FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
114 
and in poverty if he attempts to shirk, but 
by working up to Dr. Davies’ rule of the 
three P’s we may never now assure our¬ 
selves that we have gotten grove protec¬ 
tion down to a plan of profitable practice 
that makes orange growing here as safe 
and profitable an investment of money, 
time and labor as foresight and energy 
may hope to find in the whole range of 
horticulture. 
Agriculture* 
By T* A* Carroll. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
Agriculture, the original, natural, 
necessary, and almost universal business 
of man, was planted in the Garden of 
Eden with mankind, and from this one 
line of industry come all others. Every 
art, trade or profession whatsoever is 
secondary to this parent industry, and de¬ 
pendent upon it,—and is useful only when 
and in such a degree as may contribute to 
the one great universal business—agricul¬ 
ture. 
Agriculture in its great volume is the 
social, political and economic salvation of 
the world. 
There are too many young men brought 
to. look upon Horticulture and Agricul¬ 
ture as being only an earthly (or earthy) 
existence, with the result that the flower 
of our farmers are flocking to the towns 
and cities—where the professions are 
already overcrowded, thus creating a 
social as well as economic menace. What 
is to be done to obviate this? There is 
no single remedy, but I do believe 
that much can and may be done in a 
more scientific agriculture, whereby this 
most necessary calling might be made 
more attractive to our young men, whose 
ambitions now carry them to the univer¬ 
sities of art and letters. 
The life of the agriculturist is not so dull 
as many suppose. It will not compare 
with that of the clerk in the store or bank 
for ennui. 
He has a chance in season and out of 
season for recreation, and for enjoy¬ 
ment in the work of his own hands— 
whereas the clerk and mechanic are only 
the human handle in the pick through 
which others perform a task. What more 
can he hope for but existence? What per 
cent of the suicides occur upon the farm? 
(not two per cent.) What per cent from 
those who left the farm for other call¬ 
ings? (more than eighty per cent). Is it 
necessary to further comment upon this 
point? 
With advanced Agriculture and Horti¬ 
culture we cannot see why they should not 
be as attractive to the intelligent man as 
I.aw or Physics, or any of the other pro¬ 
fessions. 
We have only to turn to any one of our 
