THIRTY-THIRD BIENNIAL SESSION 
19 
leal refrigeration to the preservation of fruits in storage has also made pos- 
sible the lengthening of the consuming season in the case of many fruits, 
which has in turn provided a market demand for much larger quantities than 
could previously be utilized in the fresh state by consumers. Many difficult 
problems have been encountered in this development, some of which have 
been solved in part, while others remain, which require exhaustive investiga- 
tion. The recognition of the magnitude and difficulty of some of these 
problems has been one of the influences that have operated to develop the 
research institutions of the country during this same period. In 1891 the 
state experiment stations, which have done so much to aid the fruit grower 
in solving varied and difficult problems, were in their infancy. At that time 
the activities of the Department of Agriculture, which bore more or less 
directly upon horticultural matters, were comparatively few. Inquiry 
discloses the fact that where in the Department of Agriculture in 1891 the 
appropriations more or less directly concerned with horticultural work 
amounted to $267,420, with one hundred and thirty-three employees engaged 
in the Divisions of Botany, Vegetable Pathology, Gardens and Grounds, 
Seed Distribution and Entomology, the appropriations for the last fiscal year 
for the Bureaus of Plant Industry and Entomology, which have developed 
from the earlier divisions referred to, amounted to $2,995,920, with a total 
personnel of 3,015 persons. 
Corresponding increases have occurred in other branches of the Depart- 
ment service which affect the fruit grower, especially in the work of the 
Bureaus of Soils, Chemistry, Biological Survey, and Forest Service, and the 
Office of Public Roads, while the work of the newly established Office of 
Markets is certain to be of importance to him through its contemplated in- 
vestigations of the numerous practical questions involved in the rational and 
effective disposal of his product. Those in charge of these activities will 
welcome you personally for the discussion of any questions that may arise in 
your minds affecting your interests. 
Since you last met in Washington (1891) many changes have occurred in 
your membership. The mere mention of such names as Dudley W. Adams, 
P. J. Berckmans, G. C. Brackett, Geo. W. Campbell, Norman J. Colman, John 
Craig, George Ellwanger, E. S. Goff, F. M. Hexamer, T. T. Lyon, Robert 
Manning, Thomas Meehan, W. M. Munson, T. V. Munson, S. B. Parsons, 
Lyman Phelps, W. H. Ragan, John Saul, Wm. Saunders, Benj. G. Smith, Wm. 
€. Strong, and Jno. J. Thomas, many of whom were present at that time but 
since departed, will remind the older members of your organization of the 
heavy toll that time has levied on the early membership. The departure of 
such men leaves vacancies which require men of exceptional activity, broad 
experience, and self-sacrificing public spirit to fill. That the work which 
they did so much to initiate and carry successfully through the pioneer 
stages is proceeding vigorously in the field of scientific research, as well as 
in commercial application, through the numerous agencies that are now 
carrying it forward is evidence that such men are continually arising to meet 
the varied needs of the time. 
While the climatic conditions in the immediate vicinity of Washington 
have not been found so favorable to fruit growing as many of you experi- 
ence in the sections of the United States and Canada from which you come, 
