os: 
OFFICERS’ REPORTS. at 
SECRETARY’S ANNUAL REPORT 
FOR THE YEAR ENDING JANUARY 8, 1895. 
A. W. LATHAM, MINNEAPOLIS. 
Mr. President and Fellow Members of the Minnesota State Hor- 
ticultural Society: 
I have the honor to present you herewith the annual report of this 
society for 1894, being the fourth which it has been my privilege to 
prepare. Itis a volume of 538 pages and by far the largest this society 
has ever published. From the standpoint of the horticulturist the 
past year has not been altogether one of success, and in a measure 
his efforts have not resulted in that fruition which the heart desires. 
To the fruit grower the rewards of labor have been light. Late 
spring frosts and the unprecedentedly hot and dry summer have 
cut down very largely the returns. With the exception of rare cases 
where the application of water was practicable, small fruit growing 
and gardening have been very much ofa failure. It is well, here, to 
emphasize the necessity which has come upon us to devise some 
practical means of applying water to our gardens and orchards if 
we Shall hope to reap an annual reward for our labors. 
As a society, however, our work has been entirely encouraging. 
Our growth in numbers and the ever widening circle of our in- 
fluence have this year kept pace with, if not exceeded, that of the 
previous year, and we may fairly expect, with the continuance of the 
present favorable conditions, such steady growth in the future. 
With this satisfactory review and favorable outlook, it is altogether 
agreeable to meet and plan and provide for the future of so good 
and pleasant a work as this in which we find ourselves engaged. 
In the new departure which was taken in the beginning of the 
current year, the work of the secretary’s office has been radically 
changed, and it is no exaggeration to say that the labor pertaining 
thereto has been doubled. The publication of the report as a 
monthly and the largely increased membership have increased in 
like proportion the work of the office, and also in a considerable de- 
gree the current expenses in connection therewith. 
At the annual meeting the executive committee were authorized 
to investigate the proposal to publish the report as amonthly and if 
found feasible, to make the change. Through the assistance of Mr. 
David Ramaley, the gentleman in charge of the public printing and 
Messrs. Harrison & Smith of Minneapolis, the public printers, which 
was always very cheerfully given, it was found practicable to make 
the change, and, so, on the first of February our new magazine, 
christened “The Minnesota Horticulturist,” first saw the light. It was 
necessary that we should pay the expense of a cover for the maga- 
zine, envelopes for mailing, directing, postage, etc. Fortunately, we 
were able to enter it as second class matter and so secured the privi- 
lege of regular magazine postage—one cent per pound. The ex- 
pense connected with the Horticulturist was for stitching and 
cover, $100; for directing and mailing, $17; for envelopes and print- 
ing, $26; for postage, $27; total, $170. This expense has been met par- 
tially by advertisements to the amount of $116. An increase in the 
