STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 165 



tent that the southern cane industry was being destroyed. The 

 standard of ^N'ew Orleans syrups had been lowered and it was 

 next to impossible to obtain a gallon of those goods known to be 

 pure. 



The President's annual address was then read. 



PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the Minnesota Amber Cane Association: 



In accordance with our rules in the past, it becomes my duty 

 to present to you at this time a review of our work for the year 

 and to compare it with results in the past, and, if practicable, to 

 make some suggestions for our consideration and endeavor to 

 add to the sum of our practical knowledge in relation to our in- 

 dustry. 



The amount of work done in this State, has not been as exten- 

 sive as could have been hoped, although the prices for our syrup 

 are sufficient to make the business reasonably profitable. I re- 

 gret to say that four and one-half cents per pound for sugar is 

 anything but encouraging to the progress of the business for the 

 future and maybe regarded as an explanation for the demoralized 

 condition of our business throughout the country, north and 

 south, in fact the world over, for there is no doubt that this is 

 about the darkest outlook ever presented to those who have 

 capital invested in growing and manufacturing sugar, that his- 

 tory presents. 



The season has been more than usually favorable for the growth 

 and harvest of our crop, but we have a new experience to record 

 in relation to a calamity that may possibly overtake our crop be- 

 fore it shall be ready for the harvest. I learn that quite a large 

 amount of cane has been destroyed by the clinch bug. This is 

 the first time that I have heard of this additional hindrance to 

 the success of our labors and, while I do not think that we had 

 any good reason to expect that we should escape this scourge 

 when it came, still, we seriously regret to be obliged to record the 

 fact. 



I am not able to report anything in the nature of critical in- 

 vestigation within the State. I will proceed to state some of the 

 conclusions that have been arrived at in relation to the future 

 success of our labors in the production of sugar from sorghum. 



Prof. H. W. Wiley, when he finished his work at Ottawa, 



