20 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The society is at present offering two prizes for new fruits, 

 the one for $i,ooo which has now been standing for some years, 

 and the other promulgated last year for $ioo, offered by Mr. Chas. 

 M. Loring, of Minneapolis, for a plum seedling. Five competitors 

 have been this year added to the list of those who are seeking to se- 

 cure the $i,ooo apple seedling prize, but so far only one application 

 has appeared for the plum seedling prize. Mr. C. A. Sargent, of 

 Red Wing, who submitted a sample of fruit in September last. 

 The executive board to whom the plum seedling award was re- 

 ferred, after much consideration agreed upon the description of the 

 fruit which should be entitled to receive the premium. This was 

 published in the Secretary's Corner of the July, 1905, number of our 

 monthly and will be found on page 280 of our annual report for 



1905. 



Pursuant to instructions at the last annual meeting the execu- 

 tive board took the necessary steps to secure legislative recognition 

 for the growing needs of the society in increasing the number of its 

 printed volumes and also the annual appropriation from the state. 

 In approaching this subject it was found that the adoption of a new 

 code of laws, which had been made and presented to the legislature, 

 would result in cutting off our entire appropriation and leave us 

 also without money provided for the printing of our reports, so that 

 it was necessary to introduce bills providing for the whole of the 

 printing and also for the whole society appropriation needed. The 

 situation was somewhat complicated also from the fact that the so- 

 ciety had expressed a wish that we should assist in securing an 

 appropriation for the State Forestry Association. After carefully 

 canvassing the situation it was apparent that we w^ere more likely 

 to secure a larger appropriation for the society, part of which might 

 be used for the Forestry Association, than to secure an appropriation 

 directly for the Forestry Association, and so the legislature was 

 asked for $3,000 for the Horticultural Society annually, the inten- 

 tion being to devote $500 of this annually to the use of the Forestry 

 Association. The appropriation as finally decided upon by the ap- 

 propriation committee, and as it passed the legislature in the omni- 

 bus appropriation bill, allowed only the $2,500 asked for by the 

 Horticultural Society. The executive board has since authorized the 

 expenditure of $25 a month, or as much as may be needed, to meet 

 the expenses of the Forestry Association. We asked the legislature 

 for an increase of printing to five thousand volumes, and this request 

 was granted, and an appropriation of $3,000 made to defray the ex- 

 pense. Both of these appropriations were made to run indefinitely, 

 so that if things continue as they are it will not be necessary to go 

 to the legislature again until additional printing or help in other 

 directions is needed. 



