BtTMMEE MEETING, lg02. 273 



SUMMER MEETING, 1902, MINNESOTA STATE HORTI- 

 CULTURAL SOCIETY. 



MISS EMMA V. WHITE, MINNEAPOLIS. 



(Official.) 

 As has been the case for a number of years past, the summei 

 meeting of the society was held at the State Farm School, St. 

 Anthony Park. The time for holding this meeting is determined 

 by the date of ripening of the strawberry crop, such a date being 

 selected as to make it possible to exhibit this fruit at its best. An 

 examination of these dates would serve as a good index for the 

 forwardness of the season, and yet they do not vary more than a 

 week at the farthest. This year the meeting was held on June 

 19, a date somewhat earlier than usual. As the date set for the 

 Minneapolis Grocers' picnic has come to be a symbol of expected 

 rain, so that of the summer meeting of the horticulturists is a 

 sign of perfect weather, and so this year we could say, "What is 

 so rare as a day in June !", for the day was indeed perfect. This 

 has come to be a very popular gathering, a large number of the 

 members of the society and their friends from the Twin Cities and 

 the near vicinity being in evidence, and this year there was an 

 unusually large delegation present from other parts of the state. 

 From outside the state we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Oliver 

 Gibbs of Prescott, Wis., Prof. C. B. Waldron, horticulturist at the 

 North Dakota Experiment Station, Fargo, N. D., and ex-Secre- 

 tary A. J. Philips and wife, West Salem, Wis. 



The morning was spent in arranging the fruit and floral ex- 

 hibits, in social intercourse and in visiting various points of in- 

 terest about the grounds. Dean W. M. Liggett and Prof. S. B. 

 Green acted as hosts for the school, assisted by the other pro- 

 fessors connected with the institution, all of whom were ready to 

 show and explain whatever pertained to their departments. Sev- 

 eral new buildings were going up, and there were everywhere signs 

 of progress and development. It is well worth a visit to see and 

 learn something of our agricultural school, and we are not sur- 

 , prised to learn that this school ranks among the first in the United 

 States in attendance and in its appointments. 



No small feature of the day is the noon lunch, to which all 

 visitors contribute, but which would be much less enjoyable with- 

 out the complement of coffee, lemonade, delicious strawberries and 

 the service which the hosts so generously furnish. 



President Pendergast called the meeting to order for the pro- 

 gram at 2:25 p. m., and after a few words of greeting introduced 

 the speakers of the afternoon. There were four topics on straw- 

 berries, followed by an especially valuable paper by Mr. J. M. Un- 



