Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota, 1916 | Page 2

than the winter meeting of 1917.
Secretary Latham has prepared an excellent program for you. Many
friends of this society are with us again, full of enthusiasm and vigor,
and I know that we will have one of the most successful meetings ever
enjoyed by this organization.
Owing to the fullness of the program, I should consider it an imposition
on my part if I should attempt to make an extended address at this time

and will hasten to call on the gentlemen who are to contribute to the
success of this meeting.
[Illustration: New varieties of strawberries originated at the Minnesota
State Fruit-Breeding Farm.]

Annual Meeting, 1915, Minnesota State Horticultural Society.
A. W. LATHAM, SECRETARY.
Did you attend the 1915 meeting of this association, held in the West
Hotel, Minneapolis, four days, December 7-10 inclusive? Of course as
a member of the society you will get in cold print the substance of the
papers and discussions that were presented at this meeting, but you will
fail altogether in getting the wonderful inspiration that comes from
contact with hundreds of persons deeply interested in the various
phases of horticultural problems that are constantly passing in review
during the succeeding sessions of the meeting. With such a varied
program there is hardly any problem connected with horticulture that is
not directly or indirectly touched upon at our annual gathering, and the
present meeting was no exception to this. In all there were sixty-nine
persons on the program, and with the exception of Prof. Whitten, whom
we expected with us from the Missouri State University, and whom
sickness kept at home, and one other number, every person on the
program was on hand to perform the part assigned to him. Isn't this
really a wonderful thing where so many are concerned, emphasizing as
it does the large interest felt in the work of the society?
The meeting was held in the same room in the West Hotel which was
used for the banquet two years ago. It seats comfortably 250, and was
approximately filled at all of the sessions of the meeting. At the first
session there were in attendance about 200 when the meeting opened at
ten o'clock Tuesday morning. Later in the morning the seats were
practically all filled. Making allowance for the change in the personnel
of those in attendance at the various meetings, it is easily within the
limit to say that between 400 and 500 were in attendance at these

meetings.
Immediately adjoining the audience room on the same floor, and
opening out of the spacious balcony, were the various rooms occupied
by the fruit exhibit and the vegetable exhibit. The plant exhibit was in
two alcoves on this balcony, and the cut flowers were displayed along
either side of the balcony, making altogether a wonderful showing of
nature's floral products. The accommodations for this meeting were
almost ideal, and judging from the expressions of the members we have
never been more happily situated than on this occasion. I have
endeavored to draw a plan of the arrangements at this meeting and
submit it to you, not for criticism, but to assist you in understanding the
situation.
We were greatly disappointed that Prof. Whitten was detained at home
by illness, but others from abroad took up the time so that there was
really no interim as a result of his absence. We were fortunate in having
with us the last day and a part of Thursday afternoon Sen. H.M. Dunlap
and Mrs. Dunlap, and their parts on the program were listened to with
intense interest, and I am sure much good was gained for our
membership from the service they rendered the society, which it must
be understood is a gratuitious one--indeed that applies to all of those
whose names appear upon the program. That is one good thing about
the horticulturist, he is willing to tell what he knows for the benefit of
others. To hold any other view than this would be too narrow and
selfish certainly for the true lover of horticulture.
The exhibits were in every case in excess of what we anticipated.
Notwithstanding the light crop of apples in the larger portion of the
state, there was really a fine showing, and quality was very high. Of
boxes of apples there were shown eleven, and of barrels of apples six,
for each one of which exhibits some premium was paid, as besides the
first, second and third premiums in each case there was also a sum to be
divided pro rata. There were twenty-nine pecks of apples exhibited, for
which premiums were also paid in the same way. Four collections of
top-worked apples were on the list. Premiums were awarded to forty
seedling apples, an exceedingly good showing for the season. As to