secretary's corner. 399 



Have You Returned the Supplement to the August "Horticultur- 

 ist? " — Some of the members have not yet filled out and sent to the secretary 

 the blank form prepared for the purpose of securing certain general and par- 

 ticular information on important horticultural subjects, sent out as a supple- 

 ment to the August number. IF this means you, please take this matter up 

 at once so that the same may be brought to an early conclusion. 



A New Secretary for the Forestry Association. — At a meeting of 

 the executive board of the Minnesota Forestry Association held Sept. 7th, at 

 which there were present Mr. Wymin Elliot, O. C. Gregg, Prof. .S B. Green 

 and A. W. Latham, Mrs. Lydia Phillips Williams, of Minneapolis, was elected 

 secretary in place of Wm. T. Cox, who was compelled to leave the position on 

 account of permanent removal to the national capital. A financial com- 

 mittee consisting of Wyman Elliot, Prof. Green and C. M. lyoring was ap- 

 pointed to audit all bills in connection with this association. 



As Others See Us.— The following in reference to the fruit exhibit at 

 the late Minnesota state fair appears in a recent number of the "Twentieth 

 Century Farmer," published at Omaha. 



"Leaders in horticulture are cranks, belonging to that class who insist 

 upon trying to do those things that cannot be done, and to the disgust of the 

 rest of us succeed in doing them. Through the efforts of these leaders and 

 their followers there awaited visitors at the Horticultural Building at the Min- 

 nesota state fair a surprise in a magnificent display of fruits and vegetables 

 that stands as a model for even the so-callea natural fruit belt. There were 

 apples, plums and grapes in a bewildering profusion, and while perhaps the 

 number of varieties may not have been so great as shown in more favorably 

 located exhibitions there was no limit to quantity, and no lack of quality was 

 evident. To the writer there seemed, in the case of apples, to be a more fresh 

 and attractive appearance than was presented at the Iowa state fair. 



"But the show was not confined to the fruits mentioned. There were all 

 the sorts, even peaches, shown at Iowa, and some others in addition. The 

 Minnesota State Horticultural Society, the Owatouna Experiment Station, half 

 a dozen nursery companies, as many coun'y organizations and numerous indi- 

 vidual exhibitors have by their combined efforts produced an exhibition of 

 fruits that stands distinctly above any display made by any other industry o^ 

 the state. They have brought about this remarkable success in the face of ad- 

 verse conditions confronted by no other branch of work in the agricultural 

 world. 



' With almost nothing to start with, with a climate said to be impossible fo^ 

 fruit because of its rigorous winters, with difficulty in securing healthy tree 

 growth and with discouragements of prevailing opinions - professional and 

 unprofessional — these men have labored on with the unwavering persittetce 

 of Jean Valjean, with no encouragement beyond that which were the out- 

 growth of their own hopes, until today, and at this show, they have demon- 

 strated the wisdom of their theories and taught the world a lesson in horti- 

 culture. The coming generation of Minnesota farmers will enjoy, in their or- 

 chards and vineyards, blessings that are not naturally theirs, and a long step 

 will have been taken in the bringing of this particular porti6n of the earth's 

 surface to its fullest state of productiveness." 



