80 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



fig. You have beautified the face of the earth, you have converted the forest inta 

 a park, and the wild rose and the violet into a thousand enrapturing smiles of 

 heaven. 



In all these glorious achievements, the horticulturists of Missouri have borne 

 an honorable part. They have placed our State in the front rank of fruit-producing^ 

 States. 



So, my friends of the State Horticultural Society, the citizens of Carthage 

 welcome you to their midst and to their homes. In the name of our beautiful 

 groves, we welcome you ; in the name of our green swards and flowery gardens, 

 we welcome you ; and in the name of our bursting stores of fruits and vegetables,, 

 and the toothsome strawberry short-cake and plum-pudding, we welcome you, and 

 bid you (Jod-speed in the labors for which you have assembled. 



Response for the Society by J. C. Evans, President : 



People of Carthage and Jasper county, and members of the Carthage Horti- 

 cultural Society : 1 thank you most heartily for this generous welcome. It waa 

 about nine years ago that we met a most hearty welcome in this city. It was a 

 pleasant and profitable meeting, and I trust the same result will come from this 

 meeting. I was sure we would be welcomed before we came. We have not been 

 idle in these nine years ; we have worked summer and winter. Compare the meet- 

 ing nine years ago with the one this week, and decide for yourselves whether we- 

 have made any advance or not. This is one of the most important meetings ever 

 held in the State, in view of the fact that the great World's Fair is to be held at 

 Chicago next year. It is the desire of the members of this Society that Missouri 

 shall not take second place in that exhbit ; we have worked to that end for about 

 twelve months already. The results will show for themselves next summer. It 

 has been said to us by men from other States, "you have no trouble in getting 

 together material for an exhibit, you are so well organized." All right ; we have 

 over one thousand jars filled with fiuit, a sample of which is before you. These 

 jars are from three to nine inches in diameter, and from six to thirty-six inches in 

 height. These were brought only as a sample to give you an idea of what we 

 have. 



I will make a request right here : This fair will open on the twelfth day of 

 May, and we expect to keep up a continual show of fresh fruit from May till 

 November. We expect to begin with the first strawberries from the extreme 

 southern part of the State, and from more northern parts as they ripen, and so with 

 other fruits in their season. We have a car-load of apples in Chicago now in cold 

 storage, but we will not be satisfied with them, we want ftesh fruits also. We will 

 give instructions in a circular just what, when and where to send. 



Our fruit is not all here, and the bad weather kept us from getting A piano into 

 the hall, but we will do the best we can to entertain and instruct you. 



I am requested to state that arrangements have been made with the street-car 

 lines for tickets at two cents each for the use of the members of this Society. 



We will now go on with our work according to our regular program. It has 

 been said that we are always glad to relate our successes and too often neglect to 

 relate our failures . 



We will now listen to a paper by Mr. N. F. Mur-ray, entitled "The Fruit- 

 growers' Mistakes." We will see if he will say anything about the failures. 



