FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
7 
without a wonderful amount of opti¬ 
mism. 
Now, I believe that these lessons which 
will be learned will be of great benefit 
to the State because the members of the 
Horticultural Society are really builders 
and if they can catch some of this spirit 
and send it out over the State it will mean 
that the State will build as you have budd¬ 
ed a city. I am glad that you appreciate 
the value of the membership of the. Hor¬ 
ticultural Society and I hope that the peo¬ 
ple of Miami will catch something of 
your broad grasp as to the understand¬ 
ing that these people have. To my way 
of thinking, the Horticultural Society has 
been the promoter of the best thought 
that has been in the State; and the ideas 
that have built the State to its present 
greatness in agricultural and horticultural 
lines have come forth from this Society. 
I know that the best thought and that the 
best experiences on the subject of agricul¬ 
ture and horticulture have, been brought 
out in the thirty-four annual meetings of 
this Society. So I know that the people 
here will feel that the hospitality which 
they have expressed and which they will 
show has not been ill spent. 
I regret on behalf of a number of the 
members of the Society that your Mayor 
was not here to express a welcome as he 
did to the insurance men but he has 
passed the word along—along subterra¬ 
nean channels we will say—that if one 
becomes tired and dry and feels that this 
is an arid country he has but to approach 
the first policeman that he meets on the 
street and if he does not from him ac¬ 
quire the information for which he seeks 
to please report it to the Mayor and he 
will not be without a friend. Now I 
merely repeat that so those, who have not 
heard it through subterranean channels 
will get it direct. 
I again express to you our great thanks 
and I know that we will all enjoy our visit 
here and as I said the meeting will be 
attended with great pleasure and with 
great profit. I thank you. 
