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BANQUET TO GARDENERS. 59 
PROFESSOR NIPHER. 
I feel some hesitation in talking about horticulture on 
such an occasion as this. It is true I am not wholly in the 
dark upon the subject: In common with all schoolboys in 
our region of the country, I profited by the conventional 
treatment of the subject which was much in vogue, learn- 
ing something from observation and much more from ex- 
perience. It isa matter of memory with me that the master 
did not always draw upon the neighboring apple orchard, 
but occasionally drew upon the treasures of the beech grove 
behind the school house. Later I remember of desperate 
contests with the army worm; of certain drastic applica- 
tions of soft soap and water to the unresisting caterpillar ; 
of many a still hunt for the unobtrusive but insinuating 
apple tree borer. With these experiences of a farmer’s 
boy of twenty-five years ago, my horticultural training ter- 
minated. 
It is, however, impossible for any intelligent person to 
fail to see how intimate is the relation between intelligent 
horticulture and certain branches of science. Not only 
have the results of investigations of botanists, entomolo- 
gists and biologists enabled you to avoid mistakes by re- 
vealing the causes of failure, but the scientific method has 
become your property. 
I remember that when I was a youth of ten years our 
village schoolmaster was considered a man of very singu- 
lar habits, a most extraordinary man. He caught flies and 
beetles, butterflies and moths (or millers as we called 
them), he collected plants and weeds and he spent his 
noon hour in taking them apart. He made drawings of 
their internal arrangement and seemed much concerned to 
pry into matters which other persons in the community did 
not consider of pressing importance. He finally gave a 
lecture to the old folks on the ‘* Equilibrium of Nature; ”’ 
_ and I have seldom seen a botanist or a gardener, that I did 
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