20 ANNUAL REPORT. 



tinued to reside up to the time of his death. He became a member 

 of the State Horticultural Society at the annual meeting, Jan. 20, 



1875, and at that meeting contributed an able paper on forest culture 

 on the St. P. & P. R. R. and a portion of the country tributary 

 thereto. He has since continued a member of the society and 

 contributed several able and instructive papers, the last of which is 

 contained in the volume of transactions just published. He was 

 founder of the State Forestry Association which was organized in 



1876, and its master spirit and Secretary up to Jan. last. He also 

 prepared the original draft of the timber culture act, which is prov- 

 ing of such great benefit to the settlers upon our prairies, and was 

 also author of "The Manual of Tree Planting." As a writer, he 

 was practical; as a speaker, fearless, positive and convincing. He 

 more than any other man of this or past generations has opened 

 the way for dotting our prairies with groves and forests, and also 

 opened the way for practical and safe fruit culture by his persever- 

 ance in advocating the work and the successful conducting of 

 experiments yv^herebj*^ he changed public opinion and proved that 

 '' trees if properly planted can be made to grow where nature has 

 failed to provide them," and in so doing has built his own monu- 

 ment in the heart of every member of this Society, and his name 

 will yet be canonized on ten thousand hearth stones in this State, 

 and we can point with sincere pride to his earnest and useful life, 

 and the courage that never failed him as an inspiring example to 

 ourselves and to those who are to come after us. 



I recommend the adoption of the following resolutions as a tri- 

 bute to his memory : 



In ppmopiani. 



Leonard B. Hodges. 



1st. Resolved, That in the death of Leonard Bacon Hodges, Min- 

 nesota has lost her foremost leader and pioneer in forestry, and this 

 society one of its most able, earnest and intelligent members. 



Resolved, That we contemplate with admiration his successful 

 career in this state as an advocate and planter of forest trees along 

 the lines of railroads and upon our treeless prairies, and his perse- 

 verance in advocating the work and conducting experiments 

 whereby he has changed public opinion, and proved that our most 

 bleak prairies can be so ameliorated as to become a pleasant and 

 desirable abode for man, and that with sincere pride we point to his 

 earnest and unselfish life and the courage that never failed him as 



