MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 87 
s 
Grapes. 
The last season was an unfavorable one for the grape. the fruit being 
tardy in getting ripe. I like the Concord best, with the addition of the 
Delaware, Janesville and Martha. I tried the Concord, Chasselas and 
White Delaware, but they both proved tender. 
Pears. 
Under Thursday’s discussions I see that the pear comesin. I have the 
Flemish Beauty; also two kinds that I got of Mr. H. B. Waterman, of 
Minnesota City. The two kinds seem to be very hardy, the trees being 
* some six inches in diameter, and*some 20 to 25 feet high. They stand in 
‘a sort of sandy black loam, or rather creek-wash land—near the creek. 
The trees came from Michigan, I believe, but cannot say what kinds they 
are. 
Faith in the Future. 
I have faith that on some soils, with the land being high, sloping to east 
or northeast, that we may succeed with the pear. I am a believer, also, 
that we shall, at no distant day, raise plenty of the apple. AsIhearda 
man say the other day, when he had to pay $2.00 for a half bushel of ap- 
ples, as he had the day before, he thought it time to commence to raise his 
own; and I think as much, when we can raise such as Duchess, Wealthy, 
Fameuse, Tetofsky, Haas, Price’s Sweet, and our larger list of Transcend- 
ents, Oranges, General Grants, Hyslops, and others too numerous to men- 
tion, as we have in the past and can in the future. Whatif we did lose 
some trees in ’72 and ’73? did we not lose the corn crop in ’74? and who 
of us will say ‘‘I shall stop planting corn,” because the season failed to 
ripen the crop? Butif the seasons kill the apple tree, the key note is 
then that Minnesota is not the place for fruit growing; while at the same 
time, if any of the other crops are hurt, it is soon forgotten. I, for one, 
shall still keep planting, and in time shall reap the reward. 
Yours, W. K. Batss. 
ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
President Smith then read his annual address, at the conclusion 
of which there was applause. 
The address was accepted and a copy requested for publication. 
The following is the address in full: 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 
Gentlemen of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society : 
Our Purposes. 
We have met again to compare notes and consult each other on our 
experience and experiments of the past year with its successes and 
