ANNUAL MEETING, I9O3, SO. DAK. STATE HORT. SOCIETY. 89 



ANNUAL MEETING, 1903, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 

 HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



C. E. OLDER, LUVERNE, DELEGATE. 



I arrived at Woonsocket, S. D., at 1:30 P. M., on Tuesday, 

 Jan. 20th, to attend the first day of the meeting. The afternoon ses- 

 sion was called to order with an attendance of about fifteen. More 

 arrived on the afternoon train at 4 o'clock, so with a few farmers 

 there were forty or fifty in the audience. The first act in the pro- 

 gram was renewal of membership, which footed up about thirty- 

 two before the meetings closed. 



The secretary, Prof. Hansen, being detained at home by sick- 

 ness in his family, Mr. E. D. Cowles was elected temporary secre- 

 tary. The president, P. J. Bentz, gave a very instructive and inter- 

 esting address, calling attention, among other things, to the lack 

 of faith in orchard growing in South Dakota. In former years the 

 same lack of faith existed in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota, and he 

 called especial attention to the fact that Minnesota, of all the states, 

 took the first premium at the Buffalo Exposition on apples and 

 also to the successful growing of apples in the states named. 



Reports of officers of the society: The secretary being absent, 

 there was no report from him. The treasurer reported all money 

 paid out that he had received. Mr. Cowles, the librarian, gave a 

 good address on the advantages of belonging to the society and the 

 benefits he had received from it and spoke of the lack of funds to 

 publish the proceedings of the society so they could exchange with 

 other societies. 



Mr. W. H. Heald gave a very instructive report of the ninth dis- 

 trict in apples and plums, he himself having sold sixty-nine bush- 

 els of plums from seedHngs of Desoto, the pits of which were 

 planted five years ago by himself. He had in glass jars a collec- 

 tion of these plums, and nearly all as large as or larger than the De- 

 soto and the finest collection of seedings from one lot your dele- 

 gate ever saw. I believe it was Mr. Warner told me that out of that 

 half bushel of plum pits there was not a poor or inferior specimen 

 — remarkable showing. 



A short discussion on the Webb caterpillar. 



The paper of Hon. OHver Gibbs, of Prescott, Wis., was then 

 read by the secretary. 



In memoriam of Hon. Henry W. Lathrop, former president of 

 the Iowa society, and member of Minnesota and South Dakota 

 societies. 



A paper by G. A. Tracy, of Watertown, on "The Tree Agent," 

 was followed by an interesting discussion. The concensus of opin- 

 ion was that planters should buy of well known and reliable nur- 

 serymen who grow their stock in a latitude similar to ours. 



Evening Session. "Flowering Shrubs," by Geo. H. Whiting, 

 of Yankton. 



Mr. Gurney read a paper on "Evergreens." recommending the 

 Scotch pine. 



