122 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the greatest state in the Union, we are willing to take our hats off to 

 Michigan, and I wish you all God Speed. (Applause.) 



Toastmaster: I just noticed a gentleman come into the door that 

 I want to say a few words to you — Mr. Fred D. Wright. He is a 

 traveler, having encircled the globe, but when at home he is a horti- 

 culturist. 



Mr. Wright: This is indeed a rare treat for me. I am glad to see 

 you, and mingle with such a fine lot of men. 



Just a word in a plea for the influence of a tree. We are cutting off 

 our forests at a tremendously alarming rate, and what are we doing to 

 replace them? Up in Greenland they appreciate the value of a tree, 

 and they know something of v/hat it is worth. Their wood comes from 

 Siberia. These logs float around the coast of Greenland, up to the 

 western coast, and every piece of wood found by a man belongs to him, 

 and stealing wood on the shore is worse than horse stealing is with us. 



But in China they do not appreciate the value of a tree. There is 

 no country in the world where you can see so much of the evil effects 

 of cutting off' the forests as there. Whole tracts have been laid waste, 

 the top soil washed away, the roads filled with hugh boulders — all be- 

 cause the trees have been removed from the mountain sides, allowing 

 the rains that come, to wash everything down into the roads, and 

 then where the streams were before, it is dried up after the rains, and 

 the country is amlost a waste. 



■ . But in Japan it is different — here they are replacing the trees that 

 have been cut away. They are cultivating the forests in the mountains. 

 Only a small part of Japan is cultivated, and the remainder is being 

 planted to trees, and the forests are being protected. China has al- 

 most ruined itself by using up its Avood, while Japan is building up its 

 forests. As I asked in the beginning of my talk, "What are we doing 

 to conserve our forests?" Are we planning to replace the vast areas 

 that have been shorn of its magnificent forests? This is a subject 

 of vital importance, and I am glad of the privilege of saying a word 

 in regard to the destructive eff'ect of cutting off" our forests and doing 

 nothing to replace them. 



Toastmaster: There are aliens that come to us — valuable adjuncts 

 to our national life and national prosijerity. They are not all of one 

 nationality, and there are other aliens than people. We have aliens in 

 horticulture that come to us from time to time, and valuable additions 

 they are to our horticultural assets. We will hear from one you all 

 know on this topic. Prof. Halligan. 



Mr. Halligan : When this topic was assigned to me I was in doubt 

 as to its meaning — it sounded as though it had some relationship to 

 the present war, but I will tell you that it does not mean a German 

 spy. It simply means fruits from another country. It is a good deal 

 like the story of the Irishman and the Englishman and the Scotchman. 

 They met one day, and the Englishman was bragging how proud he 

 was that he was an Englishman. But if he could not be an Englishman 

 he would prefer next to be a Scotchman. The Scotchman returned the 

 compliment by saying that next to being a Scotchman he would prefer 

 to be an Englishman. Then it was time for the Irishman to give his 



