152 State Horticultural Society. 



dtbt and interest and leave much corn in the granaries of the farmer; 

 that the value of the products of the American farm for 1903 and 1904 

 exceeds the world's production of gold since the discovery of America. 

 He who reads will not ask whence comes the wealth of the land. Modern 

 Agriculture offers great inducements to men of energy and determina- 

 tion to till the soil. Its requirements are too exacting for the indolent 

 man. No trade or profession demands greater care or more skillful 

 management. 



Fortunately, the privilege of membership in organizations like this, 

 requires no man to enter the field of Agriculture a stranger to the soil or 

 its possibilities, because here the object lessons of every community are 

 focused. The intemperate, the theorist without practical ideas, men 

 wanting in business judgment, failures, are not instructors, but here prac- 

 tical men submit definite results. Text books and schools of instruction 

 are necessary and proper, but the practical horticulturist should learn 

 more in the sessions of this convention than could be learned elsewhere 

 in the same time. 



Agriculturalists should be contented. It requires a financier to count 

 the value of their 1904 crop — more than five billion dollars. Their bank 

 accounts in the agricultural states of the Mississippi valley have increased 

 more than 200 per cent in the last six years. One hundred eminent 

 fiiianciers were recently interviewed to ascertain the foundation of their 

 business success. They came from every section and sphere of life. A 

 majority had only a public or high school education — eighty-eight gave 

 the farm as their home. The farm is the great school for the develop- 

 ment of those traits of character that make for success. 



Successful agriculture depends largely upon diversified farming, 

 iudicious selection, practical and thorough cultivation, organization and 

 markets. Organization is a necessity. We live in an age so rapid that 

 the tenure of life is too limited for the individual to stand alone. In all 

 of the great industries of today, the individual is last in organization. 

 Tabulated reports of allied interests are essential to the farmer, and furnish 

 him and his best friend, the purchaser, with definite information. Market- 

 ing a fruit crop is half the battle for success. Every grower is not a 

 business man, and his output is limited to his acreage. By uniting with 

 his neighbor, the output is increased and a larger market available. 

 Marketing requires employing trained talent, and when well done, good 

 prices are secured. The 20th century farmer who succeeds is an all 

 round business man. He studies the soil and its needs. With judicious 

 selection and thorough cultivation, he can estimate annual yield and pro- 

 fits as definitely as other avocations. Modern farms are fields of diversi- 



