SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 193 



Paid 42 checks aggregating $2,015 04 



Balance in treasury Nov. 30, 1886 . _ 1,236 06 



We have 202 life members and the fund is invested as follows: 



Seymour mortgage 1,000 00 



Lytell mortgage 300 00 



Mrs. Mary J. Stearns mortgage ... 250 00 



Jacob Snell mortgage 300 00 



U. S. Bonds 150 00 



Amounting to $2,000 00 



This leaves twenty dollars of the life fund in the treasury uninvested. 

 All of which is submitted. 



S. M. Peaksall, Treasurer. 

 Grand Kapids, November 30, A. D. 1886. 



On motion the above reports were accepted and in-so-far as they related to 

 the finances of the society, were referred to a committee consisting of C. J. 

 Monroe of South Haven, J. N. Stearns, Kalamazoo, W. N. Cook, Grand 

 Kapids. 



REPORT UPON EXHIBIT AT STATE FAIR. 



The following report was read by the Secretary: 

 To the Executive Board of Michigan State Horticultural Society: 



Gentlemen — Having received a very cordial invitation from you through 

 Pres. Lyon to serve you as judge on fruits at your State fair, and having 

 accepted it and performed the duties to the best of my ability, I deem it 

 proper to add a few words of comment supplemental to the report on awards. 



Owing to the fact of your exhibition coming so near the time of our State 

 fair I hesitated in accepting it, but esteeming it quite an honor to receive such 

 an invitation, coming as it did from some of the best pomologists of the 

 country, and affording an opportunity of seeing and testing under favorable 

 conditions the famous fruits of Michigan, and of meeting Pres. Lyon, Sec- 

 retary Garfield and other noted fruit growers of your State, I could not refrain 

 from accepting the invitation and accordingly on the morning of the 14th of 

 September I reported for duty on the fair grounds at Jackson, having pre- 

 viously been furnished with a complimentary ticket through the kindness and 

 courtesy of Pres. Chamberlain of the Agricultural Society. While perform- 

 ing the work assigned to me it was my intention to have placed on record to 

 be printed with the list of awards, the reasons that led to the decisions in 

 awarding the several premiums, but owing to the pressure on me to serve on as 

 many of the various committees as possible, I was unable to do so and had to 

 leave it to others to attend to, which I trust was properly done. 



In reference to the general exhibit of fruit I can truly say that no better 

 display has come under my observation at any of the State Fairs that I have 

 attended, and well may the citizens of Michigan feel proud of the work that 

 the State Horticultural Society is doing for the interests of horticulture and 

 the Agricultural Society are indeed fortunate in placing this department of 

 their fair under the management of such an efficient organization. From 



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