ANNUAL WINTER MEETING. 67 
seize upon favorable opportunities, which, -:ke fruit, should be plucked 
before they are too ripe.” 
Horticulture, like small children, must be carefully cared for in infancy 
if it is expected to thrive and prosper in a climate like ours. 
LOST OPPORTUNITIES. 
I once heard a good pastor say that hell was paved with lost opportuni- 
ties. Neglect always runs before ruin; waiting for best opportunities 
never made any man rich. ‘Do for yourseif, and wait for no one to per- 
form for you what you can yourself do,” should be the maxim of every 
young person in the beginning of life. One effort successfully made, helps 
to a more successful oue the next time. Seeking, searching, endeavoring 
to do something, effects more in the battle of life than any one other 
thing. Inquiring, courageous minds and willing, skillful hands, working 
together, overcome many of the obstacles that beset every ambitious 
man’s progress in life. Prompt, ready, expeditious,—-these constitute real 
worth in pursuit of any business. 
Slothful, neglectful, dilatory methods never execute or accomplish 
much or place any one on the right road to success. Judgment; not the 
kind that Shakespeare speaks of when he says, ‘This judgment of the 
heavens that makes us tremble;” but that kind that discerns, penetrates, 
discriminates, or tends toward successful management? in the prosecution 
of any kind of employment or occupation, should be early and zealously 
cultivated. To illustrate: When I see unclean crops of any kind, over- 
grown with weeds, I think and say, ‘‘There is a lost opportunity for an 
abundant crop;” when I see neglected farms and gardens, ‘‘There is a 
lost opportunity for success;’’ but when I visit a place and everything 
shows tidiness, cleanliness and neatness, I at once have a feeling of confi- 
dence that every opportunity is being cared for and improved to the utter- 
most. 
Faith, courage and ability to accomplish whatever is undertaken, are 
the most essential elements of every person’s success. Without these, 
there is a vague uncertainty surrounding every important or lesser trans- 
action. The success of any enterprise depends more upon the energy and 
foresight exercised by the person in charge than upon the inherent 
qualities of the business itself. Wise management and skillful man- 
ipulation are cardinal factors that must be continuously adopted that 
the best results may be reached. 
The above should be indelibly impressed upon the mind of every young 
person embarking in any business career. 
RECIPROCAL IN THOUGHT AND KNOWLEDGE. 
To derive the greatest amount of mutual benefit from discussions and 
papers read, we should be reciprocal in the interchange of useful, helpful 
ideas, and information. Each should strive to bea bureau of mutual 
exchange of considerate, thoughtful intelligence upon the best methods 
and means of economical production and sale of produce. We should 
strive to cultivate the closest intim acy and fairness in all our relations 
and dealings one with the other. We should deal honestly with the 
land, returning a proportionate amount of enrichment, to supply the 
place of that abstracted in the growing of crops. Many times it is not 
the sterility of the soil that needs fertilization, but {successful remedial 
