24 
AMERICAN POMOEOGICAR SOCIETY 
native State and go back to it nearly every year — in the summer. I love 
Early Harvests and Red Astraehans, but have come to look upon the winter 
varieties with a certain amount of suspicion; and generally commence con- 
sulting time-tables about the time they commence coloring up — the winter 
apples I mean, not the time-tables. 
Now it is not my purpose to go into statistical details and tell you how 
many hundreds of thousands of square miles of lands we have in the south; 
of their varied character and quality; or the large numbers of varieties of 
fruits, of both temperate and sub-tropical climates, that can be and are 
being produced on them. Deeds sometimes speak louder than words and, 
from my adopted State of Florida you will find contributed, toward our 
Thanksgiving table, already spoken of, probably the largest collection of 
varieties of both citrus fruits and of Japan Persimmons that have ever been 
brought together in this country. 
Before closing I wish to say one word more in relation to this Thanks- 
giving table and to our home-coming which is this: While our Society 
takes a pardonable pride in showing some of the fruits of the earth, that our 
efforts have helped to bring forth, the mere showing of our products, how- 
ever near perfection we may have brought them, does not suffice. That, indeed, 
is but a secondary consideration. The main one is to give all the informa- 
tion we can, bearing upon every phase of their production, and to make all the 
suggestions we can, toward their still further betterment in the future. 
We take it to be a trite truth that in the betterment of our fruits we are 
bettering ourselves, and humanity, as well. 
We wish therefore, in again thanking our hosts for their hospitality, 
to tender a cordial invitation to them, and through them to all who may be 
interested in our deliberations, to be with us, as much as they care to, dur- 
ing our convention. 
Mr. President, it seems almost a sin to paraphrase Kipling and yet, in 
order to convey to our hosts my conception of the high aims and purposes 
of our Society, I will, with your permission, dare to try: 
For there is neither East nor West, 
Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, 
When men of one mind, strive 
To help their kind, 
Though they come from the ends of the earth. 
President Goodman: The bone and sinew of our land is always spoken 
of as coming from the North, and yet I don’t know just why, unless it is that 
the colder climate of New York and New England and all your northern 
sections, make it necessary for the people of the North to work so much 
harder to accomplish results. On account of the rigors of the climate, the 
short seasons, the extremes of heat and cold, the efforts made for good 
results seem to develop manhood; and for a sturdy manhood there is nothing 
like the northern people — we are always glad to do them honor. 
And now one of the responses to this welcome comes from our American 
sister, Canada, and we must always remember that Canada is American and 
a part of America. Mr. Macoun will respond for the North. 
