THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY LECTURES. 



had meetings without number to contend 

 with and perhaps the advertising was not 

 as judicious as might have been. We visit- 

 ed many very beautiful grounds in the town 

 and few towns have so many, and I secured 

 a number of views from Capt. Cox which I 

 send you. I am not sure you can use them, 

 but I send them with the chance that you 

 cAn. If not send them back to the Capt. 

 who is Postmaster of Paris. He will of 

 course give you all information if you could 

 give the grounds a notice. They are quite 

 extensive and take the time of a man during 

 the season. 



I have been endeavoring to reach the 

 local papers this trip with what result I 

 scarcely know as they have failed to for- 

 ward anything to me, except the Gait paper 

 which I forward to you. Miss Rose is doing 

 excellent work. The Gait paper report does 

 not do her iustice. Her object is rather to 

 stimulate a love for gardening than to ^o 

 into detail. She gives an excellent address 

 to the children, taking up the distribution of 

 seeds in a familiar way. Her platform pre- 

 sence is very effective, combining dignity 

 and geniality in manner with freedom 

 of expression and happy turns of thought, 

 so that she never fails to secure the respect 

 and attention of her audience, young and 

 old. 



We so often interfere with church meet- 

 ing that I think it would be well to make a 

 special effort in the future to secure the co- 

 operation of the churches. In the smaller 

 places the church meetings occupy a very 

 large portion of the spare time of the very 

 people we wish to reach. A minstrel show 

 or a comic opera does not draw heavily on 

 this class, but we do. Two or three nights 

 in the week the people we want are at 

 "Young People's Meetings" "Missionary 

 Meetings " " Prayer Meeting," etc. Clear- 

 ly one or the other must give way. We 

 endeavor to place our meetings on as high 

 a moral plane as the church meetings, and 



if the local societies will choose their officers 

 (and in all cases, as far as I know they have 

 done so,) from those who will work in 

 harmony with the churches, I see no reason 

 why we should not ask the churches to post- 

 pone their meetings in favor of ours, as ours 

 cannot be postponed. We discussed this 

 matter at Mitchell where we had seven min- 

 isters, and the consensus of opinion was that 

 such a plan was feasible. There need of 

 course be no official recognition of the 

 churches, as the whole thing would be a 

 matter of courtesy arranged between tjje 

 officers of each society, locally. I am visit- 

 ing as many of the local gardens and 

 grounds as I can. I believe the delegate 

 would greatly increase the popularity and 

 usefulness of the lecture course if he were 

 able and willing to place himself in the 

 hands of a local committee who could take 

 him to the grounds already planted, and 

 point out there, to those who wished it, the 

 merits and defects (he had better confine 

 himself to the former,) of the planting, or 

 go to new places and make suggestions as 

 to the arrangement and selection of trees, 

 shrubs, vines and plants, flower plots, etc., 

 on the ground. He could use these very 

 effectively, as I know from experience, in 

 his evening talk, and at the same time 

 greatly relieve people who are willing to 

 spend money on their places but don't know 

 how to do it with advantage. 



I purpose to write later to Mr. Creelman 

 on these points. We are having a very busy 

 trip. I am scarcely an hour between break- 

 fast and midnight that I am not either with 

 the local officers or on the train. 



Perhaps some of the subjects I have 

 touched this morning may be profitably 

 commented upon in the Horticulturist. If 

 you think so, why, of course, use anything 

 you can, and I will be glad to develop the 

 points further if you will indicate the line. 



Yours very truly, 

 Seaforth, April 17, 190 1. A. McNeill. 



