30 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



bersliip. Tlie number of members, under tlie operation of our local society 

 system, has become unreasonably small, while the income from this source 

 is still further diminished by the necessity to prepay postage on volumes 

 of our annual reports, sent to each as a perquisite of membership. 



"Our experience in the past has shown, very conclusively, that since 

 people are encouraged to freely attend and participate in our meetings and 

 discussions, and while the state authorities make a free distribution of a 

 portion of our transactions, of which the society provides the matter and 

 edits and distributes the same, at large expense, the mass of even those 

 interested in our objects are not unwilling to quietly ignore the claims of 

 the society, while they make free use of the benefits of its labors. 



" The necessity that some effective step be taken to remedy this, leads 

 me to present for your consideration the plan pursued for several years, 

 with apparent success, by the Ontario society, of which a leading feature 

 seems to be the annual distribution, to its members, of one or more of the 

 newer and more promising novelties of the day, as perquisites of member- 

 ship. Such novelties are selected by competent persons, for a supposed 

 adaptation to their climates and soils, while such selection affords a reason- 

 able guaranty not only of such adaptation, but, furthermore, that they are 

 true to name, and above all suspicion of humbuggery or fraud. 



"It may be well to carefully consider the practicability of some such 

 plan as the following: The appointment of a committee charged with 

 the duty of securing, by purchase or otherwise, the varieties to be propa- 

 gated for each year's distribution, the same to be chosen with reference to 

 adaption to both the northern and southern portions of our state, such 

 committee to arrange for the propagation of the requisite number of each, 

 and also for the distribution of the same. Possibly these results might be 

 reached by some arrangement with the horticultural department of either 

 the Agricultural college or the experiment station. 



"With the probable population of our state at the present time, the 

 number of volumes of our transactions, printed and supplied to us by the 

 state, does not exceed one volume for each four hundred of our population. 

 With so comparatively limited a supply, it is a matter of much moment 

 that each volume should go into appreciative hands. In the older 

 counties, in which horticultural organizations exist, more or less satisfac- 

 tory arrangements for this purpose are already in existence; but in the 

 more northern and newer counties, which mainly yet lack organizations of 

 this character, the facilities for proper distribution of our annual volumes, 

 the securing of memberships in our society, and the organizing of local 

 societies, do not yet exist; nor is the ability to provide such within the 

 limited means now at our disposal. The society has had this matter for 

 some time under consideration; but the unfortunate illness and consequent 

 resignation of Secretary Garfield, together with other embarrassments, has 

 intervened to prevent active operations in this direction. It would seem 

 important that the society, by a committee or by other ec^uivalent means, 

 secure the addresses of suitable persons, distributed through these new and, 

 to us, unoccupied regions; and that, through such means, such volumes as 

 can be spared for the purpose be distributed, with the piirpose to increase 

 our membership, to beget an interest in horticulture, and to encourage 

 the organization of local societies. 



"Another means through which more or less of these volumes may be 

 made to aid in the work of horticultural improvement, and at the same 

 time to return to the society, in memberships or otherwise, a portion of its 



