24 State Horticultural Society. 



ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 



The address of welcome was made by Mr. Scott, Moberly, 

 who represented the commercial interests of the city. He said that 

 while he was more than pleased to welcome the horticulturists of 

 the State to their little city, he wished to explain why so few of 

 the business men were there to welcome them with him, There 

 were many conflicting interests just at this time. First, the pay- 

 car was in town, and a good many were drawn that way ; then the 

 members of the Commercial Club were full of important business. 

 The location of a shoe factory demanded much of their attention, 

 as did the street railway subject and other enterprises. He was 

 certain that the ladies of the city would have been out in full force, 

 had they known of the fine decorative and fruit display, and the 

 fine entertainment offered, and he would see that the meeting was 

 better advertised in the morning, and was sure that the ladies 

 would extend a much better welcome than he could. 



"It is a little out of place for me to talk horticulture," he said, 

 "but I have had a little experience along that line. My wife has 

 just won a new bonnet along with this experience. She had bought 

 a few trees and set them in the yard along a place that I wanted 

 for a driveway. When we bought the place there were half a dozen 

 pear trees on the lot, which had blighted and were finally cut down. 

 I dfdn't want any more of them, and when she had these trees 

 put out I told her so." "But this is not a pear tree," she said. I 

 finally made a bet with her, and this spring that tree has apples 

 upon it, so she has won the bonnet. Yes, L can recall a little ex- 

 perience now and then along horticultural lines. When a small 

 boy, only ten years of age, when I lived back in old Kentucky, there 

 was a fine orchard about a mile from our house, and on Saturdays, 

 when there was no school, we boys used to go there and get apples. 

 They didn't wait for the fruit to get ripe — boys don't care much 

 about that anyway. One Saturday afternoon I went out with an- 

 other boy to see what we could find. As we came near, we could 

 see a fellow in a tree and were sure we had the right place. When 

 we came near, this fellow jumped down and chased us boys with a 

 blacksnake in his hand, and while the other boy got away, I failed 

 to get over the fence and was caught, shut up in the cellar and kept 

 there until Monday morning. I have had some other experiences, 



