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MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 45 
South Park. 
The drive to South Park, tendered to the delegates by the park com- 
missioners, who escorted them in carriages along their fine avenues and 
streets (to Grand Boulevard, down to Oakwood Boulevard, on to Drexel 
Boulevard, down Drexel to Bayard avenue) revealed what had been ac- 
_ complished in the short space of two years, under the guidance of one of 
the best landscape architects of the age, Prof. Cleveland. The planting 
of immense elm trees on the outside, the laying out of flower borders 
and beds, the planting of ornamental trees and shrubs, and not least, the 
lawns, more like velvet than mere grass-plots, to one who has an eye for 
the beautiful, was a treat long to be remembered. The Botanical Garden, 
though still in its infancy, had growing some 3,000 plants. This park is 
the largest in the country, and doubtless will in a few years become a 
place of much renown. No one visiting Chicago should leave before ad- 
miring the beauty there portrayed by that great architect. 
Minnesota’s Display. 
An old adage says, ‘‘ the truth should not be spoken at all times,” but 
the present requires plain speech; though it may not be agreeable, or 
look well in print, yet facts are stern realities, and should be presented 
at times when inactivity and indifference take possession of a Society. 
Your committee cannot look back on our display of fruits at Chicago with 
any but feelings of regret, having signally failed to make such an exhibi- 
tion as we might have done had our fruit growers responded to our solici- 
tations with the enterprise we expected. 
Your committee blushed with shame when interrogated by Minneso- 
tians as to the exhibitions from our own State. We could point to only a 
few specimens of apples, crab-apples, native plums, grapes, and a few 
specimens of bottled small fruits (collected by Prof. C. Y. Lacy, for the use 
of the State University.) I fear the ‘‘ almighty dollar” stood in the way 
of that encouragement from our friends that we desired. A few of the 
answers received to our cards of solicitation may give you some idea of 
how much this splendid opportunity for exhibiting the fruit resources of 
our State was appreciated, viz.: ‘I think [ shall not send any fruit to the 
Exposition as I have no apples but Tetofsky, Duchess, and Haas, and can 
use them to a better purpose. There are but few apples to be had, and I 
cannot spend time to gather an assortment of any account.” Another says: 
‘*T cannot get any fruit worth sending you. I have but few specimens of 
Wealthy, and those I cannot spare. The trouble is no one will make a 
present of any fruit.” Yet another: ‘‘I have no fruit to send to Chicago.” 
A fourth gentleman says: ‘‘ I have but few grapes that are ripe; not enough 
to do any good.” Here is the whole secret of our failure, and J, for one, 
am not willing the blame should be ascribed to the committee. The ex- 
hibition, to be sure, was early for many of our fruits, some of the apples 
being immature, our late plums not ripe, and our grapes needing at least two 
weeks’ more time to ripen. The few bunches of grapes on exhibition com- 
pared favorably with those from farther south. To show you how we 
missed a golden opportunity for advertising one of our best seedlings, I 
will give you an example: 
es 
