56 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



conviction that man owes much consideration, not only to his 

 fellows, but to the generations to come." With this increase 

 in the sense of duty which men set before their eyes, we may 

 hope in time for the most careful preservation of our soils 

 which is consistent with their utilization. We may soon expect 

 to see the law recognize the fact that a man has only the right 

 to use a portion of the earth's surface in such a manner as is 

 necessary for his immediate needs, care being taken that the 

 reversions of the generations to come have been properly 

 guarded. When this view finds fit expression in our laws, we 

 may expect certain stern limits to be put to the present reck- 

 less waste in the heritage of life represented in our soils. 



It is evident the soil problem, though perhaps the most seri- 

 ous of all the physical difficulties which beset the future of 

 man, is by no means beyond his control. He may find in it a 

 new and nobler field for the exercise of his intelligence and 

 his prescience than he has yet secured by his careless relations 

 with the earth.. 



As population increases and the fertility of our soil de- 

 creases we shall find a necessity, yea an urgent demand for a 

 better class of tillage. We have only to direct our attention to 

 some of the most populous countries of the earth for an exam- 

 ple that teaches us the day is not far distant in the future 

 when we shall be compelled to husband in a better manner the 

 composing elements of productiveness in our soils. 



The wasteful methods of sanitation pursued by all boards of 

 health and officers of public trust, in the smallest village as 

 well as the largest city, call for revision and correction. Here 

 is a question of vast importance not only to our state but to 

 our whole country, and it would be well for our whole country, 

 and it would be well for its wise counsellors to consider how 

 far the responsibility rests upon them as legal representatives 

 of the people. We are in a measure accountable to those who 

 come after, and it is expedient for us as thoughtful conser- 

 vators of this heritage given into our charge, that we accept 

 the responsibility placed upon this generation, and demean 

 ourselves not as prodigal, extravagant] wasters, ever absorb- 

 ing and never returning, but as just stewards, ever striving to 

 secure these accumulations from such wholesale destruction, 

 that those to follow may derive their proper share of consid- 

 eration. 



INSTITUTE WORK, ETC. 



Some of the clearest thinkers and wisest educators are im" 



