WINTER MEETING. 259 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON 

 HORTICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



To the Members of the Missouri State Horticultural Society at Fulton — Greeting : 



YoixT Committee on Horticultural Education, appointed at your meeting at 

 Columbia, beg leave to submit the following report : 



From tbe plan first inaugurated by the Pettis County Horticultural Society, 

 and from the many practical suggestions gathered at the summer meeting of the 

 State Society at Columbia, your Committee have been able to map out a plan which 

 seems to meet the hearty approval of all the fruit-growers of our State. The plan, 

 as now approved of, is to have the members, and other friends of horticulture as 

 well, ask and answer, annually, in a brief and pointed way, 100 questions on horti- 

 culture and floriculture. These questions and answers ( or so many of them as 

 the committee see fit ) are to be published in the annual reports of this Society. 

 When we have gotten into shape a practical and somewhat exhaustive course of 

 study, simple, yet valuable, on account of the experience of the many who contri- 

 bute to the fund of facts, then we will have the whole printed and bound in a vol- 

 ume by itself, and it shall be known as 'The Hand-Book of Horticultural Know- 

 ledge for Missouri." 



It is fast becoming a popular idea that horticulture should be taught in the 

 country schools. 



If this idea becomes universal, then the Legislature will take action to adopt 

 a text-book. There could be no text-book that would take the precedence of this 

 one, because of, 1, Its aim, which is to give the best idea of fruit and floriculture, 

 as found by experience to be adapted to this State ; 2, lis substance, which will be 

 the specific knowledge of tbe students of every special line of horticulture through- 

 out Missouri. 



Your Committee has made no effort at classification, es that can be done when 

 the final publication is made. Our members have responded heartily already to 

 our call for questions and answers, and we believe before the subject-matter of the 

 State report is ready for the press, all the questions will be ably answered. 



Your Committee urges each member to cultivate the art of answering these 

 questions in writing, believing that the practice will more than reward you liber- 

 ally for your time and trouble by getting you in the habit of putting your thoughts 

 on paper in a pointed and practical manner; besides, it will help uf all to store 

 our minds with such knowledge as will make us intelligent in our business. 



Let us now do our part bravely to help our children, and those not having had 

 our costly experience, to arrive at fair conclusions concerning this important and 

 delightful occupation. 



The committee wishes to acknowledge its obligations to Prof. Wm. Trelease, 

 Miss M. E. Murtfeldt, Mr. E. H. Michel, and in fact to a number of our best fruit- 

 growers about the State. 



G. B. Lamm, Chairman. 



L. A. Goodman, 

 George L. Purinton, 

 Mrs. G. E, Dugan, 

 Van B. Wisker, 



Committee. 



