SUMMER MEETING. 17 



The following report, made by one of otir most enthusiastic fruit 

 growers, of Platte county, J. J. Blakley, was printed in the " Land- 

 mark," of Platte City, and gives such a sort of general view of the 

 fruit interests that I deem it very proper to use it in this connection. 



Sec'y. 



Horticulture — What Missouri Is Doing- 

 Editor '^ Landmark:" 



Perhaps it may interest some of your readers to tell of our trip to 

 Harrisonvilie, attending the semi-annual meeting of the Missouri State 

 Hortiv^ultural Society. Mrs. Blakley and myself left Platte City on 

 Tuesday morning at 4 a. m., arriving at our destination at 12:20 p. m. 

 And here it may not be out of place to give a short history of this 

 noted organization : The Missouri State Horticultural Society was 

 organized 35 years ago by a body of men who were greatly interested 

 in the improvement of our fruits and flowers, and in the advancement 

 of all that pertains to horticulture. This organization has been main- 

 tained for over a generation ; notwithstanding the many discourage- 

 ments of extreme heat, cold, drouth, excessive rain and insect foes, 

 the Society ha* held its regular meetings without exception, in differ- 

 ent portions of the State, every year since its organization. 



That its intiuence for good has been wide-spread, I need only 

 point to the fact that the sales of fruit have increased from compara- 

 tively nothing to $10,000,000 in the year 1891—1892 and 1893 not be- 

 ing nearly so much. 



Many noted men have been officers of this Society, such as l!Tor- 

 man J. Colman, oar first Commissioner of Agriculture ; Maj. Eagan of 

 Independence, Mo., now deceased ; George Hussman, now of Napa, 

 Cal., who is recognized all over the world as one of the best authori- 

 ties on the "grape" — his work on that subject being accepted without 

 question by all horticulturists ; Judge Samuel Miller, of Montgomery 

 county, known to all readers of Colman's Kural World as one of the 

 best writers on horticulture, and is standard authority as its horticul- 

 tural editor — besides being a contributor to many other magazines 

 and papers of kindred nature, and many others too numerous to men- 

 tion. 



This Society has been maintained by the contributions of its mem- 

 bers and whatever aid the Legislature has given it, until 1893, when the 

 Legislature instituted and created the Missouri State Horticultural 

 Society a body corporate, with power to sue and be sued, complain 

 and defend in all courts, etc., and directed that it should be composed 



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