HOW CAN THE PRESS AID THE HORTICULTURIST? 225 



HOW CAN THE PRESS AID THE HORTICULTURIST ? 



BY H. E. HEATH. 



Had your speaker been assigned the topic, u How Can the Horticult- 

 urist Aid the Press?" it is probable that he could have discussed it 

 more to his satisfaction. But the question as it stands most certainly 

 admits of some discussion which may be of advantage to your Society. 



The press is the most potent factor in modern civilization. Its 

 force and power are felt by every citizen of every country within the 

 confines of civilization. The modern enlightenment of mankind is 

 largely due to the educating influence of the press, which makes the 

 acquisition of information comparatively an unimportant matter to 

 what it once was. The transition of the world's civilization from the 

 midnight reign of superstition called the dark ages, the revival of 

 learning which has culminated in the magnificent school systems of 

 Germany and America, and the passing away of the old spirit of in- 

 tolerance, is largely due to the influence of the printing press. From 

 the charnel house of ignorance man has been rescued by the press. 

 Thrones have crumpled beneath the iconoclastic touch of this stern 

 warrior, and upon their ruins have been erected governments for the 

 people, of the people, and by the people. 



This force which has been so potent in the world's history is an aid 

 to aggressive development of man, or of ideas into higher types. The 

 politician's rancor and corruption is held in check by a fear of it, and 

 to it the mass of the people look for enlightenment. In religious 

 affairs its importance has ever been conceded, and no religious 

 society considers its paraphernalia complete without adequate pro- 

 visions for the publication of books and papers in the interest of its 

 peculiar tenets. To the press the scientist looks to disseminate infor- 

 mation among the people, for had he to wait for the slow education 

 of the people in schools, generations would pass away in worthless 

 inactivity. 



The press is the mighty educator of the people. The great current 

 of human thought flows through these arteries and is diffused through 

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