MY HOME GROUNDS. 41 



square miles has been tilled by the husbandman from thirty to forty 

 years, Nebraska is as yet comparatively in her infancy. It is within 

 reasonable bounds to prophesy that the horhesteaders will in fifty years, 

 and maybe much sooner, occupy every quarter section with commodious 

 and modern farm houses, including irrigated gardens, orchards and 

 groves of timber. 



The light is dawning and feeble though the dawn may be, it, gives 

 hope and encouragement for the coming of the day, when instead of a 

 dozen or two every one of the ninety counties of our glorious state will be 

 represented in our Horticultural Society and help us by their ideas and 

 observations to bring about the most fruitful results. 



The President: We will now listen to a paper on "What I Have 

 Done With My Home Grounds," by Mr. R. C. Peters of this city. Mr. 

 Peters has splendid home grounds out at Dundee, on the west side 

 of the city, and it would repay any of you to visit them. There are a 

 great many fine things out there. 



WHAT I HAVE DONE WITH MY HOME GROUNDS. 



R. C. PETERS, OMAHA. 



Somewhat to my surprise I found I was on this program and as the 

 preparation of a paper to be read before experts in horticulture is not in 

 my line of work, I am somewhat at a loss what to say to you. When Mr. 

 Hadkinson telephoned me that he wished me to say something, I told 

 him I did not care to prepare a paper, but it seems he has put me on 

 nevertheless. 



There is one thing, however, I wish to impress upon you in the short 

 paper that I read to you and that is, the necessity of business men who 

 are confined to an oflice to take more or less outside exercise, especially 

 a man of active temperament and one who has in his early days been 

 brought up in active exercise or brought up on a farm as I was. I was 

 always of an active temperament and after leaving the University of Ann 

 Arbor, Michigan, I went into business and confined myself too closely for a 

 number of years, which led to nervous troubles, and about five years ago I 

 found it necessary to make some changes. I traveled considerably three 

 years ago, also the same year I moved to Dundee and rented a place and 

 took up gardening which was a pleasure to me always from a boy up, 

 also raising of fruit and flowers. I found more benefit from my work 

 there in the garden than from all the trips I took that year, although I 

 traveled 18,000 miles, including a trip to California, one south to New 

 Orleans and also a trip to New England and other places. A year or two 

 prior to this I had bought a place in Dundee, five lots and a half, and the 

 occasion of our renting there was to find if we liked it well enough to 

 build. We liked it well, so we have built and set out our ground largely 

 to fruit and flowers, and the pleasure that I have derived and the benefit 



