Meeting adjourned until 1:30 p.m.

December 7, 1915, Afternoon Session.

The Minnesota Orchard. Discussion led by J. P. Andrews, Faribault, Minn. (See index.)

The President:  Ladies and gentlemen, the time has now arrived to continue with the regular proceedings of the society.  Mr. Rasmussen, president of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society, is with us and will be on the program later, but we will have a few words from him now.  (Applause.).

Mr. Rasmussen (Wisconsin):  Mr. President and members of the Minnesota Horticultural Society:  I didn’t expect to be caught this way.  I was going to be real shrewd, I was not going to let you know I was coming.  I told the secretary of our society not to let you know I was coming, but he notified your secretary that I was coming and that is the way they happened to get me on the program.  I was going to sneak in and get all the good out of it and was not going to give anything back; I will admit that is not a fair game.  I feel about like a fellow who had to make a talk at a banquet.  He said he was not a speaker, but they insisted.  They would not let him back out.  So he got up and feeling kind of shaky, like I am now, he reached his hand down to get hold of his chair, as he thought, but touched his wife’s shoulder, and she got up.  She thought she had to.  He started, “Ladies and gentlemen, this thing was forced on me. (Laughter.)” So this was kind of forced upon me.  I know that your program is full so I will not detain you any longer.  My time is tomorrow, and I will take you through my garden tomorrow. (Applause.)

The President:  We are all pleased to have Mr. Rasmussen with us, and we hope we will hear from him often during the deliberations of the meeting.  I was pleased indeed to see so many present this forenoon.  Secretary Latham thought he had plenty of room for all who might attend, but I don’t think there was a vacant chair here this forenoon.  I was pleased indeed to note so many new faces, so many young men present.  You are the people we want to see.  The older men have always contributed and done their part and have made these meetings a grand success, but it will soon devolve upon the younger men of this society to take their places.  We want you to help them at these meetings, and I was glad that you did so this forenoon.  We hope that the young men will feel at home and that they will continue to take part, that they will ask questions and tell us about their successes and their failures, and I hope the older members will help make it pleasant for these young men.

We will take up the subject of fruits this afternoon, and I am now going to call on a plum specialist, a man that we look to to tell us about the plum troubles in this state, Mr. Dewain Cook, who will tell us about the “Plums We Already Have and Plums That Are on the Way—­the Brown Rot a Controlling Factor,” Mr. Dewain Cook, of Jeffers, Minnesota. (See index.)