16 



Secretary Brown. At the last annual meeting we also 

 liad a committee appointed to see what could be done abo\it 

 additional inducements to join the Association, though that 

 committee is not named in this program. Professor Sears 

 was chairman and is unable to be present today so I will 

 read it. I will now read this report, 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ADDITIONAL IN- 

 DUCEMENTS TO JOIN THE ASSOCIATION 



Your Committee has considered the question of means 

 by which we may make membership in our Association of 

 more value to the fruit growers of the State and would 

 make the following suggestions ; 



First — That some horticultural publication be selected 

 and offered to members at a reduced rate. We have taken 

 the matter up with the publisher of "Better Fruit" of Hood 

 Eiver, Oregon, and "The Rural New Yorker," and have se- 

 cured offers of a rate of 50c for the former and 75c for the 

 latter. As many of our members are already subscribers to 

 Rural New Yorker and as the rate is so exceptionally low 

 for "Better Fruit" (just half price,) we should be inclined 

 to recommend the latter. But that, of course, is for the As- 

 sociation to decide. 



Second — "We would recommend that, if possible, some 

 arrangement be made with the management of the New 

 England Fruit Show whereby the members of our Associa- 

 tion might be granted tickets of admission to the Fruit 

 Show at reduced rates. 



These are the only specific recommendations that we 

 have to make at the present time, but we believe that the 

 general question of making membership in our Association 

 of greater value cannot be too seriously considered by this 

 organization. At the present time, our members receive the 

 bound reports of our annual meetings and notices of all 

 field meetings as a reward for joining the Association. And 

 while the energy and business methods of our good Secre- 

 tary have done wonders in increasing our numbers, we can- 

 not expect to gain and hold a large membership without ad- 

 ditional inducements. And your committee feels very 

 strongly that if the Massachusetts Fruit Growers Associa- 

 tion is to have the influence and power that it ought to have, 



