238 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



barrel of Rome Beauty this time and wishes another barrel the next 

 time he will not get Missouri Pippin or some other variety. 



LOCAL SOCIETIES. 



Some seven or eight local societies have been organized during 

 the last year, and two co-operative societies for the selling of fruits. 

 It will be a good day when we can have one or two large associations 

 that will put all our fruit where most needed, and in uniform packages 

 as well as make the proper rates for transportation. This great ques- 

 tion of surplus fruit will be solved when our transportation companies 

 will see the necessity of either moving the fruit at a low rate or not at 

 all. I know of a few cases, and especially of one man, our treasurer, 

 who made such an arrangement and secured a half rate for car lots on 

 apples to our northern and eastern points. The local societies can do 

 much in this same line of work and it behooves us well to organize for 

 this purpose. We should have one society at least in all our fruit 

 counties and their work should be not only the growing and proper 

 care of fruit, but the packing and especially the transportation of the 

 crops to market. 



Our work is first one of development, of advertising our possi- 

 bilities, of securing the best localities for our orchards, and of finding 

 out the adaptability of different fruits to different locations, soil and 

 climate. Second, one of concentration of our effort to do well what 

 is done, to properly care for what we have undertaken, and to do right 

 whatever we do. Third, one of instruction, that is trying to have the 

 right thing done in planting, in cultivation, in fighting disease and in- 

 sects, in pruning, and finally in packing, marketing and transportation. 

 I can not follow these thoughts out more closely for want of time, but 

 can only intimate to you our line of work and say that I feel sure that 

 the State Society has done much to bring about success in these mat- 

 ters during the last twelve years of its work. 



Our future, as our past, will be successful if we follow out the 

 lines of work indicated. This time of specialties is the time when we 

 will have our hands full if we attend to business closely. We will find 

 avenues opening up for the student and experimentor such, as we little 

 dream of today, and places to work for practical experience and work 

 to your heart's content. Our future will be a successful one as long 

 as we present a united front to the work. It is the desire of your of- 

 ficers that unity in our cause and with only one idea in mind, the best 

 interests of our State, we shall go forward to accomplish still greater 

 ends. Even now we occupy no mean position in the galaxy of states 

 either in our fruit business or as a society, but instead are filling as 



