22 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
RESPONSE 
Lloyd S. Tenney, Orlando, Fla. 
Mr. Mayor : 
We are here; all of us, I think. I 
should hate to tell just why we have 
come, because I expect the excuses and 
reasons would be quite varied. Some 
of us have come because we have our 
new dresses to show. Some of us are 
here because we have our new Palm 
Beach suits. Some of us are here be¬ 
cause Palatka has the reputation of 
giving us good things to eat. I heard 
one or two persons say they had come 
because they had not seen Palatka for 
twenty-three years, and they wanted 
to see if it had changed. The causes 
are numerous for our coming, but we 
are all here. 
Seriously, though, Mr. Mayor, and 
officers of the Horticultural Society, a 
gathering like this is significant. Fifty 
or one hundred years ago, this would 
not have been possible. Agriculture 
was an entirely different type of busi¬ 
ness than it is today. Each individual 
farmer—and we are farmers, notwith¬ 
standing the fact we call ourselves hor¬ 
ticulturists—has an entirely different 
problem to solve. Farming then was 
a different industry. Each little farm 
had its own life; it grew its own pro¬ 
ducts which were essential to that life; 
it manufactured its cloth and other 
commodities used in the home. It was 
practically sufficient unto itself. This 
was as it should be, in those days, and 
the life at that time tended to foster 
the spirit which is, perhaps, the strong¬ 
est characteristic of the American farm¬ 
er; independence, self-reliance. Or, 
looking at it from another angle, it de¬ 
veloped the characteristic which has 
made it so hard for the American farm¬ 
er to co-operate with the other farmer, 
his neighbor. 
But these days are past. With the 
development of the railroads, tlie re¬ 
frigerator cars, the opening of distant 
and new markets is made possible, 
two thousand and three thousand miles 
away. No longer is the farmer able to 
supply his necessities and comforts 
from his own farm. The industry can¬ 
not be carried on, on the old individu¬ 
al lines. ' There are things in our com¬ 
mon problems that the individual can¬ 
not solve; that two or three together 
cannot solve; and for these reasons it 
is necessary for us to come together 
to consider these problems. More and 
more the farmers are realizing this and 
great meetings are being held, from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific. 
We are coming here representing 
just one State, just a few industries, 
but we have come with the hope that, 
in addition to having a little pleasure, 
we may gain a little strength, gather a 
little information, that is going to carry 
us through our trials and tribulations 
with a little more light than if we had 
not come. 
* 
And this is why we have come. 
