FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
231 
CONCLUSIONS. 
After reviewing the whole horticultural 
situation I can see clearly how one large 
question after another has come up. 
Strenuous efforts have been made to solve 
it. Some questions have been studied un¬ 
til a reasonable solution has been found. 
Often this has come about by forces en¬ 
tirely or largely outside of our own re¬ 
gion. 
(1) The transportation question has 
been settled largely by the establishment 
of a non-partisan Interstate Commerce 
Commission with power to act. We have 
done our share of the work to bring this 
about. 
(2) Our present State Railroad Com¬ 
mission can be traced directly to the hor¬ 
ticulturists of Florida. 
(3) The introduction, propagation, 
and dissemination of valuable fruits, veg¬ 
etables and ornamentals has been due en¬ 
tirely to our efforts. In the last twenty- 
four years the vegetable crop has in¬ 
creased over 900 per cent. The citrus 
fruits have increased 400 per cent, in 
spite of the fact that it had to be en¬ 
tirely rehabilitated. The other fruits 
have increased over 250 per cent. 
(4) The chapter on fertilization is the 
most brilliant one that we have written. 
Nowhere else in the world will you find 
such a large fund of information on this 
subject as is possessed by the horticultur¬ 
ists of Florida. Nowhere else is the fer¬ 
tilizer business on so solid a foundation. 
Nowhere else will you find State laws so 
favorable to the horticulturist. 
(5) The chapter on the knowledge of 
diseases and insects is also an extremely 
brilliant one. The scientists have made 
themselves nationally and internationally 
famous. A large number of individual 
horticulturists are the most progressive 
that can be found anywhere. It has, how¬ 
ever, an extremely discouraging side to it. 
The horticulturists as a co-operative body 
are far behind the most progressive. 
(6) The chapter on co-operation is 
just beginning to be written. A great 
many vigorous attempts have been made 
but all of these have fallen far short of 
receiving the hearty co-operation of the 
persons interested. 
The whole horticultural situation as 
brought out by my history of its develop¬ 
ment in the last 25 years may be summed 
up in the one sentence,—Our work as in¬ 
dividuals has been the most brilliant that 
can be found anywhere in the world, but 
our team work has fallen so far short of 
what it ought to have been that as in¬ 
dividuals we have had to suffer the sever¬ 
est humiliations, both personal and finan- 
cial. 
With these concluding words I lay be¬ 
fore you, ladies and gentlemen a brief 
study of the development of horticulture 
in Florida as it has occurred during the 
life of Mr. E. O. Painter. I have brought 
out clearly that he has had more to do 
with its correct development than any of 
the younger members can realize. 
