Winter Meetijig. 161 



beautify our parks and lionie grounds. Xotliing cultivates, refines, and 

 ennobles so much as the pursuit of horticulture. A worn and weary 

 traveler in a desert was about to give up in despair, but seeing a 

 flower growing at his feet he took courage and said, ''I will not give up, 

 God is here." So, as hoi'ticulturists, God is with us, and we will not 

 lose courage. He is with us in the trees, the flowers, and the beautiful 

 fruits. We live in a state naturally adapted to fruit growing and we 

 have many things to help us and light the way. Among these is the 

 horticultural department of our State University at Columbia. Will 

 we support that department, or will we let it perish? We send 

 only about two score students from all the great State of Missouri. I 

 am sure it is worthy of support. Encourage some of the young men 

 and women to go there and take the short course in horticulture. 



I notice in traveling over the state that the farmers' orchards are 

 going down. The vast majority of farmers know but very little of 

 modern horticulture. For that reason we should have young men from 

 -every county taking that course. They would go home and reinvig- 

 orate the fruit gi'owing interest of the whole community in which they 

 lived. We do not need to go wild and plant all our land in strawberries, 

 as some have done ; though these in a small way pay well. We should 

 know of the great pleasure and benefit of growing enough of the high 

 quality ajDjjles for our own families. Let every fruit grower have all 

 the luscious fruits fresh from his own garden, strawberries, raspberries, 

 blackberries, grapes and peaches, and so on, to the latest keeping apples, 

 till strawberries come again. 



Ladies and gentlemen : I want to call your attention to the im- 

 portance of organization. We are living in a great age, and many of 

 the greatest things of the age are possible only through organization. 

 Wherever the fruit growers are organized and work together they get 

 many concessions from dealers, shippers and railroads. If we are to 

 make a success we must be organized into societies. 



We have a vast amount of wild lands which we want settled and 

 improved.' There is no better country for the fruit grower than Mis- 

 souri. I feel quite sure there are golden opportunities awaiting men 



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