2 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
You live, in the deeper levels of life; 
in a world which is filled with more than 
the flitting shadows of human personali¬ 
ties ; in a world of forms and colors more 
fascinatingly wonderful than the shifting 
clouds at sunlight because each shape, 
each color has a meaning which you have 
learned to understand. Yours is the fuller 
life, and though you may see around you 
the glittering luxuries of existence beyond 
your reach, you have in your plant com¬ 
panions a solace and comfort which no 
amount of wealth can give. 
You, in your passion for plants, are the 
envy of many a millionaire who has trod¬ 
den Wall Street so long that he cannot 
quit it ; of thousands of those who, look¬ 
ing out from their office windows over 
crowded, smoky cities, long for the shade 
of an orchard tree or for that drink of 
water flavored by the thirst of a tired 
body. 
No. You who live in your own homes, 
surrounded by your own families, among 
the plants which you love, are following 
what is to become the, chosen profession 
of some of the highest intellectual beings 
which this world is to produce. 
But I am not here to tell you who you 
are, even though I do think we need to be 
reminded sometimes that we are doing 
more than merely earn an honest living. 
It helps us to hold our heads above the 
crowd; to raise high, where the world can 
see it, the profession which we believe 
has such a mission to perform for the hu¬ 
man race. 
But I am here to welcome you to Mi¬ 
ami and tell you that every citizen in this 
region is interested in what you are do¬ 
ing, and in your getting a correct idea of 
what this civilization here is, and in your 
having a good time. 
Ladies and gentlemen, you are among 
open minded people here and I suppose I 
am voicing the opinion of the men of 
Miami when I say that you are at liberty 
without any offence to draw any invid¬ 
ious comparisons which you wish with 
regard to the width of our streets and the 
lack of parks. I feel sure that I am not 
offending those who live on Miami Beach 
when I say you are more than welcome to 
the sand there. I know that the residents 
of Redlands section will point out to you 
themselves the fact that there are a few 
rocks in the soils there,. I am confident 
that there is not a settler on the Glades 
who would wilfully deceive you into 
thinking that the temperatures never go 
below freezing there. I know, because I 
live there myself, that the residents of 
Coconut Grove do not want you to go 
away with the impression that their town 
is trying to rival Miami in size. 
No. The long training and severe ex¬ 
perience which these people of South 
Florida have had with men and women 
like you has taught them that there is no 
permanency in anything but the truth; 
that you are not to be deceived by ap¬ 
pearances. And yet when I remember my 
first visit to Miami; when I bring back 
into the foreground of my mind a picture 
of some holes blasted in the rocks near 
the ragged edges of the half cleared ham¬ 
mock into which I was expected as an 
Agricultural Explorer of the Government 
to pour seeds and plants, gathered from 
various parts of the world, I am forced 
to admit that one must be very careful in 
