IOWA STATE HORT. SOCIETY. 469 



ANNUAL MEETING OF IOWA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 

 NOVEMBER 21 TO 24, 1893. 



REPORT OF DELEGATE, J. S. HARRIS. 



Iowa has for many years been a point of interest to us. First, be- 

 cause it is our neighbor on the south, and, at least, two lines of her 

 northern counties have climatic condition very similar to those of 

 southern Minnesota ; second, because her leading horticulturists 

 are men of marked ability, sterling integ-rit3% wide awake and de- 

 termined to succeed ; and, third, because throvigh her agricultural 

 college she took the lead of all states in her endeavor to find good 

 adapted fruits that would succeed in every part of the state and 

 that could be grown by all her people, b}^ sending Prof. J. L. Budd 

 to Russia to look over and studj^ the fruits of a region as inclement, 

 and in many respects verj^ similar to that of Iowa, Minnesota, and 

 the Dakotas, and secure scions and plants and introduce them 

 them for trial and cultivation here. For more than one reason this 

 was a wise move. It gave an impetus to tree planting that is des- 

 tined to place her in the very front ranks as a fruit growing state, 

 and supply all her people with an abundance of those whole- 

 some fruits that go so far in making the life of the farmer comfor- 

 table and enjoyable. And as a financial venture it has proved a 

 success. Five millions of dollars annually would not furnish her 

 present population with a moderate supply of such fruits as can be 

 produced there. Everj^ dollars worth of that amount grown at home 

 saves the cost of it to the state, and all surplus over their wants 

 will bring in a revenue and furnish employment to man}- persons- 



The meeting was held in the state house, where the societ}' has 

 a comfortable home, comprising a lecture room on the first floor 

 fof the meetings, a smaller room opening into it, which is used as a 

 library and committee room, and a large room in the basement for 

 exhibitions of fruits, the storing of surplus reports, etc. The lec- 

 ture room is fitted up with stationarj^ cases along one side and end, 

 which are well filled with interesting object lessons of seeds, nuts 

 and casts of fruits and vegetables from life; also a fine collection 

 of woods from these and other countries and a great number of 

 novelties and horticultural articles of interest, making altogether 

 a horticultural museum of great value. The fruit and vegetable 

 models were prepared bj^ G. B. Brackett, of Denmark, la., who put 

 up the exhibit of the fruits of America for the U. S. Dept. of Agri- 

 culture, that were shown in the government building at the late 

 World's Fair. In connection with the meeting there was an exhibit 

 of over 100 varieties of apples, comprising 455 plates, and a very 

 creditable show of garden vegetables. The apples were of fine ap- 

 pearance for this off year of fruit. 



Iowa under the management of its horticultural society, and 

 working under great difficulties, made one of the, largest and best 

 exhibits of northern grown fruits shown at the World's Fair. They 

 had upon their tables, in the middle of October, 3,500 plates of fruit, 

 besides some elegant decorations, comprising, at that time, 402 va- 

 rieties of apples, 25 of pears and over 30 of grapes; besides showing 

 in their season 10 varieties of peaches and 59 of plums. To keep up 



