Introduction of the Question Box 
E. O. Painter, Secretary. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
Sometimes the box has been too small 
to contain all the questions asked. So 
this time I prepared one capable of hold¬ 
ing all the questions. 
'.Please bear in mind that any one who 
wishes to ask a question on an agricul¬ 
tural topic can do so. We know there 
are a good many farmers and horticultu¬ 
rists who are not able to get up and give 
their experiences before an audience. If 
any one wants to ask a question on the 
floor, he has that privilege, or if he has 
stage fright so bad he can’t talk at all 
before an audience, he can drop the writ¬ 
ten question in the box. The questions 
may be answered from the floor; if not, 
an effort will be made to answer them in 
the proceedings. You are all welcome 
to patronize the box with whatever ques¬ 
tions may be of general interest. 
Sometimes things happen that are not 
laid down in the program. It may be a 
little out of order, but I am now going 
to take a little privilege as Secretary. 
I have been a member of this Society 
ever since it was organized; in fact, look¬ 
ing at the list, I find there are only two 
other charter members alive today—Mr. 
Gaitskill and Mr. Hart—besides myself. 
So far, I am the only representative here 
of that number. 
Under ordinary circumstances I would 
not have said anything, but we are com¬ 
ing here to my home town—the place 
where I came nearly tairty-seven years 
ago. As I look over this audience 
I see many familiar faces; faces that I 
used to know in knee dresses—why not 
in knee dresses? They used to run 
around in knee dresses before they got 
them longer. 
Mr. Connor: No boys in that crowd? 
*Mr. Painter: I have not finished yet. 
Shall I say, the boys in knee skirts? 
Some of the grown men I see here I have 
seen in knee skirts. The boys and girls 
of my early days I now see around here 
with gray hair; some of them are in my 
own head—the gray hairs, I mean. 
(Laughter.) 
I have always stood up for DeLand as 
one of the best places in the whole State 
of Florida: They say it is a poor crow 
that won’t croak for its own nest. I am 
glad to stand before you tonight and 
say (that in all (the twenty-five annual 
meetings of the Horticultural Society I 
have never seen as fine and large and en¬ 
thusiastic gathering at the opening meet- 
a s is here tonight. Therefore, my 
heart is proud of the Horticultural Socie¬ 
ty, and it is proud that I have had a part 
in making it as it is. When we go back 
twenty-five years—it doesn’t seem long 
to look back over that length of time, 
