HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 67 



over the creoked roundabout road along the shores of lakes and 

 through marshes, over hill and dale, through the black oaks and 

 thick hazel underbrush, colliding with grubs and stumps contin- 

 ually; jading our stage horses as they travelled up and down steep 

 hills, taking the whole long day to accomplish these twenty- eight 

 miles, the shortest way from Minneapolis, if I remember correctly; 

 but now so delightful a drive with its easy, smooth, graded road- 

 bed, that I have driven from this place to Minneapolis in two short 

 hours. I was then a rosy-cheeked boy, full of ambitious anticipa- 

 tions, having my first experience of pioneer life; and our early im- 

 pressions are said to be the most lasting. The one incident of that 

 eventful trip more prominent in my mind than any other, which I 

 still remember with pleasure, was the open, hearty, kindly greeting 

 of the only landlord in the place, Mr. George Galpin, as my friend, 

 Mr. Horace Shepley, and I turned our tired horses up to his hospi- 

 table doors. How changed now; (not the hospitality to friends, 

 for that element was deeply rooted in the hearts of this people) 

 but the scenery and landscape, the heavy forest growth of lofty 

 maples, elms, black walnuts, butternuts, baswood and other smaller 

 growths, have disappeared before the sturdy woodman's ax to pre- 

 pare the ground for the fruit trees, vines and small fruits that 

 now adorn every hill side and grow in such plenteous luxuriance in 

 this beautiful, homelike, suburban -village. 



The Excelsior of to-day, with its motto "Still Higher," "Ever 

 Upward," said by one of its pioneer settlers to "possess almost 

 everything that the heart of man could wish for," is what its pre- 

 serving, energetic, enterprising, hospitable people have made it 

 by combined effort, one of the most homelike, beautiful summer 

 resorts on this lake, renowned for its bays, promontories, penin- 

 sulas, islands, capes, splendid fishing, its many villa-houses and 

 picturesque spots. 



Kind friends, we would like to stop and dwell upon many other 

 pleasant things that could be said about this truly delightful 

 health-giving resort and its people, but time will not admit, and 

 we pass on to some of the graver questions which we have assem- 

 bled from far and near to consider. 



I trust all have come with the desire to interchange thoughts 

 and compare experiences, modes and methods of developing our 

 industries, fraught with so much importance to all the epeople of this 

 great state. Many of us have had in the past high ambitions and 

 great expectations, but I think our ardor has been sometimes damp- 

 ened by the icy fingers of the cold north wind of winter and the 

 scorching drouth of summer. Practical acquaintance and contin- 

 ued and varied personal observation have taught us some things of 

 real worth and value; but we also find there are other problems 

 bearing upon the future development of the fruit interests of our 

 State, that are at present requiring our closest attention. What 

 we ivould do and what we can do, are two very different and diffi- 

 cult problems to meet in all their intricate bearings. I hope you 

 will give fair, wise and judicious consideration in the advancing of 

 new theories on all questions under consideration. If there are 



