continue our affiliation with the American Fruit Grower magazine. As you will recall, the reason the question comes up at the present time is that they have raised their rate from 30 cents a member to 50 cents a member, which is 50 cents of our $3.00, which with the 50 cents secretarial expenses leaves but $2.00 to run the society. As the Treasurer will explain to you later, we are in somewhat of a financial difficulty.

It has been moved and seconded that the Association subscription to the
American Fruit Grower be discontinued.

This matter is up for discussion.

MR. MCDANIEL: We have much more space available in The Nutshell than in the American Fruit Grower, and there is the possibility of more frequent publication.

MR. DOWELL: If we could actually get it bi-monthly or quarterly, in place of the Fruit Grower, I think most all of us would be better informed and actually have more information. And The Nutshell is a very excellent means of showing somebody what the organization is about. You give them a copy of the American Fruit Grower, and if he is interested in nuts, most copies aren't going to convince him of much.

PRESIDENT MacDANIELS: I think this question is related to the appointment of a Publicity Committee which will explore what can be done to secure more publicity and give more information about nuts to our members than has been possible in the Fruit Grower.

The members of the Board of Directors felt that $300-plus is a high price to pay for what we got out of The American Fruit Grower.

(The question was called for.)

The motion is passed without dissent.

The question of authorizing the appointment of a Publicity Committee is introduced mainly as a matter for your information, also because it's much better if the society as such were to authorize such a committee. Do I hear such a motion?

Moved by Mr. Salzer, seconded by Colby and passed that the appointment of a Publicity Committee be approved.

I will ask for the report of the Treasurer, Mr. Prell.

Treasurer's Report

MR. PRELL: Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Best has asked that I help in connection with his report. That certainly is not because I can make his report better than he can, but probably because a new member is not a new member until his check has arrived and has been recorded, and I happen to have those figures. I will be happy to do that, but perhaps we should start first with the report that the President has asked for, the Treasurer's report.

I imagine that you are uninterested in an itemized, detailed report of receipts and expenditures; I imagine you are interested in the question: How are we doing? We are not doing too well. The annual report for this year indicates that our financial condition is not satisfactory. For the second successive year we have spent more money than we have taken in, and that would be the third successive year, if it hadn't been for the fact that due to the lateness of the publication in 1950—that it, the annual report—we did not pay for an annual report that year. That means there are three years in a row that we have gone downhill.

The picture is not entirely black, however. There are some bright spots. For instance, all our bills are paid. Second, we have money in the bank. Third, our $3,000 investment in Government bonds is still intact, and fourth, our deficit this year was less than it was last year, which may indicate that we have already touched bottom and are starting up.

The cause of our deficit is easy to put your finger on. We are operating on budgets that are ten years old, and costs have gone way, way beyond. Dues were increased several years ago, but even at that time they were not increased adequately, and since then costs have skyrocketed.

The membership situation is not too bad, though the cost situation is bad. The two don't jibe at all. The reason we have a lesser deficit this year than last is Mr. Best's work and the work of his vice-presidents in increasing the membership, and the results of that work; I think, have only begun to show.

Specifically, we came within $417 of collecting enough money this year to pay our expenses. It was over $500 last year, making a total of a thousand dollars that we have spent above our receipts. While we have some money in the bank, there will be a bill due in about 30 days on the publication of the annual report, that will be mailed within the next few days. And that will take all the money that is in the bank, plus what we are able to collect in dues immediately, and I hope that many of them are paid at once. But that still leaves us without money to operate through the year, and by January, unless conditions change, we will be borrowing money.

The Board of Directors has discussed this. They have some thoughts on the subject which will be presented to you by Dr. MacDaniels. I think that one of the obvious things that you all think of and I may mention is the matter of increased membership. That's an obvious solution, and as I said a minute ago, it's a very possible solution.

The work that was started by Mr. Best last February is only now beginning to bear fruit. New memberships, even as late as this for this year, in August, are coming in very, very well. I personally see no reason why the membership cannot be increased to a thousand members next year, providing all of us bring in a member or two.

I asked a friend of mine on The Country Gentleman for some data on state population compared to farm population. I forget just exactly now how it runs on various states, but I do recall Indiana. We have a population here of four million people. There are about 700,000 of these people on 166,000 farms. The farms in this state produce a wealth of $75,000,000 a year. With 700,000 farmers in this state and population of 4,000,000 with a wealth of $75,000,000 a year, it would seem to me that the State of Indiana should have more than only 39 members. Out of that group we should certainly increase that ten times. We should have 400 members, and if the same proportion is carried throughout the nation, why, this organization can easily obtain a roll of 7500 to 10,000 members. A thousand members next year should be a pushover. So much for the financial report.

Mr. Best's campaign started last February. His vice-presidents were given material and the inspiration to work for new members, and they responded. For Mr. Best I compiled the list of the new members who have been brought in, with the people who have brought in the greatest number, but that thing went galley-west in the last few days by the strong finishers. Mr. Best himself came in yesterday with a pocket full of 11 new members, and he already had a couple on the list. Up to that time—and I am not giving credit to the Secretary, because several of the members that show his sponsorship have come naturally through his office. So disregarding the sponsored members of the Secretary, Spencer Chase was top man, up until Mr. Best upset him yesterday, followed by Dr. Rohrbacher, who was a late finisher with members who were not recorded in this report. All through the year it was a battle between Pennsylvania and Illinois as to who would have the greater number of members.

Illinois, with 36 members, hopped up to 60, and Mr. Best's 11 make 71. And just this morning they got two others from Illinois, making 73. So I think Illinois has the second place position firmly nailed down.

Last year we had 563 members all together. This year now we have 170 new members. We can't add that to 563, because in every organization there is a loss of membership every year, and it's to be expected that our membership