Vermont State Horticultural Society 



Weeks, W. F Shelburne 



Whitford, L,. G Vergennes 



Whitney, S. B Enosburgh Falls 



Wood, Dr. H. W St. Johns, P. of Que. 



Wright, E. L Middlebury 



WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, TWO O'CLOCK. 



ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 



J. Jt. BURKE, MAYOR OF BURLINGTON. 



Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the State Horticultural 

 Society : 



In behalf of the citizens of Burlington I extend to you a 

 hearty greeting, and welcome you to our hospitable city. 



This is an age of progress and we believe in progress all 

 along the line. Now the question is how are we going to arrive at 

 the desired result? You have organized for a most desirable pur- 

 pose, there is no question about that. We all know the principal 

 industry of the State of Vermont is agriculture ; the large ma- 

 jority of the people of the State of Vermont are engaged in 

 agricultural pursuits. 



In the State of Iowa you know tlie majority of the people 

 are engaged in the raising of corn ; I believe they plant in the 

 neighborhood of nine millions of acres each year. They raise 

 about 300,000,000 bushels of corn, but they found that during 

 the last few years the yield showed a falling off. You see the 

 people there are interested in the same things we are here in 

 Vermont, and they have taken the matter up and have inves- 

 tigated it. Professor Holden of the State Agricultural Col- 

 lege in Iowa has made a study of the question, and he has come 

 to the conclusion that the reason there was such a falling off in 

 their yield per acre of corn was owing to inefficiency in planting 

 and the use of inferior seed. The result of his investigation in- 

 terested the Agricultural Department of the U. S. Government 

 and also the Agricultural Department of the State of Iowa, and 

 they decided the only way in which they could remedy the trouble 

 and produce the results desired was to get in closer touch with 



