128 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



in saying that rural prosperity has never been greater since our 

 state was settled. More fine houses have been built, more homes 

 made, more orchards planted, more attention paid to floriculture 

 and landscape gardening. Public sentiment is turning with jealousy 

 to the happy and prosperous farm homes. City folks are seeking 

 suburban homes, country outings and in many cases even country 

 homes. Lands have increased in value lo to 25 per cent our state 

 over. Telephones, free rural mail deliveries and the interurban 

 railroads are making progress all over our state. Any one of these 

 grand enterprises is almost equal to the advent of the railroads, 

 and the three combined are wonderfully elevating factors. Public 

 sentiment and citizen-committees are weeding out corrupt politicians 

 and evil doers. Legislative influence and public sentiment arc 



A. D. Bahne.s, Waupaca, Wis, 



turned towards our forest preserves and water supplies. The con- 

 struction of good roads must ever be our ambition. 



Churches and schools have never been better patronized, and 

 their influences are marked ; social cordiality has never been so prom- 

 ising and congenial between country and city people as today. Our 

 horticultural achievements along the nursery lines, so far as the 

 production and disseminating of our goods go, are indeed flattering, 

 and Wisconsin goods for the Wisconsin planter is the demand now. 

 Our progress along the line of seedling experiments is marked 

 with great success, and it shall be the writer's efifort to create out 

 of the treasury a seedling apple fund, which shall be used for the 

 production, testing and disseminating of our seedling apples — and 

 I sincerely solicit your co-operation in this worthy enterprise. Our 



