ANNUAL MEETING, ILLS. STATE HORT. SOCIETY. 71 



ANNUAL MEETING, 1896, ILL. STATE HORT. SOCIETY. 



J. COLE DOUGHTY, LAKE CITY, DELEGATE. 



The annual meeting of this society was held at Springfield, Dec. 

 29, 30 and 31, 1896, in the supreme court rooms at the state capitol, a 

 magnificent building,fitted with every appliance for comfort and con- 

 vience, and the quarters assigned to the society were all that could 

 be desired. The attendance averaged froin fifty to sixty members 

 though this would probably have been largely increased had the 

 weather been more favorable. It rained more or less during the 

 entire session. 



The usual order of business was followed, consisting of the reports 

 of the different officers, the president's annual address, etc. The 

 president's annual address and the report of Secretary Dunlap 

 were eceptionally able papers, indicating that the administrative 

 department of the Illinois State Horticultural Society is, like our 

 own, in the hands of earnest, intelligent horticulturists whose 

 whole aim is to advance the best interests of the society. 



The fruit exhibit was excellent in quality, but very limited in 

 variety, consisting entirely of apples and pears. This may be attrib- 

 uted, no doubt, to the fact that the meeting was held so late in the 

 season. The pear exhibit was very attractive, but of course entirely 

 foreign to the horticultural experience in this state. The apple ex- 

 hibit consisted largel}' of Jonathan, Ben Davis, Minkler, etc., but no 

 crab apples and no varieties of large apples common to Minnesota. 

 In fact, the entire apple exhibit bore a comznercial aspect that is 

 unknown to us. By this I mean that the apples shown consisted 

 almost entirel}^ of the large red sorts and were mostl}^ grown and 

 exhibited b3^ planters who make a business of orcharding for mark- 

 et purposes. The enthusiastic amateurish features of our Minne- 

 sota fruit exhibits were lacking. When we reflect that there are 

 five counties in Illinois, near Springfield, in which there are not 500 

 acres all told that are not devoted to orchards and fruit raising, we 

 may account for the meagre variety and the commercial appearance 

 of the exhibit as a whole. We can, however, learn something from 

 their admirable sj-stem of handling the fruit exhibits and awards 

 that may be advantageous. A plain coiuposition book, six by eight 

 inches (eighty pages) is used, on which a printed list of the pre- 

 miums offered (cut from the program) is pasted on the outside. This 

 book is indexed by numbers (to correspond with the number of 

 entry). On the first page inside are the natnes, post-office addresses, 

 etc., of the judges, or awarding committee. The name of the exhib- 

 itor is entered on the page indexed with the number of his entry. 

 The books are prepared just as soon as the exhibits are entered and 

 placed, and are then distributed on the proper tables. Cards are 

 attached to each plate of fruit, giving the number of the exhibitor, 

 the name of the fruit, etc., from which to inake the awards, attach 

 the ribbons, make the entrj' in the book, etc. I mention this mat- 

 ter because of the expeditious manner in which the judge's work 

 was done. I think, by 2:30 p. m. the first day the premiums were all 

 awarded, and by 3 p. m. the books were all in the hands of the sec- 

 retary. 



