LIBRARY 

 NEW YORK 

 BOTANICAL 



GARDEN 



iinda State Horticultural Society 



SECRETARY'S OFFICE, ) 



Lake City, March 7th, 1883. \ 



Hon. L. F. Hubbard, Governor of Minnesota. 



Sir: — Under the requirements of an act passed at the recent 

 session of the Legislature, I herewith transmit to you the annual 

 report of this Society, emhracing its transactions from the close 

 of the annual meeting in January, 1882, to the present date. 



As this is the first occasion when our report has been formally 

 transmitted to the Governor, it seems proper to invite your atten- 

 tion to some special features of our work. While we are engaged 

 in the promotion of Horticulture in all its branches, our chief 

 attention at present is paid to the development of the fruit inter- 

 est. In this we aim — 



First, to encourage the people to plant freely and cultivate 

 intelligently such fruits as are known to be or likely to be success- 

 ful in the present conditions of our soil and climate; 



Second, to stimulate the planting of forests and shelter beltg for 

 the amelioration of climate; and, 



Third, to introduce new varieties by importation from foreign 

 countries, where the summers and winters and other conditions 

 are like our own, and by the systematic production and cross- 

 breeding of seedlings from the hardiest and best sorts we now have. 



Your attention is especially invited to the two lines of advance- 

 ment mentioned in the last clause of the preceding paragraph, as 



