104 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
This society will without doubt celebrate its semi-centennial in 1917 
—but as it is extremely doubtful about my being present or even furnish- 
ing a paper—you will please to excuse me for being so tiresome on the 
present occasion. The first official list of paying members was made over 
to this society in 1867 by J. K. Kepner, and consisted of twelve members. 
Eight of these have passed over the ‘‘dark river.” Three have either left 
the state or the society, and the only working member now left in the 
state is John S. Harris. Mr. Harris is such a persistent, hard working 
old soldier in this good cause—always at the post of duty—that we would 
not like to think of his being anywhere else, during your annual and semi- 
centennial meeting in 1917, except right here with you and ready for 
business. Owing to the fact that I happened to be one of the original 
members of this society I have consented to give a rough birds-eye view of 
some of the old members, and not wishing to occupy too much of your 
valuable time, have failed to mention some of the very best of them. 
What I have said may look to some of you as uncalled for, but I have not 
gone beyond the facts, and when we know that a member has made him- 
self, by hard work and self sacrifice, a worthy example for others to follow, 
why wait for him to die before we admit it? Twenty-five years’ ex- 
perience with horticultural work has demonstrated the fact that a society 
to be successful for any length of time must haveaid from the state. So, 
as the late L. B. Hodges would say, you must keep “‘stirring up the whole 
legislative menagerie,” till that honorable body takes due cognizance of 
your just appeal, and honors you and themselves with an appropriation 
large enough to establish a good horticultural society in every county in 
Minnesota. 
I was very much interested and instructed in reading the able paper 
by Dr. Jas. R. Walker, in report of ’91, on the ‘‘Wild Fruits Native in 
Northern Minnesota.” This and Col. J. H. Stevens’ ‘‘Wild Food,” in 
book ’88 and S. M. Owen’s ‘‘Forests and Mines,’ in the same number, 
will bear close inspection. 
Many have taken it for granted, without proper investigation, that the | 
northern portion of Minnesota was too cold for successful fruit culture, 
but Dr. Walker gives satisfactory evidence to the contrary. What he 
designates as the ‘‘Itasca region,” he says is ‘‘nearly one-fourth water.” 
IT have always been known as a crank on Minnesota fruit growing, and 
the principal thing on which the strong ‘‘faith within me” was based 
was the fact that Minnesota has within her borders numberless lakes, 
hence doubtless better watered than any other state in the Union. 
Trees, shrubs and fruits are composed mostiy of water, and cannot be 
run successfully without a most liberal supply of this common fluid. 
Water keeps off the frost, as the doctor says, a month later in the Itasca 
region than at St. Vincent or Moorhead. You can’t emphasize that little 
word water too much! With a judicious use of water Colorado gives a 
higher average yield of wheat per acre for 1891 than any other state, 
(See Ag. Dept. Rep.) I notice the doctor failed to find the wild crab in 
northern Minnesota, but as it is plentiful in the southern part of the 
state, why should it not prove, when ameliorated, the best species for 
that cold climate? 
We have no desire to close these disjointed reminiscences of our society’s 
grand achievements in horticulture, ‘till we acknowledge our indebted- 
