The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-03-19
EupoRIA. KAN. March u 1ezz


ENPoRIA, KAN, March II, 1875.
iG. C. BRACKET, ESQ.,, Secretary of
State Horticultural Society:
Dear Sir:-By your request send
you the following brief history of the
Lyon County Horticultural society.
since its organization:
In response to a call Issued by some
of the citizens of Lyon county, and
published in THE EMPoRIA NEWS and
Tribune, fifteen or twenty persons
convened in the law office of Messrs.
Buck & Cunningham, on Feb. 4, 1871,
for the purpose of organizing a county
horticultural society. Prof. A. D.
Chambers, of Hartford, was chosen
temporary chairman and Robert Mil
liken, of Emporia, secretary. Robert
Milliken presented q draft of consti-
tutiOn, which was adopted. An cleo
ton of officers was held, which result
ed as follows: President, j. NJ. Mil
Ter, OF Fremont township; vice Presi-
dent, Prof. A. ID. Chambers, of Hart
ford; secretary, Robert Milliken, of
Emporia; treasurer, L. w. Cunning
ham, of Emporia.
The following is copy of the con-
stltution as it stands TT present:
CONSTITUTION OF THE LYON COUNTY
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Article l. This Society shall be
known as the Lyon County Horticult-
ural Society.
Art. 9. The officers OF this Society
shall consist of President, Vice Pres;-
dent, Secretary and Treasurer. who
shall be elected by ballot annually at
the January meeting. There shall be
Standing Committees of three persons
each on the following subjects Rusl-
ness, Vineyards, Flowers, Orchards.
Vegetables, Small Fruits and Ento-
mOlogy.
| Art. 3. The duties Of the President
shall be to preside at all meetings of
the Society, countersign all checks or
drafts drawn on the Treasurer, and
appoint all committees.
Art. 3. The duty OF the Vice Presi-
dent shall be to preside in the absence
of the President.
Art. 8. The duties of the Secretary
shall be TO keep a record OF all the
proceedings of the Society, record the
names of the members OF the Society,
| and draw orders on the Treasurer Tor
all debts of the Society.
| Art. 6. The duties OF the Treasurer
shall be to collect all dues of the Soci-
! ETY. and to disburse the same upon Or
ders drawn by the Secretary and coun-
| tersigned by the President.
Art. Z. 1t shall be the duty OF the
Standing Committee on Business TO
prepare matter for discussion and 9TH
| er business for the action of the Socie-
| ty and bring the same before the Soci-
ETY. at the proper time.
Art. s. It shall be the duty of other
Standing Committees to make exam
inatiOn Of the special objects for which
| each is appointed and report their la
bors at the regular meetings OF the
Society.
Art. o. Any person may become a
member of this Society by the pay
ment of one dollar initiation fee and so
! cents per annum after the first year.
Art. 10. The annual meetings of
this Society shall be held in Emf oris
| on the first Saturday In January of
each year at 10 o'clock a. NJ, unless
otherwise ordered by the Society.
Art. IL. Special meetings may be
| called by the President and Secretary
| whenever they deem the interests or
the Society will be thereby advanced.
Art. Is. All officers and members
| of Standing Committees shall hold
| their position one year, or until sue
| cessors are chosen.
Art. -. The members present at
! any regular meeting shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.
Art. ID. Bylaws may be enacted
at any regular meeting.
Art. Is. This Constitution NAV be
altered or amended at any regular
meeting by a two-thirds vote Of the
! members.
Meetings were Eeld monthly at the
court house or in some suitable room
in the city of Emporia, until the
spring of 1874, when the time was
changed to semi-monthly. A moder-
ate degree of interest has been mani
tested by the people of the county,
amounting at times to enthusiasm and
at other times relapslng into indiffer-
ence. During the summer Of 1873 an
exhibition of fruits, flowers and veg
etables was held in the season oil roses
and Strawberries, which proved de-
clded success. A list OF premiums,
aggregatins forty or fifty dollars,
was offered for various displays Of
fruits, flowers and garden produce,
which elected lively competition. A
large room was secured and suitably
ornamented and decorated with fiow-
era and evergreen boughs, and the va
rions articles competing for premiums
were arranged on tables. An admis-
sion fee OF 10 cts was charged. Straw
berries, with ice cream, lemonade and
cakes were furnished at low rate to |
the visitors, the proceeds to go to the |
society. The result was q profit of
about fifty dollars, after payin all ex- |
penses, and an enjoy able time gener- |
ally.
EmboIdened by their success In this
undertaking, the society thought to
hold fall exhibition. Consequently
a premium list of about 800 was of |
fered. Bancroft hall was secured and
arranged at a cost of not less than for
ty dollars. The premium list was
published in neat pamphlet, and the
exhibition was extensively advertised,
A show of flowers that far exceeded
that of the State fair of the same year,
a fine display of fruits and vegetables,
and lot of fruit that Is seldom equal
ed at comfy fair, were put upon the
exhibition tables, and the doors
thrown open to the public at the low
admission fee of 10 cts, and scarcely a
hundred persons visited the hall. The
receipts did not amount to enough.
with the amount in the treasury, to
pay the expenses of the exhibition, to
say nothing of the premiums, which
the society have never paid. One I'M
pleasant feature of this thing was, that,
on the following day. 'fOld John Rob-
inson's circus'' came to town, and
there were not less than two thousand
people rea ly and willing to pay their
76 cts to see the s'strictly moral" exhi-
If u \