FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
157 
as this lady speaks about, and we have 
no one else to thank but Mrs. Kate Gay. 
We have some of the prettiest parks 
there are in the State of Florida. 
Mr. Skinner: Those of us who have 
been in California are the only ones who 
can fully appreciate Mrs. McAdow’s pa¬ 
per. 
I think it would be a fine thing if that 
paper she has just read were published 
in every paper in the State. I move that 
the Secretarv be instructed to have it 
published in some paper, and that every 
paper in the State be requested to copy 
it. 
Motion seconded and carried. 
Mr. Hume: Mr. Painter^ you are in¬ 
structed to look after that matter. Any 
further discussion on this topic? 
Mr. Prouty: About a year ago I 
wrote a check for a Southern Homestead 
for my wife. She followed out in ad¬ 
vance the suggestions and carried out the 
possibilities that have been outlined in 
the paper just read. Today, our place 
is one of the most beautiful in that part 
of the State. People drive by to see it. 
Two families have decided to move their 
houses in our neighborhood, influenced 
by these improvements, and we have 
never said a word to them. 
The same lady has been instrumental 
in having the school house moved, and 
it is being covered with paint and orna¬ 
mented on the inside, and the playground 
and the yard is being fixed up so as to 
outvie the attractions of a city. 
It is not necessary to have a city home 
to have it beautiful. 
I mention these things to emphasize 
the possibilities of the lady’s paper as 
within the reach of everybody who lives 
in the country. We lived in Chicago over 
twenty-five years, but would not trade 
our beautiful Southern home, with the 
people we have for neighbors, for the 
whole, blooming old Chicago. 
Mrs. Prange: I want to make a little 
explanation that I think may be of in¬ 
terest. We all agree that Mrs. Me Ado w 
handles the subject of ornamentals ex¬ 
tremely well. It was left to a gentleman 
at Miami to explain why. He said it 
was because she was so ornamental her¬ 
self. (Applause.) 
Mr. Skinner : When I came back from 
California, I went down to Mr. Reason- 
er and bought some palms. My exper¬ 
ience with palms is that they stand still 
a long time before they start. I stopped 
at Mr. Brown’s place that day and he 
had a beautiful one there. He said it 
stood there two years before it hardly 
made a leaf. When I bought this from 
Mr. Reasoner’s man, I (said, ‘Tsn’t 
there something I can do to make 
them grow right away?” He told me, 
“If you dig a $5.00 hole and put in 
your 25-cent plant you will be assured 
of the result.” Fertilizer is what 
is needed. If you are going to 
plant palms, you have to make the soil 
rich underneath; that is what you have 
to do. 
Mr. Pierce: This last two years I have 
been played out, so I have been putting 
out flowers. I have been carrying some 
mighty nice bouquets in town, and I was 
amply repaid by the smiles from the 
good-looking ladies I gave them to. mit 
the old lady thought I was putting in a 
good lot of time gathering those flowers 
