"298 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANKAKEE 



kind which is suitable for one locality may be useless for another, 

 and so on. any number of difficulties that must l)e met mio'ht be 

 mentioned. 



Not only is this the case in rei^'ard to the strawberry, but any 

 one of the fruits or vegetables which the gardener produces, or of 

 the flowers which the floriculturist cultivates, is beset by a multitude 

 of evils. 



He who can devise a method for overcoming any of thes^e obsta- 

 cles is doing good service, not only to the present generation but to 

 those which are to come. Especially is this true when one discovers 

 a fact concerning a long-existing difficulty. 



Much is yet to be accomplished by horticultural societies. While 

 in a state blessed with such a fertile soil as this, and where showers 

 are so frequent that there is little need of irrigation, so many still 

 deny themselves the blessing of even a moderately cultivated garden, 

 that there is need for all their enthusiasm. 



Warner thought of frames for his pea vines through which he 

 could send an electric current, and thus destroy the birds which made 

 such sad havoc with his peas. 



It were well if the electricity of enlightenment might be infused 

 into the brains, and ambition into the frames of those who. from 

 year to year, deprive themselves of the necessities of the garden, say 

 nothing of the luxuries. 



Mark Twain, in humorously introducing General Hawley to an 

 audience at Elmira, said that he was able to judge of his character 

 because they owned adjoining gardens. 



Doubtless many a small boy would likewise be able to judge of 

 some of the characteristics of his neighbor from his acquaintance 

 with his fruit garden. 



But there is a higher sense in which the work of the horticul- 

 turist is to be regarded. There are other compensations for his labor 

 than simply the pecuniary. A flower garden sends forth a refining 

 and elevating influence upon every passer-by, including alike the rich, 

 the weary laborer, rind even the desolate tramp. It is ;i great i)iil)lic 

 benefaction. 



0. W. Barnard, chairman of Finance (Vmimittee. reported for 

 enrollment as members: John S. Blackstone. F. W. Mann. P. Dur- 

 ham, Charles Moore. Charles Eggleston. W. F. Grougar^ H. Mortimer. 

 L. W. Howes. P. Winslow. A. Snyder, W. H. Knox, E. Powell. Frank 

 McGrew. Geo. Gridley. B. F. Brady, G. G. Barber, Sam'l B. McGrew, 

 C. A. Swannell, Magruder & Dawson, L. E. Pacpin, Miss 0. H. Dick- 

 inson, Enyart, Son & Co., C. F. Keatly, John M. Stamm, H. B. Sher- 

 man, D. I. Babcock. .1. S. Whitam, W. S. Halsey, John B. Worrall. 

 W. R. Breckenridge. F. H. Warriner. A. K. Lasnier, W. L. Sherman^ 



