80 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



have a soil that we can grow' the best of grass, the best of lawns 

 which the south has not, and we have a soil that can grow the best 

 of trees and the best of everything that it takes to make a home. 

 We don't want to exclude the fruits. I know some are think- 

 ing, "I have tried to grow fruit in Hamilton County and didn't 

 make it grow and I don't believe you can grow them ". I imagine 

 you haven't tried very well. Horticulture comes dragging be- 

 hind in the development of any country. The time was, in 

 Illinois, they could grow corn and hogs but thought they could not 

 grow fruit. I believe there are some here who remember that 

 time. Then it passed over into Iowa. Later it crossed the river 

 into Nebraska and they could grow plenty of fruit in Iowa; would 

 have good homes there because they could grow fruit but could 

 not do it in Nebraska. But now that time has passed. Eastern 

 Nebraska and the older parts of the state are growing an abund- 

 ance of fruit now and we are not half trying. We are in too good 

 a farming country to strive very hard to grow fruit. While the 

 country is young you have to be driven to it. They are driven to 

 growing fruit and a few specialties in most of the irrigation dis- 

 tricts of Colorado because they cannot grow the general crops 

 we grow. You know in Wisconsin, they were driven to excel in 

 dairy work. Why? Because the lands and climate in Illinois 

 gave the Illinois farmers advantage of the Wisconsin brother, and 

 if he grew the general crop like the Illinois man, he had to 

 walk behind. Therefore he learned how to raise cows and make 

 butter. We are not in that kind of a territory. That is what is 

 the matter with this country. It is a little too good. (Applause) 

 The lazy man can exist here. He don't have to be somebody 

 to exist, and that is the worst drawback to fruit growing we have. 

 Farther, we have learned to grow corn, and hogs, and cattle, 

 and in all these things excel. And on top of that we are living 

 and we are weU fixed. The prospects are that we will stay well 

 fixed, because we are getting prepared to stand the drought if 

 it should come along, that used to scare us so badly. The next 

 thing is to grow the fruits for these thousands of homes. Well, 

 that is very easy if we only get interested. If we fail once, try 

 again. By and by we are bound to succeed. You can walk 

 around this town and put your finger on those who have some 

 fruit and have been successful. If a man has planted twenty 



