126 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



all kinds to make the divine sentence effective, " In the sweat of thy face 

 shalt thou eat'"' fruit, or without go hungry. As that beautiful garden of 

 olden times was located in the same grand division of the globe where the 

 peach is supposed to have originated, some have thought that its golden 

 body and blushing cheek comprised the identical fruit which was forbidden 

 to our first parents. And perhaps it is on this account that so many enemies 

 of the peach are ever on the alert to baffle the wisdom and skill of those who 

 are striving to retain or improve its original beauty. However this may be, 

 the fact is patent that success in fruit growing is the result of vigilance and 

 ceaseless toil. The orchards that you will look upon as you pass along our 

 streets represent a large amount of concentrated mental and muscular exer- 

 tion — and the work is not yet completed. Peach-growing is only in its 

 infancy. Its fragrance in llower and fruit and fortune, if the fortune is not 

 too far off, is attractive beyond measure, and sometimes seems to have the 

 same moral effect on the producer that the unknown specimen did on mother 

 Eve, when she saw it was good to look upon, and therefore good to eat. Ten 

 years ago you could count the bearing peach orchards in these townships on 

 your finger ends. Now we are shipping a few hundred thousand baskets of 

 fruit every summer, ap.d only our door yards and gardens are in bearing, in 

 comparison to the tress under cultivation in the surrounding fields. That 

 you may be assured of our efforts to provide some part of the fruit which is 

 consumed by the millions of eaters living in cities and colder climates, we 

 welcome you to a view of the landscape around us. We think it is full of 

 promise. It betokens health and happiness to the carniverous portion of the 

 human family. The fruit-bearing trees which you will see on the morrow 

 are for the " healing of the nations." Fruit is a better diet than drugs, and 

 lays a good foundation for moral and physical health. It relieves the system 

 of many impurities and the mind of that bilious miasma which so often 

 clouds its vision. It inspires men with a love of the beautiful, for it appeals 

 to the appetite as well as to the eye. Its delightful fragrance always fur- 

 nishes a tempting appetizer for the pure and the true in nature and in life. 

 We welcome you to the fresh breezes of Lake Michigan, which ''temper 

 the winds," not so much to the "shorn lamb" as to the sensitive peach trees 

 in all stages of growth. These are nature's shields for the fructifications of 

 frigid climates. We welcome you to our homes, not so much as places of 

 luxury and ease, as scenes of domestic tranquility, where work and wages go 

 hand in hand to minister to the necessities of life. To all these things and 

 to as many more as you can find to enjoy, we welcome you. 



RESPONSE. 



H. Dale Adams of Galesburg, responding for the society, said: 

 Keverend Sir — It becomes my pleasant duty to respond to your kind and 

 generous welcome. I only regret my inability to express in words the senti- 

 ments of my heart. In behalf of the society of the Western Michigan Fruit 

 Growers, permit me to say, as their representative, most cordially do we accept 

 and thank you for this generous greeting, and in whatever we shall fail in our 

 voiced expressions, I can assure you we shall make it up in the deep and silent 

 gratitude of our hearts. We have come among you to discuss and learn the 

 most possible, concerning the subjects laid down in the programme for this 

 occasion. And in looking over tins people and recognizing the many intelli- 



