THE ANNUAL MEETING. 155 



Mr. Comings, St. Joseph : I think the churches iu our villages are about the 

 most barren looking buildings we have to look upon ; I wish the horticultural 

 society would take hold of them. It seems to me that some attention might be 

 given to che planting of trees for utility in our school yards and along our high- 

 ways; the chestnut, cherry, and crab apple are good for ornament and fruit. 



Mr. Glidden : I hold to the opposite view from Professor Beal as to roadside 

 planting. In New England upon the mountain roads it may be well to group 

 trees with reference to the uneven surface, or to make nice sky-lines, or to 

 give variety; but ours is a flat country, our land is in rectangles, and I object 

 to engrafting a mountainous system upon our even surface. I like straight 

 rows, straight roads, straight fences, and straight furrows ; and nothing in con- 

 nection with the highway strikes me as grander than a nice, even row of 

 maples or elms extending in right lines on either side of the road for long dis- 

 tances. 



Mr. Tracy: I favor the irregular grouping for several reasons not cited by 

 Mr. Steere or Prof. Beal. It tends to secure the highway from the drifting of 

 the snow; it allows us to give open space for the wet places to dry out, and 

 where two farms come together, at the intersection of the line fence and the 

 road, this plan allows us to make a nice group without losing much by draft 

 on the resources of the arable land. But I say plant trees; the question of 

 straight rows or groups is a minor one. I doubt if we could get people to 

 plant so well under a system of grouping as under a law which defines dis- 

 tances. 



In closing the evening session Mr. Mann, the chairman, took occasion to 

 congratulate the people of South Haven on the admirable preparations made 

 for the reception and comfort of the Horticultural Society, Tiiey seldom met 

 with such a cordial reception, and the delegates would carry to their homes the 

 warmest feelings towards a village and people that made the meeting of 1881 

 such a pleasant one. 



Wednesday Moriiing. 



The continued large attendance testified to the interest the people enter- 

 tained in the discussions of the society. At nine o'clock the President called 

 to order, and after prayer by the Rev. Mr. Skentleberry, proceeded to read his 



ANNUAL MESSAGE. 



The close of the year seems to be an appropriate time for a review of its 

 doings in the light of added experience, and for the devising of plans for 

 more effective operations in the future. The constitution and by-laws of the 

 Society make no provisions for reports from the several officers prior to the 

 date of the annual meeting. The condition of the departments of the Secre- 

 tary, Treasurer, Librarian and Business Committee, will doubtless be fully 

 given in those reports. The commissioners designated by the Governor to 

 represent the State at the meeting of the American Pomological Society at 

 Boston, in September last, attended the meeting as proposed and exhibited a 

 collection of the fruits of the State which attracted much attention, and 

 received the award of the Wilder silver medal as the best general collection of 

 fruits. A large map of the State illustrating its horticultural capacities and 

 their present development, was shown in connection with the exhibit, attract* 



