ERT SOR RS Re yaa Oe, me 
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290 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. : 
One of the leading men of Wisconsin said to me: ‘‘Mr. Gregg, 
don’t you make the mistake of Wisconsin by attempting to run 
four corps over your state.” I will not give you names. I 
could give you the names of some of the leading men of Wis- 
consin who talked to me in the same strain, but I have not 
time to do it here. I want tosay right here I appreciate 
the interest you take in institute work. I have a list that I 
hold in sacred remembrance, and that is a list of people who 
helped to establish the institute work in Minnesota. In that 
list I put the body of the horticultural society, so any sugges- 
tions you may make, any criticisms you may have to offer will 
be all right. . 
Mr. Elliot: How can we push our horticultural work with the 
institute work to the best advantage? 
Mr. Gregg: In the first place, let me tell you we have got to be 
close observers; we have got to take people as they come. You 
must remember the speaker on the platform must understand the 
audience. You take the theme of horticulture this morning and 
put yourselves in the place of the audience. This is not a represent- 
ative institute audience. You understand better than I can tell 
you that some papers that would interest you asa body would not 
interest an institute audience—and before such a paper was finished 
there would not be enough left of the audience to pronounce a 
benediction on. There is adifference of opinion. You must remem- 
ber I was cradled in the church, and this is one kind of missionary 
work. 5 
Mr. Gould: What would you propose as the best method of intro- 
ducing this question before those institute audiences which you 
are supposed to instruct? 
Mr. Gregg: Do you members fully appreciate what we have al- 
ready done? We issue every year a book of twenty thousand copies. 
These books are electrotyped; it takes twenty thousand pounds of ; 
paper—over a carload of paper. Compare that circulation with the 
circulation of your literature. The difficulty is to get good men to 
take the platform; I must make some changes in the corps now. 
There are some when they take the platform act like a wet blanket 
on the audience. But we have some grand workers. One is a 
classic in hogs, another is a poem in poultry: Theodore Louis and 
Mrs. Tilson. I want to say right here that our friend Somerville, 
with his peculiar ways, his farmer look and his granger talk has 
done more for horticulture than more than half of you have any 
idea of. I:might refer to the criticisms that were continually com- 
ing tomyears. “Gregg,can’t you do some more?” “Have you got 
another Somerville?” The minute he gets up to talkhe getsin his 
farmer certificate all over, and the farmer thinks he is going to get 
the truth, and he gets it, too. We must understand the people; we 
must study their natures; and if we do this and impart some of our 
enthusiasm to them by a good, warm, hearty hand shake—if I donot 
have a flock of people around the platform, I think I have made a 
mistake. 
