TRANSACTIONS OF WARSAW HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



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reflected great credit upon the citizens of Hamilton and vicinity. Prof. Burrill, of the 

 Industrial University, added much to the interest of the meeting by his presence and 

 address. 



The August meeting, held at Wild-Cat Springs, was also largely attended by the 

 farmers and fruit growers of the county. The address by Jonathan Periam, Esq., of 

 the Prairie Farmer, was exceedingly interesting and attentively listened to by the 

 audience. A fine collection of apples was on the table, many of which were presented 

 for the purpose of having them correctly named. 



The September meeting, held on the grounds of your humble servant, was well 

 attended, and a pleasant and profitable occasion. The special subject, How to Interest 

 Our Young People in Rural Life, was intelligently discussed by John Safford, Esq. 

 Rev. H. R. Tricket also addressed the Society on some Mistakes Concerning Progress. 

 This was an address of great merit and should be heard and heeded by every man in 

 the community. 



The October meeting, held at the residence of B. Robinson, Esq., was well 

 attended, and one of the most satisfactory meetings of the season. Special subject. 

 The Labor Question, was ably handled by J. L. Piggott, Esq. 



The November meeting was a very pleasant one, and the subject of the day, The 

 Coming Farmer, was ably discussed by the essayist, C. N. Dennis, Esq., and others 

 present. 



The year passed has been a prosperous one for our Society, and we now have a 

 larger membership than ever before. Under the management of our efficient Treasurer. 

 C. C. Hoppe, Esq., our financial condition has been greatly improved, and the 

 treasury is now in a healthy condition. 



From this brief resume we see that we have made some progress, and as evidence 

 of what has been accomplished we refer to the thousands of acres of orchards within our 

 borders, and the hundreds of thousands of bushels of apples, and the thousands of 

 barrels of cider, that are yearly shipped. But what of the future ? Is our work ac- 

 complished? Can we afford to relax our efforts and rest upon our laurels? No; our 

 sphere of usefulness is widening, and new fields are opening, into which we are invited 

 to enter and labor. 



If we look around and see the hundreds of farmers' homes, dreary and cheerless, 

 without a fruit or vegetable garden from which to draw those supplies that give health 

 and comfort to their families, or a shade or ornamental tree, or the least attempt to make 

 them pleasant or home-like, and the great number of farmers who, with their wives and 

 sons and daughters, are drudging and toiling from early dawn till darkness casts its 

 mantle across their path, without a day of recreation or thought of rest, we shall under- 

 stand the work that we are called upon to do. 



The primary object of our Society was to encourage and foster the planting of 

 commercial orchards and vineyards, and we are proud to know that within its borders 

 are some of the finest orchards in the State; but we have now reached a point in our 

 history when we should turn our attention more to the fruit garden, floriculture and 

 home ornamentation, and make an effort to impress upon the minds of plodding toilers 

 on the farm that work is not the chief end of life, but while labor is honorable and 

 praiseworthy, constant toil, without change or recreation, is degrading, dulls the intel- 

 lectual and spiritual faculties, and degrades the image of God to the level of the brutes. 

 Change rests the weary body, recreation gives health and new life, new scenes and 

 wider observation, increases knowledge and gives greater opportunities for usefulness. 

 Some one has said that " there is not another man in the world who obstinately puts 

 necessary rest out of his life as does the American farmer;" and we are compelled to 

 confess that it is only too true. One of their greatest needs is an occasional holiday, 

 when work and care should be cast aside, that they may strengthen and refresh them- 

 selves by real downright rest. They should, now and then, take their wives and 

 children out of this tread-mill round of life, and give them a glimpse of the great, 

 bustling, busy outside world. Let them board one of the palatial steamers that float 

 upon our great river and turn their faces southward, until they pass beneath the arches 

 of the great bridge at St. Louis; then step upon the train and pass through the dark- 

 ness and damp, under the city out to the- Union Depot, and witness the long trains that 



