President’s Annual Address 
H. Harold Hume. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
Upon this, the occasion of our third 
meeting to be held in Orlando, it may 
be interesting to take a general survey of 
our fruit plantings, their nature and ex¬ 
tent. That our present position in the 
world’s horticulture has been reached 
only after great efforts on the part of 
many workers, led on by hope, encour¬ 
aged by example and backed up by 
dogged determination, is apparent, even 
to the most casual observer, and from 
their work, and the heritage which is 
ours, we may learn some lessons of last¬ 
ing worth. 
When we pause to carefully consider 
the status of the fruit-growing indus¬ 
tries in this country, we cannot but be 
impressed both with their diversity and 
their magnitude. Owing to the extent of 
our territory north and south, east and 
west, the variations in altitude from sea- 
level to the tops of our highest moun¬ 
tains, our diverse soil-types, and climatic 
peculiarities, a larger number of differ¬ 
ent fruits can be and are grown on the 
mainland of the United States than are 
usually found within the confines of any 
other single country. 
Not only have our native fruits, in 
many important instances, been improved 
and brought into cultivation, but tribute 
has been laid upon every land which 
could add to the riches of our pomology. 
Grapes and apples from Europe, plums 
from Japan and Europe, pineapples from 
South America, figs from Smyrna, or¬ 
anges from the shores of the Mediterra¬ 
nean, China and Japan, mangoes from In¬ 
dia, avocadoes from Mexico and the West 
Indies, pears from France, England and 
the Orient, Kaki persimmons from 
China, Japan and Korea, the chestnut 
from Europe and Japan, the peach from 
China and elsewhere, bush fruits (rasp¬ 
berry, gooseberry and others) from Eu¬ 
rope, the banana from southern Asia, and 
many more from many, many different 
places. Every nook and corner of the 
earth from the land of the rising to the 
land of the midnight sun has given us of 
its fruits; the bleak, wind-swept steppes 
of Siberia and the steaming jungles of 
India have added to our lists. We have 
laid toll upon the island's beyond the seas 
and the oases of the desert. From bar¬ 
ren hillsides and fertile valleys, from 
dense forest and open prairie, from tiny 
island and vast continent have come 
these strangers to our shores to become 
a part of our national wealth. 
So nearly have we been able to meet the 
requirements of these immigrants that 
most of them have found a congenial 
home in some part of our land. In ad- 
