THE NIXETEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 69 



prove an effective aid in inereasinu; their memberslaip, as well as their 

 local usefulness. 



"Assuming the desirability, not to say the importance, of such affiliation, 

 and realizing that it is not the custom of this class of government agencies 

 to volunteer their good offices in similar cases, we suggest that steps be 

 taken to invite the attention of the department to this matter, not by this 

 society only, but by others of kindred character. 



KELATIONS TO THE COLLEGE AND EXPERIMENT STATION. 



"It is clearly important that there be thorough sympathy as well as 

 <;lose afiiliation between the recently established experiment station, and 

 the State Agricultural college, (both being under the direction of our 

 state board of agriculture), and this society as the representative, in some 

 sense, of the horticulture of the state. That this has not always, if even 

 generally, been the case, may doubtless be, at least in part, attributed to 

 -our own shortcomings in the matter. It was formerly (and so far as we 

 are informed, still is), by law, the duty of the governor, with the approval 

 of the senate, to appoint the members of this board from among such 

 persons as shall be nominated to him by the agricultural and horticultural 

 societies of the state. So far as we know, such nomination has rarely if 

 ever been made by this society; while it is believed that, at least in many 

 cases, the governor's nominations have been made in the lack, or perchance 

 in disregard, of recommendations from such sources. 



"That the horticultural interests of the state may have seriously suffered 

 in consequence of such omission, will appear from the following: 1. 

 Large numbers, if not even the majority, of our people, regard horticulture 

 as a minor, side interest, of too slight importance to call for more than 

 incidental attention. 2. The more prominent agriculturists and agricul- 

 tural sympathizers of today ( and for such reason those most likely to be 

 selected as members of the board), are frequently if not even generally, 

 specialists, and as such very naturally prone to undervalue others than 

 their own specialty. , 



HORTICULTURE DENIED ITS JUST RIGHTS. 



" The outcome would seem to have been that, even with a representative 

 ■of horticulture upon the board, its interests have been so far checkmated 

 by the underestimate of the majority that, with occasional and indeed 

 creditable exceptions, what we deem to have been the reasonable expecta- 

 tions of those interested specially in horticulture have not always been 

 realized. Under these circumstances, horticulture has apparently proved, 

 in general, to be the first if not in fact the chief sufferer. The remedy for 

 this condition of affairs would seem to lie, first, in an organized presenta- 

 tion of the importance and the needs of this interest by its friends; second, 

 in the biennial nomination to the governor of persons who, whatever their 

 affiliations, can as members of the board be relied on to accord to horti- 

 culture its i^roper dues; third, in an earnest opposition to the appointment 

 upon the board of any specialist, whether agriculturist or horticulturist, 

 unless at least his catholicity be clearly such as shall fit him to correctly 

 appreciate the relative importance of each of the several interests upon 

 which he may he called to act — a qualification of exceedingly rare occur- 

 rence. 



