24 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



as a whole, considering- its horticultural development as generally 

 known, is fairly well covered. 



For the annual list there have been received from local societies 

 members as follows : Southern Minnesota Society, 71 ; Meadow 

 Vale Horticultural Club, 12 ; Constance Horticultural Club. 17; S. D. 

 Horticultural Society, 46. The latter society has been upon our roll 

 on the same basis as our local societies in the state now for three 

 years, as a matter of courtesy to its members till their state should 

 arrange to print its reports, which has now been done. 



The Farmer's Institute has brought us during the past year 262 

 members. This number is a slight increase over the previous year. 

 A great many of the new members that have come to us during the 

 past vear have joined as the result of the efforts of our old mem- 

 bers, and in connection with this work something like 349 books 

 have been distributed as premiums. These books are largely the 

 works of Prof. Saml. B. Green on "Fruit Growing," "Vegetable 

 Gardening" and "Forestry." The society for a number of years also 

 has been in the practice of sending out plant premiums to such of 

 the members as apply during the winter months, and the past year 

 have sent out 465 premiums of this character. While the material 

 which goes into these premiums is contributed almost entirely from 

 the Experiment Station, yet the expense connected with them, post- 

 age, wrapping, etc., is still quite an important sum, as will appear 

 in the financial report. 



The society, through its legislative committee, found it neces- 

 sary to go before the last legislature and ask for a larger printing 

 appropriation as well as a larger cash appropriation for the society, 

 and it is a source of gratification to the management to be able to 

 report that our requests, which were indeed very modest, were 

 granted in full without the opposition of a single vote on either meas- 

 ure, in either house of the legislature. This increase will give the 

 societv in the future 4,000 volumes of reports instead of 3,000, and 

 $2,000 per annum instead of $1,500. This increase in the printing 

 was urgently needed at the time the bill was passed, and the number 

 of magazines printed from that time on was increased to 1,700 per 

 month. The coming year, 1904, will find the society somewhat crip- 

 pled in its efforts to increase the membership, from the fact that the 

 supply of bound volumes of 1903, which were printed under the old 

 law, is very limited, so that the membership of the next year is 

 likely to be restricted somewhere near the present figure. The ensu- 

 ing year there will be available the full amount provided for by the 

 last legislative act. 



