As far as usefulness is concerned, the farmer of the prairie states is bound to get more real value from an evergreen than any other person, but I am very glad to say that the homes of the wealthy in the cities each season are being improved more and more by the planting of the more ornamental evergreens. Cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Boston, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and other large cities of the United States are using thousands of evergreens every season to beautify the homes, of not only the wealthy but of the laboring man also. The price of evergreens at the present time is within the reach of everyone owning a home, and there is no other improvement that can be placed upon a piece of ground at so little expense and so little labor that will add so many dollars in real value to that property as will the evergreen, either as a windbreak or in landscape work.
Annual Report, 1915, Executive Board.
J. M. UNDERWOOD, CHAIRMAN
The report of the executive board is necessarily brief from the fact that the machinery of our society is kept in such excellent condition by our secretary, that there is little left for our board to do. His monthly issues of the "Horticulturist" keep the membership posted on all important items of interest and are a splendid examplification to the public of the value of our publications and of the meetings of our society. Your executive board meets twice a year to verify the accounts of the secretary and treasurer and at other times when there is something of importance to attend to.
We wish to call your attention to the fact that your board is practically self supporting. The members work for nothing and board themselves, which is a mighty good way to do.
There is a work of very great importance for the members of our society to do the coming year. That is to help in every legitimate way to secure an appropriation by the next legislature with which to build for our society a home. We should have had it provided so that we could celebrate our semi-centennial a year from now in our own home. If we were a private society, we would have had a home years ago.
We should be closely affiliated with the horticulture of the State University. Our home should be located on the grounds of the Agricultural College, where the building could be used for other purposes when not needed by our society. Let every member of our society interview the senator and member of the house from his or her district next fall and secure their promise to support a bill to appropriate $50,000 for building us a home.