Secretary's (®ori]er, 



Delegate to the Wisconsin Meeting.— Mr. R. A. Wright, of Excelsior, 

 has been selected as delegate to the next annual meeting of the Wisconsin 

 Horticultural Society and has accepted the appointment. A report of this 

 meeting may be expected from him in the first issue of our monthly following 

 thereafter. 



Delegate from W^isconsin. — Mr. W. S. Hager, of De Pere, Wis., has 

 been selected by President Coe of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society 

 as the representative of that association at our coming annual meeting. We 

 may expect to hear from him on some practical topic connected with fruit 

 growing, as we understand he is a successful fruit grower. 



Premiums on Tree Planting.- Mr. P. G. Nystrom, of Worthington, 

 Minn., raises the interesting question whether the premium offered by the 

 state for planting trees for a period of years would not be applicable to plant- 

 ings of fruit trees. As the party referred to has twelve acres planted in 

 apple trees, it would be quite an item for him to receive the premium re- 

 ferred to. Substantial encouragement in this way for orchard planting would 

 not be a mistake surely. 



A Japanese Hybrid Plum. — Mr. O. W. Moore, of Spring Valley, Minn., 

 has fruited for the first time this year a plum grown from pure Japanese 

 seed, which he considers a hybrid. It measures an inch and a (juarter by an 

 inch and one-half in diameter, color dark red, skin thin, and quality good, 

 though a little too acid for some tastes. The tree is apparently as hardy as 

 the native plum. Are there not others in the society who are growing and 

 fruiting similar Japanese hybrids. 



The Beta Grape. — This variety was originated by Andrew Suelter of 

 Carver, Minnesota — at least this is probably its origin. The variety was 

 lost to cultivation and was discovered by the Horticultural Division of the 

 Experiment Station and brought to public notice. The vine is a vigorous 

 grower and productive. The fruit is inferior in quality but is freely eaten 

 out of hand when thoroughly ripe and where better grapes are not to be 

 found. It is especially productive. This year our large vines growing in 

 the vineyard produced from -40 to 50 lbs. of grapes. Several of them pro- 

 duced about 44 lbs. Its great yield, together with the fact that it is per- 

 fectly hardy and does not have to be covered in the winter, makes it very 

 desirable for general use on farms. Prof. Sam'l B. Green. 



"The Use of the National Forests." — The Forestry Bureau of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture has issued a small book of forty- 

 two pages, neatly bound with a stitt' cover, explaining fully and yet briefly 

 the purpose of the national forest reserves, how and why they were created, 

 what they mean, the purpose to which they might be put, how they are pro- 

 tected, in what manner the wood that grows upon them may be acquired, the 

 methods by which anyone may secure the use of the land for grazing, etc. 



