118 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



there is always plenty of material brought forth for a discus- 

 sion. This meeting 1 was no exception, and the members each 

 and every one seemed alert and equal to the occasion. 



But one evening meeting was held, that being in the high 

 school auditorium. Music furnished during the evening by the 

 Girls' High School Glee Club and also two numbers by the Boys' 

 High School Glee Club were especially fine. 



Mayor Cole welcomed the horticulturists at Oelwein in a very 

 fitting address. This was responded to by Mr. G. D. Black, form- 

 erly of Independence, Iowa, but now of Albert Lea, Minnesota. 

 A duet by Mr. and Mrs. Leo was well received and was re- 

 sponded to with an encore. 



Your delegate from the Minnesota State Horticultural So- 

 ciety gave at this meeting an illustrated talk on birds. The im- 

 pression that your delegate brought from the meeting was to 

 the effect that the meetings might perhaps be better advertised 

 so that the people of the town in which the meeting is held 

 would know that there were some papers and discussions very 

 much worth while, that they were educational and helpful, and 

 that they ought to have a larger hearing. 



The Northeastern Iowa Society was very well represented, 

 there being some one from practically each of the larger towns 

 of that section. Mr. Wesley Greene, of Des Moines, read a 

 very fine paper on insects, and in fact, every address and paper 

 given at this meeting was well worth listening to, and your 

 delegate was very glad to be a listener to the splendid pro- 

 gram. 



That the Northeastern Horticultural Society of Iowa is 

 doing some good work goes without saying. They are a live, 

 wide-awake, stirring body of men and only good things can 

 ultimately come from these gatherings. 



Water Requirement of Plants. — The study of the water requirement 

 of plants has been continued during the past year with a view of determin- 

 ing the crops and varieties most efficient in the use of water. The differ- 

 ences exhibited in this respect by the principal crop plants are remarkable. 

 Millet, sorghum and corn are the most efficient in the use of water. Wheat 

 and the other small grains form an intermediate group, while alfalfa and 

 other legumes have the highest water requirement. Alfalfa uses about 

 three times as much water as millet in the production of a pound of dry 

 matter when the two crops are grown side by side. Varieties of the same 

 crop show in some instances marked differences in water requirements, so 

 that the careful study of different varieties from this standpoint is a 

 matter of decided economic importance in connection with the agricultural 

 development of dry-land regions. — U. S. Dept. Agri. 



