250 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



to provide the farmers of southern Minnesota with honey locust 

 hedg^e fences. John J. Furlong-, of that place, is president of this 

 new company. Some of our Austin meinbers should tell friend Fur- 

 long- that the plant they propose to use is not sufficiently hardy to 

 be safe for this service, and that while occasional specimens in 

 favorable localities for its growth are to be found, yet the general 

 experience is that it is too tender for this climate. If a hedge of 

 this material were generally planted in the state, the ultimate re- 

 sult would be a harvest of grievous disappointment. The exploit- 

 ers of this project would do well to look for some hardier shrub for 

 their use. 



A National Forest Survey. — A bill is before congress and 

 likely to become a law, making an annual appropriation of some 

 $150,000 for the purpose of surveying the forest lands of the country^ 

 as we understand it, still in the hands of the government. The gen- 

 eral public sentiment is becomingaroused to the necessity of meas- 

 ures looking to the preservation of our forest areas, as emphatically 

 shown by the late proclamation of the president, reserving 

 large areas of such lands. In doing this, he was carrying out the 

 sentiment of the scientists, which is apt to be ahead of that of the 

 masses in the matter of any reform, and so a back step had to be 

 taken in the setting aside of this proclamation. But something of 

 the sort is surely coming soon. 



The Manitoba Horticultural Society.— The lovers of horti- 

 culture in the country north of us have just organized a society in its 

 interest under the above title, having for its object, as set forth in 

 their v.-ry co icise cotistitution, "the interest of horticulture, especi- 

 ally in the region between Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains." 

 This, as will be seen, is a sufficiently large field for a young and am- 

 bitious association, but if they have vigor proportional to their 

 latitude, as seems to be the rule this side the line, they will doubt- 

 less prove equal to the task. One of the charter members,- in a re- 

 cent letter, says: " I expect you will hear in the near future in the 

 way of asking- for co-operation." We shall be only too glad to ex- 

 tend a helping hand to this society, for which we bespeak a useful 

 future. 



More Fruits from Northern Siberia.— As you read this, N. E. 

 Hanson, professor of horticulture in the South Dakota Agricultural 

 College is on his way to a summer tour through northern Russia and 

 Siberia, where he confidently expects to find much of value to the 

 horticulturist that will endure transplanting into the Northwest- 

 The professor is 3'^oung, active and enthusiastic and has an abund- 

 ance of that faith which is ever a harbinger of success. We shall 

 await with great interest the outcome of this hopeful quest and 

 stand ready to "divide" with him whatever of value he may secure. 

 Mep.nwhile our very best wishes go with him on his long and oftime 

 wearisome journey. In a recent letter, he says: "I have been ap- 

 pointed a special agent by the Secretary of Agriculture, Prof. James 

 Wilson, to visit eastern Russia, Siberia and the plateaus of central 

 Asia to gather farm, tree, garden, shrub and fruit seeds. I will 



