FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
25 
Horticultural Society has been through. 
It is rather unpleasant to remember that 
we have had freezes in Florida, but some- 
of us remember them. But undoubtedly 
it is a good thing that everything is not 
smooth sailing all the time. If it were, 
I don’t know what would become of us. 
I think a good many of us have been 
in the same position as the little boy 
James Whitcomb Riley wrote about when 
he saw the effect of an earthquake. There 
was something pretty terrible to it. He 
saw the chasms in the ground where the 
earth had been rift, and this is the way he 
expressed it: 
“What’s a boy to think, 
And what’s a boy to do, 
And where’s a boy a going 
When the world busts through?” 
Some of us have seen the world when 
it looked as though it had “busted 
through” once or twice, and it was not 
pleasant, but at the same time we have 
gotten into pretty good times now, and 
Florida as a whole is what may be deem¬ 
ed prosperous. 
My colleague has spoken about Jack¬ 
sonville, and expressed the sentiments of 
everyone of us as to its being such a won¬ 
derful city. I wonder how many of us 
really know what a wonderful State we 
have behind this city? I wonder how 
many of us know that our coast line, for 
example, 1,100 miles, is equivalent to the 
coast line of ten States to the north of 
us ? If one were to start at our northwest 
extremity and go to Fernandina on the 
northeast, along the coast, he would have 
traveled practically 1,100 miles, and if he 
traveled up the coast an equal distance he 
would reach Cape Cod, Mass. With such 
an extent of sea coast, there is bound to 
be a most wonderful climate. With its 
climate, and location, and isothermal 
lines running in such a way, we can grow 
fruits not generally grown in any other 
part of the United States. In that area 
we grow so many different fruits that I 
will not take time to mention them. But 
we all admit we have a most wonderful 
fruit-growing country. It is, of course, 
in connection with the growing of fruit 
that we are chiefly interested, but, as Mr. 
Conroy has stated, there are other things 
besides fruit we are interested in, and I 
am sure that our society will agree that 
this matter of schools is something in 
which we are greatly interested. I can 
say the same of the good roads move¬ 
ment. We are to have an address by Mr. 
Hoyt, the superintendent of construction 
of the United States Department of Ag¬ 
riculture, with stereopticon views, so you 
can see, Mr. Conroy, we are interested in 
that subject. 
I do not know that I have anything 
more to say, Mr. President, except to ex¬ 
tend to the Board of Trade and to Pres¬ 
ident Conroy the most sincere thanks of 
this society for the hearty welcome they 
have given us. 
