HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 435 



seedling Duchess No. 3 he regards the best. I can testify to its 

 fine appearance and quality. Mr, John Harroon, of Newport, 

 Iowa, formerly of Olmsted county, Minn., also made a creditable 

 showing of apples, as did many others. When President C. G. 

 Patten of the state society, and Prof. J. L. Budd, of Ames, met . 

 in debate, it reminded me of the old saying, viz.: "When 

 Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war." And as each 

 party handled his part so skillfully, that the last speaker was 

 invariably ahead, it also reminded me of the words of Gen. 

 Washington — "To be prepared for war is one of the most effec- 

 tual means of preserving peace.'' 



I have been somewhat discontented in Minnesota since my re- 

 turn from Iowa, to think that the young people down there are 

 so much ahead of ours in horticultural work. They turned out 

 nobly at ISTora Springs and vicinity, both ladies and gentlemen, 

 and entertained us splendidly with music and declamations. 

 The hard winters and summer droughts have killed off the trees 

 there nearly as bad as with us, and they are just about as much 

 at a loss to know what to recommend for general cultivation as 

 we are. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Geo. Van Houghton, 

 of Lenox, secretary of the state society, and Mr. John C. Ferris, 

 secretary and treasurer of the northern society, at Mr. Edson 

 Gay lord's before the opening of the meeting. Mr. Van Houghton 

 is not a stenographer but one of the most rapid writers I ever 

 met, and a good talker. Mr. Ferris is also a good worker, and 

 understands his business. Iowa is considerably ahead of Minne- 

 sota in her horticultural work, largely owing to the fact that the 

 state gives her state society '*^1,500 a year more than we get, 

 which enables them to keep up many more societies than we 

 have, and to keep them in a much better running order. 



One of the most efficient, energetic workers in the good cause 

 of horticulture in Floyd county, is Edson Gay lord of Nora Springs. 

 He exhibited a large number of botanical specimens of native 

 wood, and of fruit trees, to illustrate his address on the subject 

 of Sunscald. Mr. Gaylord kindly presented the same subject to 

 the Southern Minnesota Horticultural Society, on the second day 

 of the present month, and I am in hopes it will get into our next 

 report. I am convinced that whoever follows Mr. Gaylord' s 

 plan of planting and caring for fruit trees, will surely reap an 

 abundant harvest, right here in Minnesota, as all intelligent 

 horticulturists know that we are several degrees south of the 

 north li ne of the apple belt. 



