President's Address. 135 



gest the appointment of a committee for the revision of a 

 fruit list. The motion was made and carried yesterday that 

 such a committee be appointed to report to the society be- 

 fore final adjournment. 



Pres. Smith — I think that was not carried. 



H. C. Adams — I now move that such a committee be ap- 

 pointed, to report this evening at 7:30. 



Motion carried. 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



By J. M. SMITH. 



Members and Friends of the Wisconsin State Horticultural 

 Society: — Knowing as I do, that we have much to do, and 

 that our time is limited, I shall occupy but a few minutes 

 in my remarks upon this occasion. 



The season of 1886 will long be remembered by both agri- 

 culturists and horticulturists, as one of unprecedented 

 drouth in almost all portions of the state. As a result, crops 

 of all kinds have been moi^e or less damaged, and in very 

 many cases almost ruined. In addition to this, prices of 

 almost all products of the soil have ruled low. 



Under such circumstances it could hardly be expected 

 that cultivators of the soil could help feeling more or less 

 disappointed at the result of their last season's labors. Still 

 I am well satisfied that if we will only read and study the 

 lessons taught, correctly, they will be worth to us in the 

 future, all, and more than all they have cost us in the past. 



Most, if not all of you are aware that I have long been an 

 ardent advocate of better methods of cultivation than are 

 generally practiced. You also know that I have tried as 

 best I knew, to carry out my theories upon my own land. 



The results of last season seemed almost like a mathemat- 

 ical demonstration of the saying, that good drainage, good 

 cultivation, and plenty of manure will enable land to stand 

 almost any amount of drouth, and still produce crops. 



I will not be so foolish, as to say that I was uninjured by 

 the drouth which in the northeastern portion of the state 



