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periences but to form new acquaintances to broaden our 

 views, to extend our field of usefulness by imparting to 

 others any knowledge we may have gained during the year. 

 The aims and objects to such an organization as this are 

 manifold but the principal ones are that in these meetings 

 we become better acquainted with each other, get a clearer 

 conception of life and have a better understanding of our 

 special lines of work by an interchange of views. 



"We come here laden with the fruits only of our per- 

 sonal experience but after our meeting is ended we return 

 to our homes enriched by the experience of all. He is a 

 •dull scholar indeed who is not amply repaid by the useful 

 lessons here brought to his mind. 



Some one has said "Horticulture pursued as a science 

 is a most useful industry, enlarging the number and improv- 

 ing the quality of the fruits of the earth that add so much to 

 the comfort of human life ; as an art it cultivates the taste, 

 refines the sensibilities and educates the spirit to a higher 

 grace and beauty. It is a higher department of agriculture 

 requiring the same primary study but a more careful train- 

 ing. Horticulture, the science and art, we pursue, like 

 music, like painting, indicates in its advancement the march 

 of civilization." ' 



A generation ago people jumped into horticulture in 

 the belief that all that was required was to plant seeds, 

 plants and trees, of our different fruits, both tree and vine, 

 and let nature do the rest. The masses did not consider 

 it necessary to have any special knowledge or even to use 

 great care and judgment to insure success and the result 

 has been that their work records more failures than suc- 

 cesses. 



In the last few years horticulture has been studied as 

 .an art, the slovenly fruit grower and would be horticul- 

 turist are going back to the growing of corn and potatoes 

 leaving the field open to the legitimate horticulturist who 

 has intelligence and energy to devote to his calling. One 

 -of the great elements of success with the fruit grower is a 

 resolute, determined and persevering industry in one and the 

 same direction. The success of a man is only limited by the 

 amount of persevering thought and determined resolution 

 he possesses; to the persevering there is no doubting or 

 -waiting ; he knows no to-morrow or next week and it is one 

 vdetermination and one resolute "now." To him mountains 



