Vermont State Horticultubal Society 59 



effective way to develop a boy's love of home than through the 

 garden, not simply as a place from which the family secures 

 tomatoes and beans through his labor, as they secure sugar and 

 flour from the grocery store through his father's money, al- 

 though this appeals to some of them, but as a place where he 

 grows Matchless tomatoes and Golden Wax beans that beat the 

 Success tomatoes and the Kidney Wax beans grown by the 

 Smith boy in his garden. A boy will gladly care for Plymouth 

 Rock chickens or a Setter dog that has taken prizes at the 

 shows when he will neglect simple hens and dogs, and this in- 

 terest in superior things does not leave him as he grows older. 

 Many a man who would not care to spend the hours before and 

 after business at work in raising corn and potatoes would come 

 to enjoy the caring for and the comparison of a garden full of 

 distinct varieties. It is for the elevation of garden vegetables 

 from mere articles of food to objects of interest and study that 

 I plead and I plead for it because I firmly believe that in no 

 other way can we do more to increase the home love of the pres- 

 ent and future generations. 



Prof. Jones : The importance of developing this interest 

 in gardening in the children, in the home and in the school, moves 

 me to speak, at this point. I don't know that it is time to make 

 a motion, but I wish this matter might be left with an executive 

 committee and that prizes might be offered a year from now to 

 the children bringing in the best exhibits from their gardens. 

 Nothing would be of more value to this society than something 

 of this kind for the education of the children. 



W. W. Tracy: It was 40 years ago, when I first went into 

 the employment of D. M. Ferry & Co.. that I induced our State 

 Horticultural Society to make a proposition to the pupils of the 

 schools of the State, who would apply for it, that D. M'. Ferry & 

 Co. w'ould send to them samples of flower seeds to be planted 

 on the school grounds, provided they would make a report to 

 the State Horticultural Society of the result. The fact was, that 

 several hundred availed themselves of that privilege and re- 

 ceived samples of seeds, which were planted on the school 

 grounds. That custom was dropped after a year or two because 

 D. M. Ferry & Company did not think it was prudent for them 

 to give away seeds and at the same time sell them to merchants 

 in the same towns. But some 6 or 8 or 10 years agO' I went into 

 a certain section of this state and I noticed that they had a good 

 many more flowers about the houses, and I said the population 

 must be largely German, because you all have flowers ; and a 



