138 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



charge of good, reliable, and competent men, ought, it seems 

 to me, to be no longer disputed. If what is now known as 

 the Hatch bill in congress, becomes a law, every man of us 

 must use his influence to see that it is used for the purpose 

 designed, and not allowed to be diverted in any other direc- 

 tion. If the experiments now being made with Russian 

 trees prove to be as successful as we all hope, and many of us 

 believe it will, at least, aid us in solving theproblem of fruits 

 in our orchards; but in the meantime we cannot be too care- 

 ful about the varieties of apples that we recommend for the 

 western and northern portion of the state. 



In accordance with the instructions given me at one of 

 our former meetings, I have succeeded after much delay, 

 and a very long correspondence in getting a final settlement 

 with the managers of the New Orleans World's Fair. The 

 best arrangement that could be made was to accept 50 per 

 cent, of the premiums awarded, and waive all claims to the 

 medals. Such a settlement has been made and the amount 

 received paid over to the secretary. A detailed report of the 

 same is ready to be submitted to you whenever called for. 



It is to be sincerely hoped that the new departure that we 

 have taken with regard to our Winter meetings will result 

 in much benefit to our Society. I would recommend that 

 all those who make entries at our exhibitions and pay their 

 entry fee of one dollar, be entitled to membership in the 

 state society for that year, whether ladies or gentlemen. Its 

 tendency would be to increase our membership, and among 

 the members so obtained there would doubtless be those 

 who would remain permanently with us and become active 

 and valuable workers with us. The next meeting of the 

 American Pomological Society is to be held in Boston, Mass., 

 in September next. 



The next convention of the American Horticultural So- 

 ciety will, in all probability, be held in California (place not 

 yet located), some time during the month of February, 1888. 



The action that you have taken in authorizing your pres- 

 ident to act in such cases would hardly justify him in ap- 

 pointing delegates, and burdening the society with the 

 expense of their attendance at either of these conventions. 



