HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 53 



I would like to hear discussed. He claims that we commenced 

 at the top of the ladder and are working down. Now, it looks 

 to me that the state was then new and there wasn't at that time 

 horticulturists enough in the whole state to form what many- 

 would call a good society, in order to do business in good shape. 

 Had we started in that way and undertaken to form simply 

 township organizations I believe we would have made just as 

 perfect a failure as we would to undertake to start a sawmill 

 where there was no water power. I think we commenced right. 



I might compare our Society with western New York, where 

 I formerly lived. They have had their societies there for some 

 thirty-four years, but I think no state society up to this time. 

 They organized at Rochester, N. Y., a county or district society^ 

 which was controlled by the nurserymen there and which has 

 been run in their interest pretty generally since. And now they 

 are agitating the propriety of making it a state society and ask- 

 ing for state aid. I think they have just reached the point 

 where they should have started, as they could have published 

 and distributed their reports much better than they are able to 

 do now. They now see they are behind the western people, al- 

 though I may say there is no better horticultural district, per- 

 haps, than that of Western New York. But I think Iowa in this 

 matter is ahead of New York State to-day. 



Mr. Underwood. "What do I understand about their getting 

 our reports for fifty cents? 



President Elliot. Any local society making an annual report- 

 to this Society is entitled to our reports and a membership for 

 fifty cents, and the question is, whether they should obtain them 

 at a less rate than we charge our own members. 



Mr. Underwood. If that is the case I don't know as it is any- 

 body's fault but our own. That matter may need to be changed 

 in some way. I should say that Mr. Sias is certainly correct in 

 his position that our State Society, acting as the head and source 

 of the horticultural interests of the state, can be very much more 

 effective than to commence in the other way with the local organi- 

 zations. This has been nicely illustrated in our section of the 

 country in the past year, in the workings of farmers institutes. 

 It is hard to get the farmers interested in this subject. They are 

 more taken up with raising wheat, cows, horses, hogs and things 

 of that kind; and in order to interest them in anything we desire 

 we have got to go to them. I believe that the best possible way 

 that we can do it is to lend them assistance as a State Horticul- 



