Summer Meeting. 15 



in this way awaken the people to a more lively interest in horticulture. 

 And we are happy to say that in this we have not been disappointed. 

 For proof of our success we call your attention to the proud position 

 Missouri occupies as a fruit producing State. In quantity of fruit she 

 is certainly third and destined in the near future to rank first. In size, 

 color and quality she towers high above all others. In all the contests 

 at the gi-eat expositions she has always carried off the highest prize. 

 When it comes to the queen of all fruits, the luscious strawberry, your 

 own highly favored section ranks first, not only in size, color and quality 

 but also in quantity; as I am credibl}' informed no other section of Mis- 

 souri, or of the world, ships so many car and train loads of strawberries 

 as the section represented by your association. 



"We meet with you to talk over and discuss the various topics 

 pertaining to horticulture, to review the past, to speak of the present 

 and to plan for the future. In the past we have made commendable 

 progress and done much to develop the fruit industry of the State. At 

 present we are in the deep, dark valley of disappointment, I^Tever before 

 in the history of the country has there been such a destruction of our fruit 

 trees as was caused by the great Arctic wave that rolled over the entire 

 fruit belt of the United States (save the Pacific coast) sweeping away 

 our bright prospects and blasting our cherished hopes. Millions of 

 young nursery trees have been killed, root and top. Tens of thousands 

 of apple, pear, peach and other orchard trees have been entirely killed 

 and many more are badly damaged. All the trees left growing in the nur- 

 series will hardly be sufficient to replant those that have been killed in 

 the orchards, and I doubt if five years of hard work will repair 

 the damage and bring our orchards up to what they were prior to the 

 cold wave of destruction. 



"Many fruit growers have been led to say, like Jacob of old, 'All 

 these things are against me.' And yet, with faith and trust in an over- 

 ruling Providence and perseverance on our part, our disaster may all be 

 turned to our future good. In the great cold wave many of our enemies 

 went down; insects have been checked, weak varieties extinguished, to 

 be replaced by those that are more hardy, and the old hobby horse — the 

 cry of over-production — killed and buried so deep that we need not fear 

 its resurrection for the next twenty years. A weary and disparing trav- 



