ANNUAL WINTER MEETING. 99 
Incidentally I would mention, that while in Faribault, Mr. Greeley vis- 
ited a corn field on the farm of Mr. Humphrey that was of great promise, 
and pronounced it the best he had seen that year, estimating its product 
at 75 bushels to the acre. Mr. Humphrey believed that it would reach 
120. When harvested, the actual yield was 110 bushels of shelled corn, 
which has pot been surpassed, according to my recollection, by any other 
field of corn in the state. , 
The first exhibit at the Minneapolis fair was a surprise, not only to Mr. 
Greeley, but to most of the visitors from the state at large. Upona long 
table in the floral hall was arranged a noble display of apples,including over 
one hundred seedling varieties, and a large exhibit of small fruits. 
Stretched over the table was a large banner bearing in bold letters the in- 
scription, ‘“‘ ‘I should like to live in Minnesota, but for one thing, you can 
never raise apples.’—Horace Greeley.” 'The philosopher, on seeing the in- 
scription, with the table underneath displaying such a manifest contra- 
diction of his prophetic utterance, declared that he had never made the 
remark attributed to him. The quotation, however, was vouched for as 
having occurred in one of Mr. Greeley’s speeches in the state in 1865. If he 
said it, the fact would have constituted no strong impeachment of his 
sagacity, for at that period the belief was quite general among our own 
citizens, that Minnesota would always be dependent upon the east for its 
supply of apples.’ 
The winter meeting of the Horticulturai Association of 1869 was held 
in St. Paul, at which time the membership had increased from 12 in the 
preceding year, to 42. At that meeting the spirit of confidence and am- 
bition had so far developed, that a resolution was adopted to collect and 
send on samples of Minnesota apples for exhibition at the American 
Institute, in New York. In January, 1871, the association returned to 
Faribault, its meeting being presided over by that veteran horticulturist, 
Hon. J. S. Harris. This meeting proved to be very instructive and profit- 
able. A new constitution and by-laws were adopted and action taken 
toward securing representation in the State Agricultural Society. The 
horticulturists had reached a point where they felt assured ofa firm foot- 
ing, and the subsequent history of the society has been one of continuous 
progress on all the lines of development covered by the plan of organization. 
A general review of the progress of horticulture in Minnesota in the 
quarter of the century covered by the existence of the association, shows 
that though the predictions of some of its very sanguine friends have 
failed of fulfillment, no question can be raised as to the very substantial 
benefit that the people of the state have realized from its existence. Its 
published discussions and its official papers have constituted a great edu- 
cating influence, preventing costly mistakes and pointing the way to suc- 
cessful effort. The area of apple culture has been enlarged, so that instead 
of being confined, as in the early day, to the vicinity of bodies of water, 
sheltered valleys, and tracts of timber, our orchards have been extended 
over the prairies on which the earlier settlers believed no trees would 
grow, even to and beyond the western boundaries of the state. Yet it 
must serve to temper our exultation over victories achieved when we re- 
member, that notwithstanding the enormous increase in the aggregate 
crop of apples annually grown in the state, there has not been that 
multiplication of hardy varieties of late keeping, fine flavored, winter 
