48 Stafc Horllc nil lira! Socictx. 



It has ])een stated that the Society became dormant during the Civil 

 War, and was afterwards re-organized, but such is not the case. Annual 

 meetings were held in 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864, and officers have been 

 regularly elected each year from the beginning. 



At the meeting in June, 1902, the Society decided that all who had 

 paid their membership fee for ten years should be declared life mem- 

 bers. Under this resolution, twenty-eight persons became life members, 

 making the total number of these at the date of the last report fortv-six. 



The Society has accomplished an untold amount of good for the 

 State by exhibits of fruits at its annual and semi-annual meetings, at 

 tiie meetings of •the American Pomological Society, of the ^lississippi 

 \^alley Horticultural Society, at the St. Louis Fair and St. Louis Ex- 

 positions, and at the Expositions held at New Orleans, Chicago, Omaha, 

 Buffalo and Charleston. 



Through the influence of the Society the Governor appointed a day 

 to be called "Arbor Day," for the planting of trees and ornamentals, and 

 for the ornamentation of the grounds of the State Institutions and of the 

 public schools. 



The benefit from the publications of the Society has not been as 

 great as it should be. Unfortunately there are some farmers who do not 

 read anything, and there are others who thing that because the annual 

 reports of the Horticultural .Society and of the Board of Agriculture are 

 published for free distribution that they are of no value. If a law could 

 be passed to compel every farmer to read these books through each 

 year, it would return one hundred fold the cost of their publication. The 

 subjects treated in these publications are varied, and of interest to many 

 outside of the farmer and horticultural classes. The subjects of or- 

 namentals, llowers, small fruits, nuts, entomology by ]\Iiss Mary E. Murt- 

 feldt and Professor J. M. Stedman, mushrooms by Professor Trelease. 

 and other similar subjects are treated, while the student of history will 

 find in the 37th report an interesting account by Mrs. H. E. Shepard 

 of the early explorations in Southern Missouri by DeSoto, Joliet and 

 Marquette, Hennepin and La Salle, Pike, Schoolcraft, Catlin and Feather- 

 stonhaugh. 



The history of the Society before mentioned brought the data to 

 1890, and mettings have been held each year since in June and December. 

 The following table gives the three principal oft'icers who Avere elected 

 .at each December meetinsr for the vear following: 



