52 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



about why certain results followed specific conditions. This 

 inquisitive spirit led agriculturists to experiment for themselves 

 and compare results. Then came the establishment of the de- 

 partment of agriculture and in due time our agricultural colleges 

 and experiment stations. In most cases these institutions in the 

 several states passed through a fiery ordeal and were very indif- 

 ferently supported by the citizens. Particularly were these insti- 

 tutions censured by the everyday farmer who classed the work of 

 colleges and experiment stations as mere theory and absolutely of 

 no interest or help to the everyday life of the farm. In fact it has 

 been only a few years since these worthy institutions were greatly 

 maligned and even today there is an occasional instance of people 

 believing their agricultural colleges, experiment stations, and 

 department of agriculture at Washington, are simply creations to 

 give a lot of college professors a job. 



But the rank and file of these educational institutions have proved 

 their usefulness and are being recognized by urban and rural citi- 

 zens alike as a mighty factor in the country's progress. Right here 

 is where the new agriculture applies. At the start the pendulum 

 swung far to the side of practice. Then followed the reverse swing 

 to science, but what was lightly called theory. Now we have a 

 happy combination of the two and that is where you get your new 

 agriculture. If knowledge is power, applied knowledge is results, 

 and we must remember results is the goal. Whatever the under- 

 taking, be it agricultural, industrial, social or spiritual, what really 

 counts is results. However brilliant an intellect a man may have, 

 however highly educated, and however many rich uncles may have 

 left him a fortune, he cannot be considered a success unless he is 

 able to so correlate his powers as to produce tangible results. If 

 the individual, if the horticultural society, if the state, the nation 

 are unable to accomplish results worth while to mankind they are 

 failures. If the farmer ignores nature's laws he cannot attain the 

 greatest success even if he works nights and Sundays. If our 

 institutions of learning ignore practical application of their knowl- 

 edge they cannot be a complete success even though they have the 

 combined knowledge of the new and the old world. 



Yet note the wonderful possibilities within reach just the moment 

 these forces are sympathetically combined. As yet the transforma- 



