66 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



hundred dollars more of that appropriation was expended in the 

 distribution of the Forest Tree Planter's Manuals that were 

 then on hand, when the state auditor informed me that the ap- 

 propriation had lapsed on account of time, and no effort was 

 made to secure any further appropriation, inasmuch as it was 

 supposed by the members of the society, that that money was 

 available to be used at any time. The appropriation having 

 lapsed, there being something like three thousand copies of the 

 Tree Planter's Manual still on hand, the work was carried on 

 until the next session of the legislature, the manual being sent 

 to all who made application for it, and they were distributed at 

 some of the farm institutes and fairs where they were given to 

 the people, and were also distributed from the ' 'Farm, Stock 

 and Home" office. During the session of the legislature in 1887, 

 the forestry committee of the House recommended an appropri- 

 ation of three thousand dollars. The bill was exactly like the 

 bill of 1881, simply providing for the publication of the manual 

 of forest tree planting, to be prepared by some expert in for- 

 estry, to be distributed free to any citizen of Minnesota, and 

 for free distribution of seeds, cuttings, etc., in the interest 

 of the people. That bill passed the House and got to the 

 second reading in the Senate, but was lost the last night 

 of the session. Immediately after that there was a meet- 

 ing of the executive committee of the asssociation. They 

 requested me to do what I could without expense to the asso- 

 ciation until such time as the legislature should meet again, 

 when the matter would again be brought forward and we 

 would endeavor to secure money to carry on the work. I did 

 so, distributing largely through the medium of the Farmers 

 Institutes the balance of the manuals we had on hand. I sent 

 them to legislators calling attention to the matter from time to 

 time. The legislature of 1889 met. There was a meeting of 

 the Forestry Association, the bill was prepared and was pre- 

 sented to the forestry committee of the House, and I staid 

 there altogether something over three weeks looking after the 

 interests of the bill. The forestry committee cut down the 

 amount to two thousand dollars instead of three. Finally on 

 the 23rd day of April the bill was signed and became a law, 

 The members of the executive committee were immediately 

 notified and several of them met in St. Paul, and they voted to 

 have a manual prepared at once, revised and corrected accord- 

 ing to the best information at hand and the best that could be 



