TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 23 



society; N. Atwell of Lawton; J. N. Stearns of Kalamazoo; E. H. 

 Scott, W. F. Bird, A. A. Orozier of Ann Arbor, the Washtenaw county 

 society; E. Morrill of Benton Harbor, the Berrien county society; Prof. 

 L B. Taft and A. G. Gulley, Michigan Agricultural college; R. H. 

 MoArdle of Homer; E. C. Reid of Allegan, the Allegan county society; 

 H. McArdle, Fargo, N. Dakota; R. J. Coryell of Jonesville; E. Kelly 

 of Reading; Robert L. Hewitt of Lansing, W. W. Tracy of Detroit. 



The evening sessions were enlivened and made more pleasurable by 

 vocal music by a quartet of gentlemen, Messrs. W. F. Sterling, W. D. 

 Brainerd, G. B. Blair and Dr. W. B. Hunt, Mrs. May Perine acting as 

 organist, and there were recitations by Miss Ada Miller of Eaton Rapids 

 and Mrs. W. E. Oyer of Springport. 



PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 



The first session, that of Tuesday afternoon, December 1, was called to 

 order by President Lyon, who asked Vice-President Garfield to take the 

 chair, and proceeded to read the following, his annual address: 



The near advent of another year brings us again together, to review 

 the past, and invites us to gird ourselves preparatory to the duties of the 

 incoming year, so soon to demand our attention and energies. 



In other years the society, through the voluntary, unpaid efforts of a 

 comparatively few of its self-sacrificing members and friends, derived an 

 income from its supervision of the horticultural department of the fairs of 

 other societies, and it to a great extent omitted the effort indispensible to 

 the keeping up of a membership for itself. The legitimate result of this 

 omission will appear from the circumstance that, while our membership 

 but slightly exceeds two hundred, a neighboring society under less favor- 

 able conditions, steadily maintains a membership of not less than ten 

 times that number, by the usual process of solicitation. 



Since memberships now afford us the only ostensible present source of 

 securing an adequate income, it seems imperative that, both for the benefit 

 of the society and that of the public, we at once resume operations in this 

 field, not merely at our annual meetings but at any and all our meetings 

 as well, joining with the local society, when our session shall occur with 

 such, and dividing the proceeds with them so far as local, annual member- 

 ships are concerned, and at the same time adding life members whenever 

 practicable. 



Some years since, the society embarked in an effort to inaugurate and 

 maintain a system of auxiliary societies, several of which were organized 

 and for a time effectively maintained. In some cases, however, these local 

 organizations required to maintain them in effective condition, more of the 

 fostering care of the parent society than it was in condition to bestow; 

 and the advantages to be gained proving too slight to alone induce 

 cohesion, they in some cases became disorganized. 



Within the last few years, however, the establishment of the national 

 division of pomology, and the elevation of the former commissionership 

 of agriculture, to a dignity of a full secretaryship, making its head one of 

 the president's confidential advisers, have developed a need of closer 



