238 ANNUAL REPORT 



days. The management are to be congratulated on their success 

 in dispensing with the services of the gambling fraternity, with 

 their numerous wheels of fortune and games of chance, of every 

 kind. 



The statement of the treasurer, at the annual meeting held at 

 St. Paul last week, indicates the society is established upon a 

 very satisfactory basis. 



The receipts of the agricultural society, as shown by the re- 

 port of its treasurer, include the sum of $52,400 on account of 

 the annual fair, $25,000 balance of state appropriation, and some 

 small items, which, with a balance of a little over $3,000 on 

 hand, swell the grand total of receipts for the year to $81,588. 

 Of this amount, $25,000 was paid on indebtedness the of society, 

 and $45,452 for fair expenses. The property assets of the soci- 

 ety are estimated at $575,786, including 200 acres of land valued 

 at $2,000 per acre, and about $170,000 in buildings and fixtures. 

 This is indeed a very creditable showing. 



At the annual meeting in St. Paul last week, on motion of Col. 

 J. H. Stevens, on a close vote, a somewhat radical change was^ 

 made with reference to annual meetings. In place of the annual 

 election of officers and the usual routine of business, the annual 

 meeting is to consist of a three days' session, with a program of 

 exercises to include addresses from speakers of ability on agri- 

 cultural topics, etc., the transactions of the society to be pub- 

 lished in connection ^vith reports from the state dairymens' as- 

 sociation, the poultry, and other state associations of an agricul - 

 tural nature which do not at present publish their proceedings. 

 This plan has been followed for some years past in "Wisconsin, 

 provision being made in that state for the publication of 15,000 

 copies of the transactions of the state agricultural society. 



THE SOCIETY. 



It is unnecessary here, perhaps, to state the fact that our own 

 Society is making steady progress; nor would it be expected that 

 mention should be made of all our various lines of work. With 

 some degree of satisfaction we may glance at what has been ac- 

 complished in the past, and feel encouraged to renew the work 

 that seems to lie before us. New fields of work are being brought 

 to light, and in this busy age of progress, there is constant need 

 of putting forth our every effort to reach the high"est measure of 

 success and usefulness. 



Some of our eastern friends seem to be troubled by the fact 

 that we have such a live and wide-awake society in this progres- 



