256 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



number of Institutes to which reports are sent or send fewer reports to 

 all the meetings. I believe the latter plan be better, to send fewer re- 

 ports, but send them to practically all of the Institutes. Aside from this 

 large number of annual reports sent out, something over 2,000 of our bi- 

 monthly bulletins have been mailed. The demand for these bulletins is 

 constantly increasing. Occasionally it is necessary to print an extra 

 number of seme of the bulletins, which may be of more than ordinary in- 

 interest, such as the report of the State Entomologist. 



As has been brought out many times during the past few years, one 

 of the most important problems which our society has to deal with is that 

 of membership. We do not have a large enough membership roll. Al- 

 though we are in a fairly good condition financially, still we do not do the 

 good we could if we had members. I would be in favor of adopting a 

 new method of securing members, probably some plan patterned after 

 the Minnesota way of getting new members. There they have horti- 

 cultural lecturers in connection with their Farmers' Institutes, who 

 solicit membership at the time of the lectures and demonstrations. Dur- 

 ing one of their seasons recently, by this method, they secured 361 new 

 members for their Horticultural Society. 



In connection with this report I have one recommendation, which I 

 would like to suggest. I will make it as a suggestion simply to get it be- 

 fore the society for discussion. That is in regard to a State Inspection 

 Law for injurious insects and insect deseases. While we may not just 

 now regard Nebraska as important enough in commercial horticulture 

 to warrant such a step, still something should be done along this line 

 very soon. Nearly all of our neighboring states have some constitu- 

 tional requirements on this subject of trees and fruit being from in- 

 jurious insects and insect diseases. Professor Bruner informs me that 

 the Brown-tailed Moth is being reported as distributed through the 

 eastern part of the United States, and that it has come probably from 

 shipments of stock from France. In this or other cases, good inspection 

 laws, fully enforced, would guard against much damage that might re- 

 sult. 



Two members of our Society have died during the past year, Theo- 

 dore Williams, of Benson, and W. G. Swan, of Uuniversity Place. 



The following is a list of the warrants issued and paid during the 

 past year: 



No. Warrants Issued Amount 



1 Chas. Graw, premium $ 4 GO 



2 Don Gridley, premium 2 00 



3 E. Hornung, premium 5 00 



4 David Hunter, premium 13 00 



5 R. W. Hesseltine, premium 9 00 



6 Marshall Bros, premium 3 00 



7 B. L. Shellhorn, premium 21 00 



8 E. F. Stephens, premium 11 00 



