Address of Welcome. 
By Col. Horatio Davis. 
Mr. President } Ladies and Gentlemen: 
As mayor of this city, it gives me great 
pleasure to welcome you to Gainesville, 
and in the words of Shakespeare’s charac¬ 
ter, “I say to thee and to thy company, 
I bid a hearty welcome.” Horticulture, 
as the dictionaries say, is that department 
of agriculture which relates to the culti¬ 
vation of flowers, fruits and vegetables, 
and where can such cultivation be more 
important than in a state with twelve 
hundred miles of sea coast, over seven 
hundred miles long, and every acre of 
land within that state tempered by sea 
breezes ? 
The Bible tells us that one of the first 
commands given by God after He had 
created the earth, was for it to bring 
forth fruit, every tree after its own kind. 
As soon as He had created man, He said 
to him, “I give you the fruit from these 
trees for your food.” It is to be sup¬ 
posed that when the trees came forth 
from the hand of God, it and its fruit 
were perfect, but as time passed, neglect 
worked its inevitable result, and the tree 
with its fruit deteriorated. As I under¬ 
stand it, one of the endeavors of this so- 
cietv is to learn how to bring back to 
that tree and its fruit, its pristine per¬ 
fection. 
It has been said that Florida has eight 
months summer and four months warm 
weather. We who live in Florida know 
that this is not so. We know that we 
have four months summer and eight 
months pleasant weather, and there are 
but few days in which the horticulturist 
or agriculturist cannot work. Where else 
in the world have you such a field for 
your labor? Where else are such flow¬ 
ers, fruits and vegetables awaiting scien¬ 
tific research facing him as in Florida? 
It is a public benefactor who causes two 
blades of grass to grow where one grew 
before. Is he not a public benefactor 
who tells us how to make our fruit and 
vegetables perfect, and how to adorn our 
homes with beautiful flowers, and that, 
I understand, is one of the objects of 
your association, and here, during this 
meeting, we will be told by a number of 
gentlemen how that object is to be ac¬ 
complished. 
With such objects in view by your 
society, is it surprising that there is no 
city that is not proud to entertain you and 
feel honored by your presence? 
It is customary on occasions of this 
kind for the speaker to present to the 
guests, the key of the city, but as Gaines¬ 
ville is hospitable, she keeps no keys. Our 
doors are wide open, and I say to you as 
mayor of the city, “Walk in and take pos¬ 
session.” 
