come one year in arrears for dues, he shall be notified of that fact by the Secretary, when if he does not pay to the proper officer such dues within six months after such notice, his name shall be stricken from the roll of members of the Society.

That the Secretary shall provide himself with two books, at the cost of the Society, in one of which he shall keep a record of all the names of the members, and in which he shall charge up to each member his annual dues. The other shall be a receipt book so arranged that the receipts therein shall show the time to which each member has paid his dues.

STATE FAIR MEETING.

In accordance with previous usage, the State Horticultural Society held its usual meeting during the week of the State Fair, at the Board of Trade room, in the city of Columbus, on Wednesday evening, August 31, 1887. The meeting was called to order by the President, Gen. S. H. Hurst, at 8 o'clock P. M. After remarking that it was not his privilege and pleas ure to be present with the Society during the last meeting at Dayton, and hence, taking the chair for the first time, this evening, he would submit the following:

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

Gentlemen of the Ohio State Horticultural Society:

The honor of presiding over the deliberations and enterprises of this association for the current year, was alike unsought and unexpected by myself. And yet the surprise of my selection did not lessen my appreciation of your kindness, nor my sense of the high honor conferred. I did feel, however, that while I labored to serve the society on the State Board of Agriculture, some one else of the honored membership of this society should have been chosen to this position. Nevertheless, since my necessary absence from the last annual meeting gave me no opportunity to insist on this being done, I accept the responsibility imposed, and pledge you my best efforts for the performance of the honorable trust. That the work of this society is a far-reaching good to the people of our State, no one will question. For, severe and disastrous as our seasons may be, and uncertain and precarious as investments in commercial orcharding, small fruit culture, viticulture and gardening may have grown in some localities, still it is a truth that the 4,000,000 population of this great State demand for consumption a vast amount of horticultural products, and in many lines affords a market for all that can be grown. The health and happiness of our people alike require that this demand be met; if not as fully as a kindlier climate would permit, still with such fullness and variety as our great army of fruit-growers can supply, and with the best that he can produce. The multiplication of varieties, and the "survival of the fittest" have deeply enriched the products of our orchards and our vineyards, and especially the cultivation of early and late varieties has more than doubled the length of the fruit-ripening season, so that our people may enjoy this fruitage in its freshness and lusciousness for more than twice as long as our fathers did. And then, with rapid transit, bringing the North and South together to prelude and supplement our own fruitage, and cold storage to check decay, and hermetical sealing to prevent it altogether, we box the compass on the whole circle of the seasons, and set everybody to singing "December's as pleasant as May." Thus we have indeed accomplished wonders, and the field is yet white and wide before us. The common enemies of our craft must be met and foughtmildew and blight and rot, phylloxera and borers and curculio-the enemies alike of tree and vine, and shrub and plant, and fruit, must all be studied and mastered as far as possible. Varieties, culture, exposure, soils, fertilization,

protection, propagating, planting, pruning, budding, grafting, hybridizing, gathering, marketing all these things demand intelligent mastery. True, we might do as we see others do, and thus blunder on success at times, or rather reap the fruits of their study and labor. But the only true road to successful horticultural work is that which blends intelligence with labor, and in which the adventurer understands and appreciates, but in a large sense, loves his work. The present year has been one of special discouragement to fruit-growers. Especially is the apple-crop an almost entire failure in our State. This is not unexpected, perhaps, in the northern and eastern portions of the State, where the apple-crop of last year was so enormous. But in the south-central and south-western sections of the State, where the crop last year was very light, or a total failure, it might well have been expected that the compensations of nature would have blessed their rested trees with abundant fruitage this year, and the whole State seems a substantial failure, except in a few counties of the extreme north-east, where there is a partial crop. One solid freeze when the peaches of southern Ohio were in full bloom, and every blossom full of water, and where the apple-blossoms were just beginning to open to the sun-just one freeze, and the work was done. Not that the buds were all killed outright; many lingered and formed, and filled us with hope of at least a partial fruitage. But steadily and certainly that hope was dispelled. In some sections of the State there are peaches, where they have trees. But in the southern part of the State, where the large commercial orchards mainly are, the failure is almost complete. In the northern half of the State, pears seem plentiful, especially of the Seckel and others of the small varieties; but fine, large fruit is scarce and costly, indeed. Plums are a failure throughout the whole State, and the ravages of the black-knot, supplementing the severity of the season, now threatens with alarming menace the future plum crop of the State. Grapes alone are a fair fruitage in most localities, and the demand for this most delightful table fruit will be largely enhanced by the failure or shortage in other varieties of fruit.

Of the small fruits, strawberries were reasonably abundant and cheap. But raspberries, affected in many places by the drouth, though commanding good prices, were not by any means fine. Cherries, currants and gooseberries failed almost entirely. In fact the drouth affected all iruits most unfavorably that attempted to mature after the 1st of July. The blackberry-crop, which was of great promise, was largely diminished and damaged by the drouth, and on the whole, the year has been one of trial or disaster to the average or general fruitgrower. Still, I console myself that our trees and vines were waiting for the Centennial year, storing away in root and branch, in bark and fibre, the cumulative wealth of juices, born of the sunshine, rain and clay, which shall crown. our hundredth year with wondrous wealth of gold and purple.

The Secretary has already announced that no summer meeting was appointed, because we had no invitation to any locality where special lessons were to be learned, and we did not feel like going uninvited.

Special efforts have been put forth to save the Fair State show from being a very failure, and I am glad to know our efforts were not in vain. Considering the general failure of summer and autumn fruits, the exhibits are most creditable. For two years we have been looking forward to the great Centennial celebration of our noble State. One hundred years of labor and courage and faithone hundred years of growth and development and advancement-a century of the life and culture and enrichment of our people, is to be mirrored in that wonderful picture of which we have only dreamed. The gathered threads of this romantic history, the relics of pioneer, Indian and prehistoric life, the triumph of science, the work of education in our schools, colleges, universities, newspapers and libraries-all that art has achieved with hammer and

chisel and pencil and brush, the wealth of our fields, the pride of our herds and flocks, the treasures of our mines and quarries, the wonders of our machinery, the numberless things of use and beauty in our merchandise that enrich and adorn civilized lite, the growth and facilities of commerce, the development of the printing press, the wonderful and varied work of woman, illustration of the departments of public service and charities-everything, in short, that pertains to our material, industrial and educational wealth and advancement is to be gathered here, and built into this common monument of our great civilization! Shall we not beautify that pictured monument with the golden fruitage of our orchards, the purple clusters of our vineyards and the crowning glory of our gardens and conservatories? Shall not this society, as such, in that great Centennial year, prove to the people of the State that in that grand industrial jubilee, in pride of State, in pride of craft, in the glory of achievement, no class or craft shall lead us? Aye, we shall unite as one man to help forward this enterprise to a splendid success. The department of Horticulture, and that of Floriculture and Forestry, two of the most important departments in the Exposition, will be manned, equipped and conducted wholly by the members and co-workers of this society; and the fact that your President has been named as the director-general of the great Centennial, ought to be assurance enough that you will not be denied any opportunity or facility possible to demonstrate the excellence and splendor of your work. Into this field, for the coming year, I invite your individual, local and united efforts. Let us resolve to make Horticultural Hall and Floral Hall at the Centennial, as rich in golden fruitage as the garden of the Hesperides, and as radiant with beauty as the Garden of the Gods. Let us plant and prune, and fertilize and train, and gather and combine, so that with the work of our hands we shall help to build that wonderful monument of wealth and beauty which shall mark and measure the advancement of civilization during the first century of the life of the State. Meeting as we do to-night, in annual session, we may not forget to recall with pride and pleasure the memory of that grand but modest man who founded this society, and who for so many years presided over it. In his quiet, earnest, intelligent, devoted and delighted life-work, he has set us an example worthy of our following, and bidden us to imitate the purity of thought and singleness of purpose that made the life of John A. Warder so beautiful and fruitful. So, too, with grateful kindness we must recognize the labors of our distinguished friend, who, for the last three years, has, with real enthusiasm and practical ability, led us in our associated work.

And now let us not forget that it is by work, by intelligent labor, by individual and united effort, vitalized with enthusiasm, that we shall make this society a blessing to each member, and a continuing blessing to the State. And now, gentlemen, we are ready for the regular work of the evening.

The President theu announced the next thing in order to be the selection of the place for holding the next annual meeting of the Society in December. Mr. J. M. Westwater, of Columbus, extended a cordial invitation on behalf of the Columbus Horticultural Society, for the State Horticultural Society to hold their next annual meeting in Columbus; he thought it advisable for the Society to accept the invitation this year, not only because of the many superior advantages of Columbus as a central point for such a gathering, but especially because the coming Centennial will be held in Columbus, and it will

give the horticulturists of the State a better opportunity to prepare for that

event.

Mr. Farnsworth, of Toledo, extended a pressing invitation, on behalf of the Lucas County, Wood County and Williams County Horticultural Societies, for the State Society to meet in Toledo, giving many reasons why he thought this point preferable to any other.

Mr. Wilson and Mr. Innis, of Columbus, both heartily seconded Mr. Westwater in extending an invitation to meet in Columbus.

Messrs. Ohmer, Pierce, N. H. Albaugh, Cushman, and others spoke in favor of meeting in Toledo.

A vote was then taken, on motion of Mr. Moore, of Zanesville, to accept the invitation extended by the Columbus Horticultural Society, through Mr. Westwater, which was lost.

Upon motion of Mr. Ford, the Society then voted upon accepting the invitation of Mr. Farnsworth, to hold their next annual meeting in December at Toledo, Ohio, which prevailed, and the President appointed Mr. Farnsworth a committee of one to make the necessary arrangements for the meeting.

Messrs. N. Ohmer, of Dayton, George W. Campbell, of Delaware, and Matthew Crawford, of Cuyahoga Falls, were then selected to represent the Society as delegates to the meeting of the American Pomological Society, to be held in Boston, Mass., September 14, 15 and 16, 1887.

Gen. Hurst then called Vice-President Tryon to the chair, and addressed the Society as follows:

Gentlemen of the State Horticultural Society:

I wish to say a few words to you in regard to the coming Centennial, which is to be held here next year. As most of you perhaps know, the Board of Directors have put me in the position of Director of this work, and I feel a deep responsibility by reason of that appointment, and I thought it but right that at this meeting I should specially urge, and impress upon you the importance of this Society putting forth some extra exertions, and interesting itself in this work as we had not been interested in it before.

I might say to you, we have kept back virtually all information from the public with reference to the proposed Centennial, until after the State Fair. During the whole year we have thought if we pushed the Centennial, it would help defeat this year's State Fair. People would say: "Oh, well, we will wait until next year, before we come." It was of the utmost importance to our State Board of Agriculture that this Fair should be a success. Our obligations for improving the new Fair Grounds have been so great, that the success of this Fair was a necessity to us, and for this reason, although we have been quietly working, we have kept this in the back-ground, until after the State Fair. As soon as the State Fair is over, we shall all take off our coats and go to work for the Centennial. It is time now, as what I say will not keep any one from coming to the State Fair.

We are planning the Centennial with broadness, and with ambition to make it the greatest Exposition that has been held in this country, perhaps with the exception of the Philadelphia Centennial, and we are in earnest about it. We