FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
21 
And this particular Society, as I re¬ 
flect upon it, seems to me to be worthy 
of the splendid men and women who have 
formed it and to whom it belongs. There 
have never been, so far as I know, a finer 
company of men and women than those 
who have gathered from time to time in 
the meetings of the Florida Horticultural 
Society. 
More than a quarter of a century ago, 
when men were laying the foundation of 
the citrus industries in this State, men 
like Dudley Adams, and Dr. Inman and 
Lyman Phelps, in the days when I was 
young and full of enthusiasm, how I loved 
to listen to them and read what they said 
in the papers. They were men of com¬ 
petency and culture, and quality and 
kindness. They are all gone from amongst 
us, but we still have with us men like our 
presiding officer, and Mr. Hart, and Mr. 
Hubbard; some still remain of those 
fathers to show us what they were like. 
There were giants in those days; giants 
in intellect. 
There is something about the cultiva¬ 
tion of fruit, especially I might say, the 
cultivation of fruit in Florida, that ap¬ 
peals to what is fine and imaginative in 
men. There is a certain element of al¬ 
lurement and charm that does not go 
with all lines of work, by any means. 
This work is developing a fine quality of 
men, and I think Florida is to be con¬ 
gratulated upon the kind of citizens who 
are tilling her fields. 
I want to say a word, if possible, of 
encouragement and inspiration with ref¬ 
erence to Florida and its industries. I 
trust we shall enter upon these meetings 
with high hope and good cheer. We have 
not gotten as much money as we would 
like out of our fruits this year and we 
pause appalled before the canker and other 
threats of disaster. We have always 
been in a “funk;” always having some 
great disaster which is about to befall us, 
and this year we have had our full of that 
sort of thing. 
But how much happier we are than 
some. At least, we who are tilling with 
plowshares, are not handling swords. 
When we are wielding pruning hooks, 
we are not piercing men’s hearts. And 
we sit down in peace under our own vine 
and fig tree, instead of devastating the 
home and the hearth of innocent non- 
combatants. 
The Citrus Exchange states that 
oranges are coming up a little in the 
markets, and grapefruit are, also. So I 
hope we may have a cheerful view of 
ourselves and our occupation, while we 
are together here. 
When the doctors and friends said to 
me a little while ago “It is necessary for 
you to resign the presidency of Rollins 
College,” and after a long struggle of 
spirit—for I loved the work to which 
thirteen years had been given—I con¬ 
cluded that this must be, Mrs. Blackman 
and I sat down together to plan what we 
should do. We were about to be foot¬ 
loose and free; the whole earth was be¬ 
fore us. Golden California^ \Vith its 
wealth of sunshine, New England with 
its green fields (and old maids), Sunny 
Italy, where we had spent many happy 
days, Germany, now bloody indeed, but 
with its philosophy, its music and its cul¬ 
ture, the mystery of the Orient; wher¬ 
ever we wanted to go, we were free to 
