35 



fungus disease which attacks the roots and kills the trees before 

 they reach profitable bearing age. D. S. HARRIS. 



In conclusion, I will say that I regret my inability to continue 

 longer as secretary. My regular work prevents me from undertaking 

 any more outside activities. I have, however, appreciated the spirit 

 of co-operation exhibited by the officers past and present when I 

 asked their help, and hope that the incoming secretary will be able 

 to spend more time on association matters than I. In this way the 

 association can increase its membership and influence. As we can 

 point to bearing trees and bearing orchards our membership will take 

 care of itself. 



We need to keep in touch with the experimental work being done 

 by experiment stations and individuals, to lose no opportunity to 

 plant demonstration trees in arboretums such as the Morton Arboretum 

 at Lisle, Illinois, and the projected botanical garden at Strawberry 

 Hill near Stamford, Conn., and in city parks and other public insti- 

 tutions, and to use every opportunity to desseminate information re- 

 lating to the culture of nuts in the northern United States. 



A. S. COLBY, 



Secretary. 



The President: Any one who has been secretary of an or- 

 ganization similar to ours can appreciate the amount of work repre- 

 sented by the report our secretary has given us this morning. The 

 thing that strikes me of greatest value is the increase in the number 

 of public institutions who are taking an interest in nut growing. 

 When we organized there was hardly an institution, college or agri- 

 cultural experiment station that was taking an active interest in nut 

 growing. Year after year we have seen gradually a few more of 

 thfse institutions becoming interested and now I think that our sec- 

 retary's report shows that they are coming in in geometrical progres- 

 sion. That to me is the most important thing that I see in the present 

 status of nut culture, the interest of the great educational agricultural 

 institutions of the country. 



