Educational Influence of Local Horticultural Societies. 61 



The remainder of the evening was spent in viewing the exhi- 

 bition and in social enjoyment and greetings. 



Second Day — Wednesday. 



Forenoon Session, January 25, 1888. 

 At 9 o'clock A. M. President Earle called the Society to order. 

 Elder Riinnion, pastor of the Baptist Tabernacle, being called 

 upon, offered an invocation. 



[Note. -The President's address and the discussions thereon, which, for 

 cause, are published earlier in this volume, occupied a large portion of the 

 forenoon session. — Secretary.] 



Mr. Ohmer, of Ohio, being called upon, read his paper as fol- 

 lows : 



EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE OF LOCAL HORTICULTURAL 



SOCIETIES. 



BY N. OHMEU, OF OHIO. 



Mr. President, Lidies and Geidteinen : 



I feel somewhat embarrassed to appear before an audience, as this, com- 

 posed of representative men and women, experts in the arts and sciences 

 of horticuhure, and representing all parts of this great nation. However, 

 being a loyal citizen, one that always obeys orders as well as he can, will 

 make the effort to respond to our worthy Secretary Ragan's request to pre- 

 pare a paper to be read at this meeting on a subject that is no doubt well 

 known to many of you, namely, " The Educational Influence for Good of 

 Local Horticultural Societies." I do not know how to do so better than by 

 giving you the history of the one of which I have been a member from its 

 first organization in 1866, being now in its twenty-second year, namely, the 

 Montgomery County (Ohio) Horticultural Society. 



In December, 1866, a half dozen gentlemen met together and talked up 

 the advisability of organizing a horticultural society. They adjourned to 

 meet in January following, when about a dozen gentlemen met and per- 

 fected an organization. With the assistance of a friendly press, the object 

 of our organization was pretty well written up in the dailies of our city, 

 Dayton, Ohio, and the result was an attendance of about forty gentlemen at 

 the February meeting. We continued to meet every month of the year in 

 a hall in the city. As long as it was a new thing our meetings were well 



