356 State Horliciiltural Society. 



cultural Colleges. Our Society has not forgotten that not long after you 

 had taken your seat as Commissioner of Agriculture you called a con- 

 vention of representatives or delegates from all the Agricultural Colleges 

 in the United States to assemble at the Department of Agriculture build- 

 ing at Washington, and that all the colleges honored your call, and re- 

 sponded by sending delegates to that convention, making it one of the 

 most important Agricultural Conventions ever held ; that the conven- 

 tion honored you and itself by unanimously electing you President, that 

 in your address you strongly urged the establishment of Experiment Sta- 

 tions in connection with our Agricultural Colleges, so that scientific and 

 practical Agriculture might walk hand in hand ; that that part of your 

 address relating to this subject was referred to a special committee, and 

 vou were added to that committee, and that committee evolved and re- 

 ported the Experiment Station bill, which afterwards became, and now 

 is the law, establishing Experiment Stations throughout the United States, 

 which stations have conferred untold benefits and blessings upon Agri- 

 culture, and which will be of inestimable value to future generations, and 

 especially to the young men who will be educated at these noble institu- 

 tions. 



Fifth, in order to complete and unify the great work of these institu- 

 tions, scattered throughout the length and breadth of the United States, 

 you established in the United States Department of Agriculture, the Divi- 

 sion of Experiment Stations, placing at the head of it that able and ac- 

 complished scientist. Prof. Atwater, which division is of incalculable ad- 

 vantage to the Agricultural interests of the country by collecting, secur- 

 ing and collating information from these ^•arious Experiment Stations, 

 and publishing and disseminating what is thought to be the most valuable 

 to the dififrent sections of the country. 



For these and many other reasons, my dear ]\Ir. Colman, do you 

 Avonder that the fruit growers of our State, in annual convention as- 

 rsembled, should show you honor by creating the ofifice of Honorary Vice- 

 president for life, and unanimously electing you to that position? It is 

 small recompense for your valuable labors, but it is the greatest honor we 

 have in our power to confer, and while we give it, we assure you most 

 heartily that your good works live and always will live in the hearts and 

 minds of the fruit growers and farmers of this great State, which you 

 have so highly honored. 



Believe me, yours most truly, 



L. A. Goodman, 

 Secretary ^Missouri State Horticultural Society. 



