196 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of man's life on this planet. In the early days man had to subdue 

 wild nature ; he had to fight against all the forces of nature for a 

 chance to live. As he has conquered nature in more recent genera- 

 tions, he has more time to devote to the improvement of plants, he 

 can get plants of a higher development than the ordinary gardener 

 is able to get, he knows more of the forces and principles that under- 

 lie the development of plants ; so if he keeps on his selection and 

 breeding he will do more for plant life in the northwest in a genera- 

 tion than a thousand years would do by the old method of uncon- 

 scious selection. 



Mr. J. S. Harris : Of course, I had my sav last night over at 

 the banquet, but I was just thinking what a fine thing it would be 

 if we could be our grandsons after we old fellows have thrown off 

 this mortal coil. For more than thirty years I have been preaching 

 the doctrine that Minnesota would come to be not only a good apple 

 state, but a good fruit state in other respects. I remember about 

 thirty years ago at a meeting I was theorizing about what could be 

 done with the native crab and plum by improving the quality and 

 hardiness of our common apple by crossing with the crab, and a 

 learned man who sat near me said : "I would hate to expose my 

 ignorance like that." It kind of hurt me, but it did not put me down. 

 We have hardier fruits than we had thirty years ago and better, and 

 in those days we old fellows did not know anything about this arti- 

 ficial hybridizing that is going on at the present time. If we could 

 only be our grandsons and have another thirty-four years in the 

 society we would see the garden of Eden filled with all kinds of fruits 

 and inhabited by the happiest people on earth. (Applause.) 



Mr. J. S. Trigg (Iowa) : Mr. President, the time is far spent, 

 and the friends wish to go home, and I only wish to say one word, 

 and that is to bid you a hearty God-speed in the good missionary 

 work you are doing. It has been left to you men assembled here 

 the last few days to do a grand work in this state in which you live. 

 It is a mission of beauty and home, it is a mission to improve the 

 school house, it is your mission to preach that the almighty dollar 

 is not the only thing to be sought after, and your mission is a grand 

 one in uplifting the life of the community along this line of horti- 

 culture. You do a splendid work here, and I go back to my own 

 state carrying with me the knowledge of what you have done and are 

 doing, and it is an inspiration to me as one from outside your society, 

 and I am sure our people will be glad to hear the report I have to 

 take with me at this time. I wish you all prosperity and success and 

 the pleasure of finding that thousand dollar apple you are seeking 

 after. (Applause.) 



Capt. A. H. Reed, Glencoe : I have been trying for the last 

 forty years to learn something about horticulture. Some forty-three 

 years ago I commenced to plant apple trees in Minnesota. I sent 

 to Rochester, New York, in 1857, I think, for some trees, but I found 

 myself a perfect failure in trying to be a horticulturist. I have spent 

 a considerable sum of money in buying trees at different times and 

 trying to learn what I could about raising apples, but it has been, 

 I might say, a failure. While I have got trees growing, trees that 



