Minnesova STATE HoRvVICULTURAL SOCIETY. 63 
Mr. Harris then read his report on the horticultural exhibit at 
the State Fair. It was moved to file for publication, with such 
insertions as should go with it, which motion was carried. The 
report was as follows: 
HORTICULTURE AT THE STATE FAIR OF 1878. 
Purpose of Premiums. 
The State Agricultural Society of Minnesota, with the view of encouraging the 
cultivation of fruits, plants and flowers among all classes of people, and to aug- 
ment the resources of the State, and promote the moral and financial improve- 
ment of the producing classes, as well as to secure greater attractions to the 
annual fairs, have in time past offered and awarded certain prizes for the finest 
and greatest number of varieties of apples, the finest and best grown plants and 
most beautiful flowers. 
Defect in Plan. 
This plan. though defective in that thus far it has not given scope enough in 
the classes to embrace the children of public and Sunday or mission schools, and 
those engaged in domestic service, without bringing them into direct competition 
with endowed institutions, professional horticulturists and people of wealth, is 
accomplishing a vast amount of good, and will undoubtedly add greatly to the 
morality and intelligence of our people and stimulate them to increase the beauty 
and co.nfort of many humble homes. 
Value of Fruit. 
® Fruit has not only become a luxury but an almost indispensible article of 
human food, and must, as the quality is improved and quantity is increased so 
that there is enough and to spare to place it within the reach of all classes of 
society, do much toward dimmishing the habitual use of intoxicating and stimu- 
lating beverages—a practice that is the direct cause of a large proportion of the 
pauperism and crime that now exists in our State—by satisfying that craving of 
the human appetite for something more refreshing and exhilarating than the 
plain bread and meat diet. And the increased cultivation of plants and flowers 
will have a humanizing effect, and be in many instances the means of producing 
desirable results. 
Future of Horticulture. 
I believe, as the noble art of horticulture continues to advance, it will yet 
become a branch of study in all our public schools, and that many of the greatest 
and best men of the future will arise from those who have learned lessons of 
patience and inward purity in the study and practice of this the first and best of 
the arts. 
Results of Prizes and Exhibitions. 
As the prizes are offered for the best articles, those who design to compete for 
them are stimulated to study and experiment to produce articles that are as near 
