was wonderful to have some rain Saturday night and to have it clear up so we could enjoy another good day on Sunday. The woods are beautiful because of so much rain, but our tulip poplars have fared very badly. When we succeeded in getting the tree man over on Saturday he said it was due to the overabundance of rain. Other trees had suffered in the same way in this area.

We notice again this year that the birches are turning brown, as though something were eating them. I carried on a crusade trying to destroy the nests that produce so many caterpillars, but I know I missed a great many. I am not sure that they are the cause or whether some other pests are responsible for the blight.

I came down here on Sunday evening after supper as I had to catch a plane at LaGuardia Field, for Boston this morning. I was accompanied by Mrs. David M. Levy and we were bound for Brandeis University, where we both are trustees. Following a board meeting we were scheduled to attend the commencement exercises. This is the first commencement for Brandeis and so a day of great excitement. I am much interested in this university, and one reason is that it has no quota system. People are accepted as they apply and on their merits, not because of race or creed. This method is thought by some to be very impractical, so I watch results with a great deal of interest.