148 MISSOUKI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



shrieks and howls and finally dies away in the distance in stifled and 

 muffled moanings and sobbings. But like all of nature's methods and 

 moods these apparent cruelties and revenges in nature carry with 

 them compensations and blessings in disguise. After a period of 

 torpid and tranquil hybernation and rest, the soit, balmy, vernal breath 

 of spring breathes new life, and the great world of deciduous trees, plants 

 and shrubs again become as of yore, clothed and bedecked, and garn- 

 ished in indescribable beauty. 



I cannot close this essay without adverting to what seems to be a 

 general conclusion with the average tree planter. A large number of 

 planters plant their trees in holes just large enough to hold the roots 

 when closely compressed together, and express great dissatisfaction if 

 the trees so planted, do not grow well. The truth is, trees of all kinds 

 should be planted in holes in a much larger area than the diameter of 

 the roots. And while it is true that trees often grow without cultiva- 

 tion or mulching, it is nevertheless true that thorough cultivAtion and 

 mulching will amply repay the planter many times over for the time 

 and expense of such work. 



The writer of this essay is not so egotistical as to attempt a descrip- 

 tion of that most marvelous effect which is produced by the everchang- 

 ing and many-hued colorings and tints which take place in the autumn 

 foliage of many of our deciduous trees. The finest painter would not 

 presume to attempt a description of them. And when these thousand 

 and one tints are blended into one gorgeous effect in the landscape,. 

 the effect can be felt, but surely never has nor never can be fully de- 

 scribed. The beautiful halo which glorifies the landscape can never be 

 reproduced upon canvas. The fine sentiment that these grand and 

 beautiful scenes inspire in the cultured and esthetic mind, can never 

 be voiced by human lips. The poetic inspiration which comes invol- 

 untarily to the human soul amid these transcendent scenes, can never 

 be written. And hence, to the true lover of the beautiful in nature 

 there must forever remain conceptions and inspirations which cannot 

 be articulated or written in any language. 



President and Members of the Greene County Horticultural Society r 



In compliance with your request, 1 beg leave to submit the fol- 

 lowing essay upon the culture, storage and preservation of the potato^ 



The nativity of the potato, Solanocene Tuberosum, is upon moun- 

 tains, but little below the snow line, and in such a locality its season 

 of growth is short, just sufficient for the seeds to mature sufficiently to 

 germanate, and tho tuberf, after undergoing the changes necessary in. 



