STATE HOETICULTUUAL SOCIETY. 211 



my pleasure to bestow. Yet so far as the actual duties of the 

 secretaryship are concerned in the usual routine work, nothing 

 that I am aware of has been neglected. The annual report for 

 1884 was out of press and mailed to members on the tenth of 

 April, an earlier publication than ever before secured ; due 

 partly to the prompt attention to the printing and binding by 

 the State printers, Johnson, Smith & Harrison, of Minneapolis, 

 and partly to the fact that from the day of adjournment of our 

 last annual meeting, to the tenth of April, I was enabled to make 

 daily visits to Minneapolis to read proof at the printing office, with- 

 out the usual delay of sending and returning the proof by mail. 



You will observe by my account, herewith appended, that 

 some extra expense attended this attempt at an early publica- 

 tion, but having succeeded, for the first time in the history of 

 the society, in placing the report in the hands of the members 

 before the season of spring planting came upon them, it seems 

 to me that the expense was well invested. 



The reports have been distributed to all persons entitled to 

 them by law. They have been sent to the members of the State 

 Senate and I have requested the librarian to send to the capitol 

 a sufficient number of copies to supply the members of the House 

 of Representatives. Under the instructions of the society at the 

 annual meeting two years ago, I have mailed our reports to all 

 persons making application for them. 



Our reports are in demand from citizens of all the N'orthwes- 

 tern states and many others. Whether it is to the advantage of 

 the State to continue this free distribution, it is not for me to 

 say. The record shows that large numbers of the citizens of our 

 own State are receiving copies of the report, upon application by 

 mail and otherwise, who are not contributing as members of our 

 society. While we continue to have enough copies to supply 

 people who care enough to read our reports and ask for them, it 

 seems to me better to send them out than to put away an unnec- 

 essary number of copies to remain unread in the library. 



I have not been able during the year to look up, as formerly, the 

 new varieties of apples reported from various parts of the State, 

 but trust you will get some accounts of them through our com- 

 mittees and members to extend the record of this interesting 

 class of our fruits at the present meeting. 



The cions sent out for trial are all recorded in the last annual 

 report and I hope the members who had them will furnish a 

 statement as to the varieties living and how they are doing. 



