296 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



anything about horticulture. I did not know that he would know 

 a dish of strawberries when he saw it. And now here comes Prof. 

 Boss with this valuable information to horticulturists. I have never 

 known him as anything but an enthusiastic instructor along the 

 lines of animal industry, and now he comes with this splendid ad- 

 dress with regard to plant breeding. We certainly are to be con- 

 gratulated upon the acquisition of such valuable men to our ranks. 

 Mr. C. G. Patten (Iowa) : I wish to say in reference to the paper 

 we have just listened to that I am very much pleased to know that 

 attention has been directed toward the improving of such valuable 

 plants as clover and alfalfa, and to note the reference made to other 

 selections and experiments made with other plants by Prof. Boss. 

 We are sure of making advance in the growing of clover and alfalfa 

 and many other things. I might refer to the cotton weevil that 

 nearly destroyed the cotton crop in the south, and in many instances 

 it destroyed the entire crop, but by observation and selection they 

 have succeeded in breeding a plant which is prosperous in sections 

 where the cotton crop is a very important one — and it is to the whole 

 south — which is immune to the cotton weevil. A few years ago I 

 was in Dakota, out in the Jim River Valley at the time when corn 

 was about eight to eighteen inches in height. We had a very severe 

 frost, and corn was badly cut on low lands. In passing by a field I 

 noticed there were numerous instances where the entire hill had 

 been killed, but there were instances where there were single stalks 

 in a hill of from three to five that had almost entirely escaped frost, 

 while the others were entirely killed. The thought occurred to me 

 that if I were an experimenter at one of the agricultural experiment 

 stations I would certainly save the seed from those stalks that 

 had escaped the severe freeze with the idea in view of increasing the 

 hardiness of that corn plant, and I believe if that were systematically 

 followed we could increase the hardiness of the corn plant so it 

 would resist frost from five to ten degrees more than any corn 

 plant now known to exist. 



"He called for a city beautiful ; 



He shouted it day by day ; 

 He wanted a city where noise was not, 



Where the spirit of art should sway ; 

 He wanted a city that should be fair, 



Where filth might never be seen, 

 And forgot, in spite of the zeal he had. 



To keep his back yard clean."' 



