152 ANNUAL REPORT 



mentation, circulate information of this kind with the energy of 

 blood through the arteries and veins of the body, in short be the 

 outside working hands of this Society, persistently laboring with 

 voice and pen anywhere wanted, and everywhere evoking a demand 

 to learn practically our beautiful and scientific art. Here is a step 

 which we can safely take, using such finances as can be spared so 

 as not to injure any adjunct of our State enterprise. If only a 

 small sum, not more than four or five hundred dollars can at first 

 be appropriated for this purpose, venture on that, and with success 

 so far gained, we can in another year, or two, sufficiently popular- 

 ize our practical method so as to command the special support of 

 legislation. Let us not hesitate to do our whole duty, wisely and 

 perseveringly. 



There is another matter in this connection equally deserving our 

 best thought, and that is the introduction of horticulture into our 

 common schools as a legalized branch of education. No science 

 is more important, nor one so intimately allied with the health and 

 prosperity of all the people in city as well as country. This makes 

 horticulture the associate and crowning excellence, as it is, of bot- 

 any, of geology, of agricultural chemistry. Let us have this in 

 view, and as fast as we can gain public approval and co-operation; 

 press forward till we have a text book of botanical and geological 

 horticulture in the higher grades of all our schools. We who pro- 

 ject these measures of advancement may not personally enjoy the 

 harvest of our seed-sowing, but it will be indeed a precious reward 

 if from the verges of the heavenlv land given us for faithful labor, 

 we can see our successors gathering in the fruits of the Eden 

 which we cultivated with our hands and watered with our tears. 



President Elliot. We have another paper in the same line and 

 I think we will not stop to give this any discussion just now as Mr. 

 Gould has a little pepper and salt which he wishes reintroduce. We 

 will take thai now and then w r e will take another line of thought. 



Music by the young ladies. 



Prof. Pendergast, being called upon, said: Mr. President, Ladies 

 and Gentlemen: I will say that most of the time for the past two 

 weeks I have been down with la grippe and am sick abed now. 

 (Laughter ) 



THE FAEM SCHOOL AS BELATED TO HOETICULTURE. 



By Prof. W. W. Pender gast. 



The School of Agriculture of the University of Minnesota 

 opened its first session a little more than a year ago with seventeen 

 students. It now has an enrollment of seventy-six, and the number 

 is constantly increasing. The encouragement it has met with; the 

 substantial patronage it has received and the high character of the 

 young men who are availing themselves of its advantages are as 



