256 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 



For two or three years I contented myself with 

 taking a back seat at these meetings and with try- 

 ing to make acquaintances at the headquarters' 

 hotel. Finally, while making investigations in the 

 preservation, loss and value of farm manures, I 

 accumulated some good material for a talk and I 

 knew that the orchardists were needing informa- 

 tion about plant foods. So that year I went up to 

 the meeting with my facts condensed and freshly 

 in mind, if I could get the chance to present them. 



Upon greeting Mr. Barry, I remarked that if 

 there chanced to be a few unoccupied minutes I 

 would like to make some brief remarks. That day 

 and most of the next passed and I had come to the 

 conclusion that the ice was yet too thick to be 

 broken, when like a clap of thunder, in his sten- 

 torian voice, Mr. Barry called upon Professor 

 Roberts. I had no time for stage fright which 

 to this day I am subject to but rushed forward 

 from the rear of the hall and without even my 

 notes to guide me, I made the best short talk I had 

 ever given. The subject I had chosen was pat and 

 new and the facts were so convincing that they ap- 

 pealed to my audience. Then was made a big hole 

 in the ice that never after froze over. 



Next year I received a formal invitation to ad- 

 dress the Association and I believe I was asked to 



