COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 299 



the large hall in which it was held was crowded with an eager and 

 interested lot of people, and many were the exclamations of wonder- 

 ment and surprise at so grand an exhibition. The Society feel justly 

 proud over their second attempt at a public meeting, and it was 

 voted a complete success. More members were admitted, and all 

 declared, that the exhibition for next year should eclipse this one, 

 for they should each and every of them see how much they could do 

 towards good gardening, horticulture and the cultivation of flowers, 

 as well as canning fruit, jelly and preserve-making, pickling fruits, 

 etc. Our regular meetings were then continued about every two 

 weeks, the Society convening at the houses of its members. Since 

 then we have appointed the second Saturday evening of each month . 

 as our regular time for meeting. 



A delegate. Mayor G. W. E. Cook was sent to the State Horti- 

 cultural meetiug at Alton, and brought back a very interesting re- 

 port of it. Mr. Cook on behalf of this Society tendered an invita- 

 tion for the Central Society to hold its next meeting at Lacon, but 

 Normal gained the prize. We intend to renew our invitation at 

 their May meeting and shall send a large delegation, for we feel just 

 like entertaining the Central Horticultural Society, or State Society, if 

 they would come, and show them that although our Society is young, 

 in its infancy so to speak, yet we are alive, and our latch string 

 hangs out to all brothers and sisters in the grand fraternity of hort- 

 iculture. 



We shall hold our annual winter meeting in Temperance Hall, 

 Lacon, Illinois, on Friday and Saturday, (day and evening). Febru- 

 ary 8th and 9th. This meeting will be devoted to reports on fruits, 

 vegetables, meteorology, floriculture, etc. Essays will be prepared by 

 several members on subjects pertaining to our institution. These 

 essays will be interspersed with discussions, music and singing. The 

 President requests that all persons interested in this branch of the 

 world's industry, shall be invited to come and attend our meeting, 

 but as this volume will not probably be issued until after the meet- 

 ing is concluded, the opportunity will be lost, nevertheless we will 

 show our good intentions. The election of officers takes place at the 

 February meeting and the wind-up is a grand oyster supper. We 

 had such short notice that a place would be given us to appear in 

 the transactions or we should have been prepared with a fuller re- 

 port. Next year if we are again given the opportunity, we shall 

 come before you with something of more interest and will endeavor 

 to make a more connected report, and show you what we are doing 

 in a horticultural line as a Society. 



We voted to make the clergymen and their wives honorary 

 members of our Society, and they are taking a deep interest in its 

 success. The Society is not yet a year old and consequently our 

 membership is small, but we are gaining new members constantly, 



