76 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



are compelled to meet at Lincoln under our present charter, but if 

 we are not permitted to meet elsewhere at the annnal meeting we 

 should secure such legislation as will allow it. 



I am glad to report that the Legislature has been liberal enough 

 with us to increase our appropriation to $2,000 per year, which is 

 double what had previously been allowed. This is specially pleasant 

 to me, since a strong attempt was made to cut off our appropriation 

 entirely, and it would be natural for the Legislature to say that we 

 should have no increase in appropriations until we could settle up our 

 own quarrels. The internal trouble mentioned above has seemed to 

 only produce good results, in that it has caused the members to become 

 more united in their efforts to forward the interests of the Society. It 

 seems as though something is radically wrong when persons who have 

 held the most honorable positions in the Society secede and attempt to 

 undermine our organization and establish a new one, for the only 

 apparent reason that they are not kept in the elevated positions in the 

 Society. I think that no one should be kept in office more than two 

 or possibly three years, with the exception of the Secretary and Di- 

 rectors of experiment stations. All other offices should be so divided 

 that the responsibility of attending them may not become a burden. 

 In no other way can the new blood that is coming into the state be 

 utilized so well. No society receiving money from the public treas- 

 ury, and existing only for the public good, should be allowed to de- 

 generate into a close corporation. 



A matter which has caused some unfavorable comment has been 

 the late date at which our annual report has been issued. There 

 have been several reasons for this ; the Society at its last annual meet- 

 ing instructed the Secretary to hold the report back, to include the 

 proceedings of the summer meeting; the Secretary informs me that 

 his last copy was in the hands of the printer on August 25, yet it 

 was more than three months before any copies were ready for delivery. 

 I recommended that in the future the report be issued as soon as pos- 

 sible after the winter meeting, running the report of each summer 

 meeting into the report with that of the following winter. The win- 

 ter meeting, though it occurs the first of the year, is for the year that 

 has closed, so that the arrangement I mention would be proper, as 

 throwing the entire report for one year into one volume. Our report 

 should be in the hands of the people by April 1, and I think this 



