HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 6S^ 



EEMARKS OF PEOF. RAGAK 



Prof. Ragan. I have been quite tempted for the last few 

 minutes, Mr. President, to introduce myself to this audience, 

 and I have felt inclined to say something on this very impor- 

 tant subject that you have just been discussing, that of keeping 

 up the interest in such organizations as these. It can not be 

 denied that local societies are legitimate feeders of such societies 

 as this, and how to promote the interest in these local organiza- 

 tions is the question that you seem to be trying to solve. It is 

 one that has interested us in Indiana. And while we have not 

 yet reached a solution of the question fully we have probably 

 thought it over in some different forms from those suggested so 

 far in this discussion. In the first place the matter of a fee is 

 the one important thing; it is really important to hold the in- 

 terest of the members in the organization. It certainly is im- 

 portant to keep up the necessary work of the organization, for 

 that can not be done without some money. 



The plan that we have hit upon in our state — and I can not say 

 that it is working entirely satisfactory, I wish I could — is 

 about like this: We found that we needed more local societies 

 and we needed to bear a close relationship to those societies, 

 and in order to effect that result, some years ago an amendment 

 to our constitution was adopted which provides that any local 

 society, or its members, may become members of the state society 

 on the payment of one-half of the usual fee; that is to say, they 

 come in as members from local societies. They must come 

 through the regular channel, however; that is, the secretary of 

 the local society must report the names, and then they are en- 

 titled to membership for one-half the usual fee and the names 

 are published in a separate list, as you may have noticed in oui** 

 last reports. 



So we have in our state quite a number of societies of this 

 character, some of long standing, and others that have been built 

 up since this new arrangement has been entered into. We are 

 still building up new ones and the executive officers of our 

 society feel an interest in building up these local societies, and 

 we have gone out and helped to organize them. When these 

 names come in then they are entitled to full membership, and if 

 the fee in the local society is only fifty cents they can become- 

 members of the local and of the state society on the payment of 

 one dollar, which they would have to pay for membership if not 



