STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 191 



These questions are pertinent ; possibly impertinent. Here we 

 are revelling among pine slabs and sawdust up to our necks, while 

 100,000 of our frontier friends are, even at this moment, twisting 

 slough hay and praying Almighty God to keep them from perish- 

 ing. 



WHAT ARE THE RAILROADS DOING ? 



Some of them are doing nobly; some are doing just nothing at 

 all. But in the aggregate they are doing far more than the State 

 for the encouragement of tree planting. The men who represent 

 these districts in the legislature are expected by their constituents 

 to lead off ill this direction. They have only to do it to secure such 

 cordial support from the older and better settled portions of the 

 State as to make it a success — a success that will crown them with 

 glory far more imperishable than can be gained in senatorial con- 

 tests. I am informed that in the publication of your transactions 

 you are unwisely limited to a 300 page pamphlet. If this is so, I 

 have already taken up too much space. I have tried to be economi- 

 cal in the use of words — merely touching briefly on the most salient 

 points, a mere skeleton, instead of a well rounded body of facts 

 elaborately illustrated. You need a bigger legislative appropria- 

 tion, so that a man can take room enough to do justice to his sub- 

 ject without trespassing on the territory the next man needo and 

 is equally entitled to, and big enough to publish and circulate an 

 edition large enough to go around. Such being the case, the other 

 sections of my paper, Ornamental Tree-Planting, must be post- 

 poned. 



In the discussion following the reading of this paper, Mr. Hodges 

 said: "The green Ash may be distinguished by leaves with smooth 

 edge and smooth under sides. There is in some places and circles 

 a great furore for planting the*Black Walnut. It is a tender tree 

 and should only be planted among trees already established, to 

 give it protection. 



Col. Stevens. I have known Black Walnut trees growing in 

 Carver, Hennepin and McLeod counties. 



Mr. Grimes. The Minnesota rifer is the natural northern limit 

 of the Black Walnut. 



Assistant Secretary Stearns read the following paper: 



