64 Wisconsin State Hoeticultukal Society. 



to the interest and enjoyment of the occasion that we had here 

 met with fellow laborers from a sister state, who were engaged 

 heart and hand in the same good work, and from whose labors 

 we had derived much profit in the past, and will continue to re- 

 ceive for years to come. In the Wealthy we reap the benefit of 

 their toil, and the thanks of this society and of the whole country 

 are due to their organization for the benefit thus received. 



A vote of thanks to the railroad companies for their courtesy 

 in granting reduced fair to those in attendance on the convention 

 was passed. 



In the afternoon carriages were in readiness, and the convention 

 visited the water works and leading manufactories of the city, 

 rambled through the large and well-stocked greenhouses and fine 

 grounds of Mr. John Salzer, and from thence, by a circuitous 

 drive through the pleasant, shady streets of the city, came to the 

 cemetery. Here an hour was pleasantly passed, though in the 

 resting place of the dead. Shady, wmding paths and pleasant 

 drives, beds of beautiful flowers and brilliantly colored foliage 

 plants, set in well clipped lawns, gave a bright and even cheerful 

 appearance to a place generally associated only with sadness and 

 gloom. The citizens of La Crosse have good reason to take pride 

 in their beautiful cemetery grounds, and of the liberality and 

 good taste there displayed. The thought suggested itself to very 

 many who were present, what a contrast between this and the 

 usually desolate, neglected condition of our cemeteries, and what 

 more appropriate or more beneficial work can our local horticult- 

 ural societies engage in than in thus beautifying the place where 

 sorrow buries its treasures and affection mourns for the loved and 

 the lost. 



The near approach of the parting hour necessitated a hasty 

 return to the city, where the pleasant hours of the session, and 

 the kindness and hospitality of the members of the local society, 

 and of the citizens, to their guests, came to a fitting close, in a 

 special session for the practical consideration of the merits of cake, 

 strawberries and ice cream. 



