28 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



managers of each of the districts. Our chmate is varied, our soil 

 is varied, and it is through these reports that the citizens are 

 able to determine w^hat variety of fruit is best adapted, and at the 

 meetings when these papers are read w^hat is particularly in- 

 teresting to me is the questions asked by the members, the 

 informal discussions, the things that we never would expect to 

 find in a written report, and I am probably as much of a kinder- 

 garten student in horticulture as any you may have in the society 

 and interested in it; but it does me good, and I have learned 

 more in my attendance upon these meetings than all the read- 

 ing I have done, or been able to do. 



We have divided this state into experimental stations, I be- 

 lieve seven, from Hay Springs and Mindenand over intothebetter 

 settled portions. In these divisions the society furnish us a 

 competent man with material, that he may determine for his dis- 

 trict what is adapted to as a suitable product. And it is these re- 

 ports and the discussions of them that make time for the 

 citizen. Because it is impossible to raise in certain portions 

 under certain conditions the same fruit that may be in others, 

 and it is through the work and the soil, and money spent in this 

 way that the citizens in that vicinity may go to work and reap 

 their rewards from the first. If we had had the same know ledge 

 twenty years ago of what might be done, that would be done to- 

 day, and this all been brought about by the work and the 

 meetings and discussions, we would have done away with a 

 great many evils. In many instances we have orchards that were 

 put out under theold systems that were brought down from the 

 New England states. We don 't have to deal with that at pre- 

 sent. We are dealing with our own ideas and experiments. 



I want to say that this society was started backin 1871 by a few 

 of the old time citizens, I believe seven. Gov. Furnas, Mr. Martin, 

 Mr. Masters and Judge Mason, Mr. Dahlman, Mr. Eldridge and 

 my good father, Gov. Saunders. The society at that time was 

 entirely a volunteer gift to the people. There was no appro- 

 priation. 



The meetings were among those who were interested solely 

 because they believed in the future growth of the state. During 

 those years, these meetings were held in connection with the 

 agricultural society, and what little we had to report was print- 



