We will now listen to the report of our secretary-treasurer.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-TREASURER

Balance on hand, date of last report $7.23

Receipts: 
Dues $379.30
Advertisements 42.00
Contributions 42.50
Sale of report 22.40
Contributions for prizes 40.00
Miscellaneous 1.05
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$534.48
Expenses: 
Printing report $233.76
Miscellaneous printing 51.80
Postage and stationery 41.09
Stenographer 2.00
Express, freight, carting 3.74
Prizes 10.00
Check J.R.S. expenses, circulars 37.30
Bills receivable 10.00
Miscellaneous 4.55
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$394.24
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Balance on hand $140.24

This is the best financial report that the treasurer has ever been able to transmit, and this is chiefly due to the efforts of our president who, during the year, has sent out numerous notices of, and articles about, our Association, its purposes, and the desirability of finding and propagating our best nut trees.  He also offered three prizes of $5 each for a nut contest and did the work necessary to get publicity for this contest.  He sent letters to the members of the horticultural societies of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio which resulted in our getting 24 new members, mostly from the state of Pennsylvania.  Twenty-five dollars of the cost of this circularizing the president paid out of his own pocket.  The rest was more than made up by the fees of new members.  The president also had printed an educational leaflet on nut growing for distribution by Mr. Cobb with the nut trees which he sends to the schools and farmers of Michigan.  With Professor Close he was on the finance committee which sent a circular letter to the members of the Association for funds to help pay for the printing of the annual report, and obtained advertisements for the report.  As stated in the treasurer’s report contributions for this purpose amounted to $42.50 and advertisements brought in $42.00.

Prizes

The Association offered last year prizes of $5 each for the best shagbark hickory nut, black walnut and hazel nut sent in.

Something over a hundred specimens were received and the prize for hickory nut was awarded to J. K. Triplett of Elkins, W. Va.  The prize for black walnut was awarded to J. G. Rush of West Willow, Pa.  Mr. Rush returned his prize to be used for the purposes of the Association.  No prize for hazels was awarded as only one or two insignificant specimens were sent in.