Winter Meeting. 227 



and their hired hands; tree peddlers as well as nurserymen were ad- 

 mitted on the same basis. Men and women too, not only of Missouri, 

 of any other state could be admitted. Whatever may be thought of 

 such liberality in these later years, be it said to their honor, all who were 

 admitted seemed to have sought membership, uninfluenced by mercenary 

 motives, prompted by a favorable opinion of the institution, a desire for 

 knowledge, and a sincere wish of being serviceable to their fellow crea- 

 tures. While the business of the Society was intrusted to the President 

 and Secretary, the same as to the Executive Committe composed of the 

 elective officers, at a later date, and is even now the case, all were 

 workers. Mr. Colman when not in office served on many committees, 

 lectured, read essays, and made many reports. Mr. Murtfeldt's pen 

 v.as a fertile one in those days, as well as in these later years, almost 

 to the day of his death. Mr. Evans was active in many ways from the 

 time his name first appears on the list of members, talking up the "loess 

 formation of the Missouri River Bluffs," with even more vigor than 

 now. The name of W^m. Stark early appears, and he was an active and 

 valuable member. The reports of Mr. Stark from the old ninth congres- 

 sional district, and many of the papers read by him were most excellent. 

 Ihey would read well today and be helpful to many. 



The year i860 was not such a busy one for the fruit growers. The 

 only meeting that year of which any record exists was a called meeting at 

 Hermann, on September 7th. That meeting must have been a unique one, 

 for a single line in the minutes says: "A large number of seedling and 

 specimen apples was presented to the association," and the rest of the 

 entire record is devoted to grapes and wine. What relation this had to 

 no annual meeting that year, I do not know, but they adjourned to meet 

 at the St. Louis Fair grounds September 25th. No minutes of such a 

 niceting are of record. From this time on, however, an annual meeting 

 was held each January, with an additional November meeting in 1868 

 and '70, and a December meeting in 1876 and '80, with the exception of 

 1869, '71 and 'yy. No meetings were held in these years, for in the years 

 immediately preceeding, two meeting were held. 



The second annual meeting was held in St. Louis, January, 1861. 

 Yes, in 1861. Who among us having gray hair don't remember that 

 year with thankfulness that it can never come again to our beloved 

 country? Yet they had a fine meeting, a full record of which is pre- 

 served. President Colman's opening remarks were very felicitous, and 

 for a few days at least they forgot their "commercial and financial dis- 

 tress," and the political difficulties of great magnitude that threatened 

 them. They calmly discussed seed time and harvest "with the full con- 



