126 ANNUAL REPORT 



have the benefit of the society's papers, correspondence and discus 

 sions, in the shape of a proper report. 



On Friday, just after the final adjournment, Presdent DeBell, Vice- 

 President Whiting and myself happened to hear that Gov. Church 

 was in town, and immediately we constituted ourselves a committee 

 to call upon him, and forming in a revolving triangle, give him, one 

 at a time, the three points of it if necessary, in missionary labor. 

 Happily we found that the governor was not one of the unconvert- 

 ed. Our bill had failed for the sole reason that it lay too near the 

 bottom of a big pile of bills that the legislature had sent him at the 

 last minute of the eleventh hour of the session, and it went with a 

 number of other important and meritorious bills that he could not 

 get time to read at all before the adjournment — nobody having called 

 his special attention to it, or taken any pains to acquaint him with 

 the needs and plans of the society. Gov. Church is an ardent for- 

 ester and an awakened horticulturist; and the committee, when they 

 left him, carried his invitation to the society to come to him freely at 

 the next seesion, or at any other time, and with the assurance of hia 

 appreciation and support of any suitable bill. 



I mention this as an indication that in another year our society will 

 be on an exchange basis as to an annual report, and to ask that our 

 members may be furnished with the Minnesota Horticultural Report 

 of 1888, to be sent direct by mail to the addresses to be hereafter given. 

 I will remit the necessary amount for postage on the entire list upon 

 notice from your secretary that the books will be sent. 



There were two peculiarities of our meeting that I cannot forbear 

 mentioning. One was the reports as to the different behavior of the 

 same varieties of trees and plants as afl'ected apparently by local con- 

 ditions of soil in the district where planted. This was as marked as 

 the well known varieties, between their growth under the known 

 differences of climate in districts far remote in our great territory, and 

 it shows how truly experimental is all our work over here; how much 

 we have to learn of local conditions and adaptations, and how neces- 

 sary is the horticultural society's work, to teach the people of Dakota 

 what to plant that will suit the local conditions where they live. 



Another peculiarity was the disposition to bring out for trial our 

 wild fruits, shrubs, etc., and get into general cultivation such as are 

 found useful. TheSheperdii,theWahoo, the wild thorn, the sand cherry, 

 the service berry, and even the wild gooseberry and the wild currant, and 

 some dainty wild roses were mentioned, as well as our wild plums 

 which all our horticulturists are becoming deeply interested in. I 



