ACT OF REORGANIZATION OF THE STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

CHAPTER 151, Laws oF 1879.

SECTION 1. The executive committee of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society shall hereafter consist of the president, secretary and treasurer of said society, and of one member from each congressional district of the state; said members from the congressional districts to be chosen annually by the county and local horticultural societies in the respective districts.

SECTION 2. The present officers and executive committee of said society shall hold their respective offices until the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in February, 1880, and until their successors are appointed.

SECTION 3. It shall be the duty of the said society to aid in the formation and maintenance of county and local horticultural societies; to promote the horticultural interests of the state by the holding of meetings for discussion; by the collection and dissemination of valuable information in regard to the cultivation of fruits, flowers and trees adapted to our soil and climate, and in every proper way to advance the fruit and tree growing interests of the

state.

SECTION 4. The annual meeting of the society shall be held on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in February of each year, for the election of its officers, the transaction of general business, and the consideration of questions pertaining to horticulture.

SECTION 5. Ail vacancies in the offices of said society may be filled by the executive committee; and should there be a failure to elect a member of the executive committee in any district, the vacancy may be filled by a twothirds vote of the members of the society present at any regularly appointed meeting.

SECTION 6. It shall be the duty of the secretary of said society to make an annual report to the governor of the state, of the transactions of the society, including an itemized account of all moneys expended during the year, in addition to such matters as are now specified in the law relating to the same. SECTION 7. The number of printed pages of said report shall not exceed three hundred and fifty, and the number of copies shall be limited to three thousand five hundred. In all other respects, the publication and distribution of said report shall be in accordance with the provisions of the law now in force concerning the same.

SECTION 8. The sum of $600 is hereby appropriated out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated, to aid the said society in car rying out the provisions of this act; said sum to be paid by the state

treasurer upon the order of the president of said society in such sums and at such times as shall best contribute to the prosperity of the society and the interests it represents.

SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and publication.

Approved March 1, 1879.

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS.

As amended February, 1879.

CONSTITUTION.

ART. I. This society shall be known as the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society.

ART. II. Its object shall be the advancement of the science of horticulture.

ART. III. Its members shall consist of annual members, paying an annual fee of one dollar; of life members, paying a fee of ten dollars at one time; of honorary life members, who shall be distinguished for merit in horticultural or kindred sciences, or who shall confer any particular benefit upon the society; and honorary annual members, who may, by vote, be invited to participate in the proceedings of the society.

ART. IV. Its officers shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Superintendent, and an Executive Board, consisting of the foregoing officers and additional members, one from each congressional district of the state, five of whom shall constitute a quorum at any of its meetings. In addition to the foregoing officers, the presidents of all local horticultural societies reporting to this society, shall be deemed honorary members and ex-officio vice-presidents of this society. All officers shall be elected by ballot and shall hold their office for one year thereafter, and until their successors are elected; provided, the additional executive members may be elected by the county or local horticultural societies of their respective districts.

ART. V. The society shall hold annual meetings, commencing on the Monday next preceding the first Tuesday in February, for the election of officers, for discussions and for the exhibition of fruit; also one meeting during the fall, for the exhibition of fruits and for discussions, and such other meetings for discussion and exhibition as the executive committee may direct, at such time and place as the executive board shall designate.

ART. VI. This constitution, with the accompanying by-laws, may be amended at any regular meeting, by a two-thirds vote of the members present.

BY-LAWS.

I. The president shall preside at meetings, and with the advice of the recording secretary, call all meetings of the society, and have a general supervision of the affairs of the society; and shall deliver an annual address upon some subject connected with horticulture.

II. The vice-president shall act in the absence or disability of the president, and perform the duties of the chief officer.

III. The secretary shall attend to all the correspondence, shall record the proceedings of the society, preserve all papers belonging to the same, and superintend the publication of its reports. He shall also present a detailed report of the affairs of the society at its annual meeting. He shall also endeavor to secure reports from the various committees, and from local societies, of the condition and progress of horticulture in the various districts of the state, and report the same to this society. It shall be the duty of the secretary to make an annual report to the governor of the state, of the transactions of the society, according to the provisions of the statutes for state reports.

IV. The treasurer shall keep an account of all moneys belonging to the society, and disburse the same on the written order of the president, countersigned by the secretary, and shall make an annual report of receipts and disbursements, and furnish the secretary with a copy of the same, on or before the first day of the annual meeting. The treasurer elect shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, give good and sufficient bonds for the faithful performance of his duties, subject to the approval of the executive committee.

V. The executive board may, subject to the approval of the society, manage all its affairs, and fill vacancies in the board of officers; three of their number, as designated by the president, shall constitute a finance committee.

VI. It shall be the duty of the finance committee to settle with the treasurer, and to examine and report upon all the bills or claims against the society, which may have been presented and referred to them.

VII. The standing committees of this society shall be as follows: 1st, Committee on Finance, consisting of three members; 2d, Committee on Nomenclature, consisting of three members; 3d, Committee of Observation, as now provided. Said committees to be appointed annually by the executive committee of the society.

PAPERS AND DISCUSSIONS

AT THE

SUMMER MEETING

OF THE

WISCONSIN STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Held at Baraboo, June 12 and 13, 1878.

The regular summer meeting of the State Horticultural Society was held at Baraboo, on the 12th and 13th of June, in accordance with the unanimous vote of the society, at its annual meeting in February, accepting the invitation of the Sauk County Horticultural Society to meet with them. The time was set, by the local society, at 2 P. M., at the court house, and the meeting was called to order by the president, who then delivered the following introductory address:

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS.

By J. M. SMITH, OF GREEN BAY.

Ladies and Gentlemen: When the members of the State Horticultural Society elected their president, none of them were thinking of summer conventions, or of times when it would be necessary to have a president who could be ornamental as well as useful; one who on occasions like this could deliver an address, and have it of orthodox length and filled with pleasant and agreeable thoughts, such as would be at least harmless to all, even if really useful to none. Feeling confident that I should prove an 2-HORT. So.

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utter failure in the ornamental department, it only remains for me to throw out a few hints that may possibly be of use to some few who may either hear or read them. But, before proceeding further, I wish, on behalf of our society, to thank you, one and all, for the kind reception we have received; for the kindly words of greeting that met us upon our arrival in your pleasant town. Some one has said that kind words are never lost, even though forgotten. To at least some of us, I am sure that your kind words and cheerful welcome will be neither lost or forgotten, but will remain with us as one of the very pleasant memories in the history of our connection with the state society. It is to be hoped, at least, that after our departure from among you, there will be no cause upon your part to feel that your kindness and hospitality upon this occasion have been either wasted or thrown away.

But if I can be of no service in the ornamental department, perhaps I may be of some little benefit to some few, either here or elsewhere, by pointing out a few of what seem to me to be the causes of failure of so many of our farmers in the horticultural, or what might better be termed, the home department of their farms. We may disguise the fact as much as we please, but a fact it still remains, that a large proportion of our farmers, even those who are in comfortable circumstances and are in reality good and successful farmers in other respects, fail here, almost entirely. In the first settlement of a new country almost all of the pioneers are people of very limited means, and it is an absolute necessity that they should devote their time almost exclusively, for a few years, to the sole occupation of getting a shelter for their families and themselves, and in providing for the necessities of life; in fact, in laying the foundation of a future home; and it is, in thousands of cases, a foundation where one of great beauty and value might be made if the proper exertions were made. In these cases no elaborate or expensive system of horticultural improvement can be expected. This is more excusable in such cases than in almost any others; yet even here, much might be done without money, or at least, with but very little of it. It requires some time and some extra labor; but as a general thing our farmers in the northwest are by no means indolent. Why, then, is not a beginning made even in the early days of the farm? One reason is that our people value their homes too lightly. They intend to sell out and go west.