SOCIETY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 197 



of numerous kinds, but very few were marketed in the fresh state 

 until after the first half of the century had passed away. 



I need not pause to contrast with all this the horticultural pro- 

 ducts, literature, societies, commission-houses, professional special- 

 ists, capital employed, etc., of to-day. The difference is prodigious. 

 When one collects the abundant evidence of the present horticul- 

 tural activity, it is amazing to tind that this evolution has been from 

 the small beginning of fifty years ago. Nothing equal to it has 

 ever before occurred in horticultural history. Those who have taken 

 an active part in the energetic advance — and they are usually still 

 living — know that progress has not come without effort, and that 

 continuous, uninterrupted prosperity has not been the rule. It has 

 sometimes taken great faith in the ultimate outcome to keep up 

 heart; but, upon the whole, it is acknowledged by all that signal 

 triumphs have been achieved, and that the people and the age have 

 been vastly benefited by the accomplishments. 



If we now make inquiry as to the causes of this wondrous evo- 

 lution in our times and in our country, of a world-old art, we shall 

 enter upon a problem containing a multitude of factors and elements, 

 most of which, however, are easily obtained and comprehended. 



In the first place, ours is the century of rapid development, and 

 ours the country, above all others, of marvels in progress and attain- 

 ment. This is no Four th-of- July buncombe. It is not immodest in 

 us to speak of facts so patent and indisputable. The world never 

 before siw so much change in all that relates to health and comfort, 

 and convenience of living, within any one man's memory. Never 

 before did man have such mastery over nature, rendering it possible 

 for him to accomplish what is now done. The application of the 

 forces of nature, harnessed and guided as never before dreamed of, 

 has multiplied man's muscle and stimulated his brain until the bibli- 

 cal figure of ''one chasing a thousand, and two putting ten thou- 

 sand to flight," is realized in numerous ways. A recent writer has 

 shown that the musket has been a prodigious power in civilization. 

 If so, we, as horticulturists, must admit that gunpowder has helped 

 bring about the present flourishing condition of our calling. People 

 laughed at Fulton trying to force a boat up stream ''with boiled 

 water," as they derisively framed the words. But the steamboat has 

 been no mean agent in the dissemination of useful plants and in the 

 distribution of the cultured products of plants. Railroads have ren- 

 dered still more effective service, as the immense trains carrying fruits 

 now testify. They have rendered civilization possible in many por- 

 tions of our inland regions, and literally have caused the wilderness to 

 blossom as the rose. Within my own memory, men thought the 

 great prairies of our State would never be occupied. People would 

 freeze to death in winter without fuel, and burn to death in autumn 

 by the great billows of fire that madly swept over the land. They 

 would perish for water and starve, without hope of succor, in the 



