88 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Kansas. I tried my best to induce him years ago, as he was passing- 

 through Missouri, to locate near the growing city of Kansas, but, like 

 thousands, he was for the west. I sent Lim one of our fruit blanks to 

 fill out as to the condition of the fruits of that portion of Kansas, and 

 the following is his reply: 



Fkiexd Lowell: I had begun to think you had entirely deserted us, when 

 I received notice of your meeting ; had thought for a long time that you were coming 

 out to surprise us, but it seems not. Well, I cannot blame you much for not want- 

 ing to come to Kansas, but hope you will forgive the ignorance of those that have 

 got to remain here. Still, we have the finest prospect of a crop this year that we 

 have had since I came here. Have had lots of rain; the chinch bugs are very 

 thick, but if we have plenty of rain may not do much damage. Cattle are looking 

 fine. I suppose you have not found anyone going crazy after Kansas real estate 

 since the opening of Oklahoma. Kansas is a better place than some think it to be. 

 The soil will never run out, for we only raise a crop about once in four years ; balance 

 of the time we are working the soil up in good shape. Resides, there is all the 

 chinch bugs we need for fertilizing, and the climate is all anyone could desire, as 

 mercury runs from 30 to 90 degree^ in as many minutes, and from a boiling sun to 

 a hail storm in six hours ; but the only trouble is to educate those Missourians up to 

 appreciate these many advantages. 



Am sorry I cannnot come to your meeting at Brookiield; but this fall, after 

 harvesting my chinch bugs and threshing my potato bugs, I will surely come and 

 see you. 



Condition of orchard, darn poor; prospect of apple crop, mighty slim; pros- 

 pect of pear crop, slimmer; prospect of peach crop, slimmer still; prospect of 

 plum crop, more slim. 



Condition of vines, could not be worse; strawberry, full of sand ; raspberry, 

 full of worms; blackberry, verytnorny; grape, mostly dead. 



Injury by winter, 110 per cent killed ; injury by late frosts, was nothing left 

 for it. 



Prospect of raspberry crop, gocd by express; prospect of blackberry crop, 

 fine in Mississippi; prospect of grape crop, some left in California. 



Kemarks: Either fruits are a failure in this county, or I am a failure as a 

 reporter. 



OUR AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



We are much interested in, and ever shall be. We want to see it take 

 a stand among our states like those of Michigan, Cornell and Massa- 

 chusetts. Every curator and every professor in the institution feels 

 the same way, and yet it does seem like a hard, up-hill pull. 



Some years ago our State Horticultural Society was a department 

 of our State Board of Agriculture, and we did moderate work, handi 

 capped as we were, without funds and only allowed to publish what 

 we did through them and with them. Probably this was well enough 

 for that time, but it could not ever be so. If we want to grow strong 

 we must work. If we want to improve we must think. If we want 

 knowledge we must experiment. If we want to grow in numbers we 



