Northern Nut Growers Association, Report of the Proceedings at the Fourth Annual Meeting / Washington D.C. November 18 and 19, 1913

by Unknown

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-TREASURER

Receipts:
Dues	$200.00
Gift	200.00
Sale of report	10.00
Advertisement	15.00
Miscellaneous	7.15
	———
		$432.15
Expenses:
Deficit	$17.54
Reporting convention	47.13
Printing	355.74
Postage	66.34
Typewriting	19.14
Advertising	6.79
Expense of secretary to Albany	10.05
Expense of secretary to New York	2.75
Miscellaneous	11.72
	———
		$537.20
Deficit	$105.05

Through the generosity of one of our members the secretary was enabled to issue the annual report, to have other printing done, and to represent the Association at Albany at the conference on the hickory bark borer called by the Commissioner of Agriculture of the State of New York.

It is not likely that this gift will be repeated and it will be a great misfortune if the means for publishing the annual report are not found, as well as for taking up the present deficit of over a hundred dollars.

Of course our membership is increasing rapidly and, in the years to come, we should have members enough to pay our annual expenses, including the publishing of the report. The secretary would like also to have enough to issue reprints or bulletins from time to time.

The secretary asks for instructions in the face of this difficulty and would suggest the appointment of a finance committee, not to include the secretary, and to be composed of persons who will work.

There might be a similar hard-working committee on programme. The secretary is willing to be the clearing house for the Association, but would like to have something to clear besides the cloudy results of his own labors.

The secretary has a list of over six hundred names of persons interested in nut culture, which he thinks should be circularized from time to time with reprints, or bulletins, setting forth the importance of, and the advances in, the art of nut culture.

The secretary would be pleased if each member would send in a new member during the year, would send an advertisement of his own, or some other person's, business for the annual report, and would pay his own dues promptly on the first intimation from the secretary. Members whose dues for the year are not paid will not receive the annual report and, after a decent interval, their names will automatically drop from the roll of membership and not appear in the next annual report.

Except from a financial standpoint the Association may fairly consider that it has had a prosperous year. Our present membership is 134, an increase of 48 over the number reported at the last meeting. (At date of going to press the membership is 143.)

Three members have resigned and we have lost two by death, Mr. George W. Gachwind of Brooklyn, N. Y., and Mr. W. D. Ellwanger of Rochester, N. Y. (News came during the meeting of the death of Henry Hales of Ridgewood, N. J., the first honorary member of the Association. An account of Mr. Hale's work with nuts appears elsewhere in this report.)

Thirty-one members have failed to pay their dues and have not been sent copies of the report. The secretary asks permission to drop the names of these members from the rolls and that a rule be formulated to guide his action in the future.

That interest in nut growing is increasing is shown by the issuance this year of three catalogues devoted entirely to nuts for northern, or northern and middle, planting. One nurseryman grows nothing else. All are members of this Association and the nuts propagated have all been shown at our meetings.

The work of the secretary during the year, besides the preparation and issuing of the annual report, has been given to answering a large and increasing correspondence, by personal letters and our various bulletins and circulars. The resolutions introduced by the Committee on Resolutions at the last meeting, and ordered by the Association to be printed and distributed as directed in the resolutions, were sent out by the secretary. A number of very complimentary letters in reply to this were received.

Arrangements and announcements were made that all members were to receive a subscription for one year to the American Fruit and Nut Journal as a part of their membership, and that new members would receive in addition copies of both the reports that we have issued. This proved very attractive, but unexpected complications have arisen that have kept the secretary busy explaining why he has been unable to fulfil both of these promises.

At the suggestion of Professor Hutt a circular was issued to gather information about the Persian walnut tree in the North. Replies are still coming in and the information obtained has not yet been collated. It shows already, however, that there is a great number of trees in the North; that there are two large centers so far shown, one about Rochester, N. Y., and the other in Ontario, Canada, on the strip of land between. Lakes Erie and Ontario, known as the Niagara Peninsula. In both localities reporters speak of hundreds of trees. One grower near Rochester has 225 seedling trees about 27 years old from which he is marketing nuts.

The original trees in these locations are often spoken of as grown from seed brought from Philadelphia at the time of the Centennial Exposition. Another center seems to be about Lancaster, Pa. There it appears that the original trees were brought in by the Germans. Perhaps the Philadelphia trees above referred to had the same origin. This would be a good subject for investigation by some of our Pennsylvania members.

There is a tree, said to bear good crops of good nuts, at Newburyport in the extreme northeastern corner of Massachusetts. (Specimens were shown at the meeting.)

If not already undertaken by the Government agents, I would suggest the making of a map on which all known bearing trees of the Persian walnut in the East should be located. If not in the Government plan the secretary would under-take to make such a map. In any case he is very anxious to learn as much as possible about these trees and he urges the members to furnish him any knowledge about them that they may have. Circulars to be filled out will be sent on application.

A member has offered to give $25 as a prize to be offered by the Association for the best shagbark hickory nut sent in. This offer came too late to make suitable announcement this year, but it is too valuable not to be accepted and encouraged, and I would suggest that either a special committee be appointed to devise means of offering prizes, with the above mentioned sum of $25 as a foundation, or that the matter be referred to the committee on promising seedlings.

The Chairman: I think we should take some action on the secretary's report. It is before the association. What shall we do about it?

Professor Smith: I move that the situation of the finances be referred to the executive committee.

A Member: I second the motion.

The Chairman: It is moved and seconded that the matter of the financial standing of the association be placed in the hands of the executive committee.

(Motion was carried.)

The Secretary: The next is the election of the Nominating Committee.

The Chairman: Are there any nominations for Nominating Committee?

Mr. Jones: I place in nomination Professor Smith, Mr. C. A. Reed, Mr. Rush, Mr. Ridgway and Mr. Albert Stabler.

Mr. Pomeroy: I second that nomination.

The Chairman: It has been moved and seconded that these gentlemen be appointed as a nominating committee to nominate the officers for the ensuing year.

(The motion was carried.)