PROCEEDINGS OE' THE ANNUAL MEETING. 19< 



SECRETARY REID'S ANNUAL REPORT. 



First, as to the financial condition of the society, there was a balance on 

 hand at the close of the last fiscal j-ear of Jif;14.S6. The treasurer received 

 from the secretary', Dec. 5, 1895, annual memberships, $27. Later, interest 

 on the Jacob Suell mortgage, |21.00, on the Newman mortgage $17.50, the 

 Cai'lisle mortgage $80.21, the Samuel Gear mortgage $21, and latterly, 

 from tJie secretary, at the conclusion of the year, annual memberships, 

 $19, making a total of $333.57. He has made disbursements amounting 

 to $20.28. He has received also, by way of interest on the deposits of the 

 society's funds, $2.42, (there is some accrued interest there subject to 

 credit to the society at present), making a balance now on hand of $309.71. 

 This, you understand, is the fund of the society outside of its annual mem- 

 bership fund, which is the amount that is invested and from which this 

 interest is derived. There was during the year one life membership of 

 $10, which has been passed to that fund, which does not appear in this 

 balance. 



• You all understand, I presume, that the expenses of the society the 

 past two years have been paid from the state appropriation, and we have 

 been able to accumulate this little sum of money. We hope to receive the 

 aid from the state which is commonly extended each year in the horti- 

 cultural states of the Union. That amount is $1,500, the present year and 

 the one preceding. It will be subject to legislative action at the approach- 

 ing session, and our chances of renewal of it I should suppose would be 

 good. We will be able to show a wise expenditure of the portion of the 

 funds we have used. Under the state law any portion of the annual 

 appropriation which is not used within the calendar year lapses to the 

 state. In that way we turned back to the state, the first of last January, 

 a little over two hundred dollars, and we will return something this year, 

 we don't know exactly what. In return to the state for that appropria- 

 tion we shall be able to show the holding of much more valuable meetings 

 than the society was able to provide before. We have been able to bring 

 to our meetings within this time much valuable aid from outside the 

 state. It is only by means of this appropriation that we can bring to us 

 such men as Prof. Bailey of Cornell university. Prof. McClure of the 

 experiment station of Illinois, Prof. Webster of the Ohio experiment 

 station, who were present with us at our last annual meeting; and Prof. 

 Slingerland of Cornell university, Mr. Craig of the central experimental 

 farm of Ontario, and Mv. J. H. Hale of Connecticut, who are or will be 

 in attendance upon this meeting. 



During the past year we have held two meetings aside from this, one at 

 Hart in February and one at St. Joseph in June. Both of those were very 

 largely attended and both were very successful in all points in which 

 horticultural meetings can be successful. 



It has been a quiet year among the local societies of the state. There 

 has been but one such new society formed, so far as I have been aware, 

 and that at Grand Haven. It started last winter under very favorable 

 auspices, but like all such societies it has done but very little work during 

 the summer season. As you are aware, fruitgrowers are very busy during 



