74 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Japan and the island empire blooms over its myriads of delighted peo- 

 ple. There is, in fact, a flower festival for every season in the year. 

 Those heathen people, as we all call them, love beauty; and, as it seems 

 to me, they, too, worship God wheh they so admire the glorious world 

 that He has made. Remember, it is not the cultured people, not the rich 

 people, not the great in that island empire that love these things, but 

 the humble, the poor, the ignorant, if j'ou will, the old. When shall our 

 people be so permeated by the same spirit of true art that the whole 

 land shall bloom, that we shall be even willing to sacrifice a little of our 

 fruit, a little of our wealth for flowers? You see nothing short of 

 complete reformation will satisfy us. The almost forgotten, but justly 

 famous dictum of Matthew Arnold will serve us here: 



"The only absolute good, the only absolute and eternal object pre- 

 scribed to us by God's law, or the divine order of things, is the progress 

 towards perfection, — our own progress toward it and the progress of 

 humanity. Culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and 

 light. 



"It has one even greater! — the passion for making them PREVAIL. 

 It is not satified till we all come to a perfect man; it knows that the 

 sweetness and light of the few must be imperfect until the raw and 

 unkindled masses of humanity are touched with sweetness and light. 

 We must take all along with us in the progress to perfection, if we 

 ourselves, really, as we profess, want to be perfect." 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON FINAL RESOLUTIONS. 



Resolved, By the Nebraska State Horticultural Society, that we tender 

 to the park commissioners and to Mr. Balduff, the thinks of this society 

 for the use of the park and pavilion in which to hold our meeting. 



Also, to the Omaha Florists' Club for the generous treatment of the 

 society while in the city. 



Also, to the press and Commercial Club for the interest they have 

 manifested in making this meeting a success. 



Also, that we express our appreciation of the excellent music furnished 

 by the Danie Glee Club. 



And, finally, we express our thanks to the citizens of Omaha, who 



have so generously tendered the use of their automobiles for the trip 



about the city. 



C. H. BARNARD, 



A. J. BROWN, 



Vv^ G. SWAN, 



Committee. 



