58 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The station is exceedingly fortunate, we believe, in its 

 superintendent, Mr. Charles Haralson. We are confident that 

 his work for the state will be unsurpassed by any other of the 

 excellent men who are doing so much for the world by breeding 

 new and better varieties of fruit. 



We urge upon the society and the legislature most cordial 

 and sympathetic support in every way of Mr. Haralson's work. 



Mr. Stockwell: I want to express my appreciation of the 

 work of this society ; I have mentioned it on one or two occasions 

 before. I am a native of Minnesota, my father was a New 

 England farmer, a New York school teacher and came to Minne- 

 sota in 1856. One of the things that these pioneers suffered 

 most from was the lack of fruit. They used to send to Massa- 

 chusetts and get barrels of apples in the fall at great expense, 

 and then they were doled out to us boys as long as the barrel 

 lasted. My father spent hundreds of dollars trying to introduce 

 fruit onto his Anoka county farm without success, and it was our 

 opinion, and the opinion of people generally, that Minnesota could 

 never be a fruit state. Now, less than fifty years after, I am 

 sent as a delegate and member of this Horticultural Society to 

 inspect the fruit-breeding station that is doing such wonderful 

 things for the state of Minnesota. To my mind the work that 

 has been done by this society is of higher consequence to the 

 state of Minnesota than all the work of all the empire builders, 

 financiers and captains of industry that the state has ever had. 

 (Applause) . I never come to these meetings and look at the 

 vanishing old guard without a feeling of sorrow and also a feel- 

 ing of gratitude for the splendid men and women who have made 

 Minnesota a fruit growing state, because to my mind when we 

 are really civilized we will eat more fruit and grow less of other 

 things and we will cut out alcohol entirely. (Applause) . 



The President: I think we all agree with Mr. Stockwell 

 that Superintendent Haralson is one of the most useful citizens 

 of the state of Minnesota. (Applause) . 



$300,000,000 a Year Wasted by Weeds. — According to the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, the annual waste due to weeds is esti- 

 mated at $300,000,000 for the whole United States. In certain states where 

 diversified farming is the exception and not the rule, the waste is said to 

 approximate $40,000,000 per year. What the waste is in Colorado cannot 

 be accurately estimated but it is undoubtedly true that considerable waste 

 occurs. In the intensively cultivated sections the waste is not very large 

 because of the clean culture needed for certain crops. In sections where 

 grain crops are very popular, the waste is quite large. 



The principal ways in which weeds affect farming are through direct 

 damage to the crop, cutting down the yield, cheapening the product, and 

 lowering the value of land. — J. D. Marshall, Colorado Agricultural College, 

 Fort Collins, Colorado. 



