I'cim'iiihci' (lisliiicllv ;i r<'\\ years a}j,(), jxTiiiips liriccii, I iiiadc 

 my lifsL shipmeiiL of clicsl mils to IS'ew York. 1 sciiL lliciii to u 

 coiiimission mcri-liaiiL and 1 was siiri)ris('(l, altlioiij^h I knew that 

 it was early, to receive back in two days' lime returns. oi" twenty- 

 lonr dollars per bushel lor tliat shii)nient of chestnuts, with this 

 ad\ice: "Ship chestnuts as fast as possible. Your sliijtnieni 

 was the lirst llial came into the City of New Y''ork this fall." 

 I tried to i^et anotin'r siii[>nient, but 1 could not get those burrs 

 o])eu, and the last shipment 1 made to New Y'ork that same fall 

 broui^ht me only -f^.oO per bushel. 1 agree with the gentlemen 

 thai have read these very interesting papers, so very interesting 

 to us, indeed; but so far as the sj»read of this disease is con- 

 cerned, 1 am on the side of the woodpecker, because the woo<l- 

 pecker has been my friend from my boyhood up, and I have 

 learned to love the music of his beak. Unt let me tell you, gentle- 

 juen, a few years ago I was out in Kansas, and on that wild 

 prairie, a heavily loaded team had passed over in the spring. It 

 was September when I was there, and across that unbroken 

 ]>rairie wei-e two distinct tracks and sometimes, when the for- 

 ward wheel had not i-un exactly straight, there were four tracks; 

 and in every one of those tracks was a thrifty growth of sun- 

 flowers, ('an you tell me how those suntiowers came there? If 

 you will tell me that, I will tell you what spreads the fungus on 

 3<)ur trees. It is nature. Ycni know we all of us love up-to-date 

 stories; we do not care about the old ''chestnuts" so much. But 

 in this case the chestnut is very inqjortant and, in closing, I 

 want to speak a word of commendation for 3Ir. AYilliams and for 

 the men who so wisely voted the appropriation of two hundred 

 and seventy-live thousand (b»llais lo this A\ork. I ajtpreciate it. 

 Ever since T liave been a boy, it has been grnnil)le, grumble, 

 grund)le about appropriations and graft, and so on. New Yoi*k 

 State can sym])athize with us somewhat in the nuitter of Capi- 

 tol graft. Yon remember yon g(»l ilirougli wiiJi it in Albany. We 

 got through with it willionl as many Ncars of experience as you 

 did, but I reuKMuber very well, after the ohl ('apit(d Inirned liere. 

 that five hundred and fifty thousand (hdlars was appropriated. 

 Why, that was a big sum; but yon know how that "chesj^nut" 

 grew, and we got out of it with lliiileen millions. T am very 



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