434 ANNUAL EEPOET 



had made one of the finest and most ornamental tracts of land 

 lie had even seen, and had surrounded his home with beautiful 

 evergreens, shrubbery, etc. This was a good illustration of what 

 could be accomplished by planting out ornamental trees, by 

 means of careful training and culture. 



Mr. Smith said if anyone would travel much through the state 

 he would be compelled to give the nurserymen credit for the in- 

 fluence exerted in promoting the planting of trees in this state. 

 There was no town north or west of Minneapolis in the state 

 that had su€h an abundance of well grown, tastefully planted 

 deciduous and evergreen trees as this pretty little town of Litch- 

 field. A stranger passing along on the railway could very easily 

 recognize those towns where the enthusiastic nurserymen were 

 located. Among the number he had in mind were Litchfield, 

 Rochester, Fairmount, and Lake City, which would compare with 

 any towns in the Northwest for the number of beautiful trees, 

 tastefully arranged and well grown. This was also true of Fari- 

 bault, where there are many evergreen hedges, both of spruce 

 and arbor vitae — some of the finest to be seen in the United 

 States. 



Following is the report of Mr. Sias, delegate to the Northern 

 Iowa Horticultural Society : 



NORTHERN IOWA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



By A. W. Sias, Rochester. 



The Northern Iowa Horticultural Society held their fourth 

 annual meeting at Nora Springs, Floyd county, Dec. 19 and 20, 

 1888. President W. C. Haviland, of Fort Dodge, being absent, 

 Vice President R. P. Speer, of Cedar Falls, presided. 



The speech of welcome by the Rev. Mr. Kent was eloquent and 

 witty, while the response by H. "W. Lathrop, Ex-President of the 

 state society, Iowa City, was rich and good. The attendance 

 was good throughout, and the free entertainment given by the 

 people of Nora Springs, was first class in every respect. The 

 fruit exhibit far exceeded my expectation. J. S. B. Thompson, 

 of Grundy Centre, Iowa, exhibited fifty-three varieties of apples, 

 forty-one of which were seedlings, which made a grand display. 

 C. G. Patten exhibited thirty-three varieties, seventeen of which 

 were seedlings, fourteen Russians and two German sorts. His 



