THE MINNESOTA 



HORTICULTURIST. 



VOL. 29. DBCE/VIBER, 1901. No. la 



IMPROVING TREES AND PLANTS. 



W. W. PENDERGAST, HUTCHINSON. 

 (Presented before Wisconsin State Hort. Society.) 



The Chinese worship their ancestors and so plod along their 

 weary, unprogressive ways in the tracks which their grandfathers 

 left behind them. As a result, in the race of nations they are dis- 

 tanced. The ones who come out ahead are they who, setting their 

 goal far ahead, call into requisition brain and muscle and a deter- 

 mined will to reach it. It is for us to take our choice of the two 

 ways. Inertia whispers "Take it easy ; follow the beaten road ;" 

 progress cries "Advance, push on to sublimer heights, the pro- 

 cession is forming, the music is inspiring ; fall into line, not at the 

 tail end but get as close to the band wagon as you can." 



The great secret of success in life is to do some useful thing 

 well, a little better, if possible, than any one else can do it or, at 

 least, does do it. We are interested in fruits, trees and flowers, three 

 things which, after a few absolute necessities, have done more for 

 man than all things else combined. Bread and clothing make life 

 possible ; appreciation and love of the beautiful make that life worth 

 living. We, therefore, devote part of our time to supplying our 

 physical wants and another portion to the cultivation of our moral 

 and aesthetic natures along the lines of horticulture. As has been 

 intimated, our work should be marked by its superior excellence. 

 To be satisfactory to ourselves, it should be done better tlian the 

 best which others are doing ; if not we are falling short of our high- 

 est duty, which means failing to grasp the highest enjoyment. What 

 shall we set ourselves about then ? 



CULTIVATION OF TREES. 



The most valuable of the shade and ornamental trees which are 

 adapted to the conditions of the locality where they are wanted 

 should be wisely determined, and such trees should be artistically 

 placed around the home, the field, the garden, the cemetery or by the 

 road side, relieving from the desolation and sometimes savageness, 



