Part 94 (2/2)

(Applause.)

The President: Is Professor Waldron in the room? Here he comes. He is the leading light of North Dakota and a gentleman who has been with us before. (Applause.)

Mr. Waldron: These people will think North Dakota is a dark place if this is a leading light. What is the occasion of this?

The President: Tell us your troubles.

Mr. Waldron: When we had a good wheat crop we did not have any troubles.

We forget our other troubles whenever we can get something like 100 million bushels of wheat. Our horticultural troubles have been quite numerous. We had a frost every year, including July. We started in on the ninth day of June with a frost that killed everything in sight except a few cottonwood trees and things like that, but all of our tomatoes, which were in blossom by the way at that time because we had a favorable spring, and plums and apples went the same way. I think a few of the late blooming plums managed to survive. The frost in July did not hurt very much but the frost in August certainly finished us.

Mr. Latham: The reporter is taking all that.

Mr. Waldron: Our reputation is so good, we can own up to calamity once in a while. Of course, if our reputation was not better than others we would have to keep it dark, but inasmuch as nature favors us so continuously we can own up when we get b.u.mped. The August frost put our corn out of business, so we are around with long fingers trying to steal seed corn.

However, a great many of the people of the state are looking forward to the matter of planting trees as never before, and our farmers and citizens are taking more interest in general tree planting and beautifying the homes than in previous years. I had this term a large cla.s.s of students in landscape gardening. They will go out to the places where they live and encourage the planting of trees and landscape gardening there. In this matter of general ornamentation the frosts or other calamities have not discouraged us. I think there were more trees grown and more ornamental work done this year than in any two previous years because the men have the money and are willing to spend it. I was out on a farm last week where a man insisted on buying a thousand evergreen trees. The nurseryman tried to sell him only five hundred, but he would not have it that way. He wanted a thousand. He said he had the money and was going to pay for them; so he planted the thousand trees.

We do not recommend such rashness on the part of our farmers, but it shows when a farmer insists on having a thousand trees he is taking the beautifying of his grounds seriously. This is perhaps an extreme case, but we have others working along the same line.

I certainly enjoy the privilege of being with you people here again as I have for the last quarter of a century, twenty-five years ago, when I was made an honorary member of this society, and I do not know of any prouder moment in my whole career than when you saw fit to honor me in that manner. I certainly would never forgive myself for the balance of the year if I failed to attend these meetings. (Applause.)

Mr. Philips: Waldron is too modest. He has not told the best thing he ever did in North Dakota, so I shall. I visited him a good many years ago, and he had some interesting boys there, especially the oldest one, and I told him that if he was going to keep ahead of that boy he would have to hustle, and now that boy at nineteen has the ability to go to one of the southern states as a professor. So he didn't tell us the greatest thing he ever did. Maybe some of the credit is due to his wife; that is the way it is at my house. (Applause.)

Mr. Waldron: I am so far behind that boy I am sort of jealous. I do not mention it.

The President: The secretary of the Wisconsin Horticultural Society is with us, Professor Cranefield. Is he in the room?

Mr. Cranefield: Mr. Graves, of Sturgeon Bay, is the duly accredited delegate to the society and probably you want to hear from him.

The President: We heard from him two or three days ago, and we will hear from him again, but just now we want you to give us a few words. This is Professor Cranefield, who has contributed on previous occasions to the success of our meetings. (Applause.) (See index.)

The President: I will now call on Professor Mackintosh, who is going to read a paper at this time.

Mr. Mackintosh: Yesterday I had to start the ball rolling as a subst.i.tute for a man from Was.h.i.+ngton, and with the a.s.sistance of Miss Bull we kept most of you here until after 12 o'clock. Today I am put ahead of the program, so you won't hear me tomorrow afternoon. The subject is, ”Bringing the Producer and Consumer Together.”

Mr. Mackintosh reads paper. (Applause.)

The President: I regret very much that time will not permit us to discuss this very able paper. Secretary Latham has just called my attention to the fact that there has been but very few tickets bought for the banquet this evening. You understand it takes time to prepare food, and he has to announce just how many people would be present, and I sincerely hope that those of you who intend to attend the banquet (and I trust that will be every one present) will get your tickets immediately. It is the very best part of our program. Please get your tickets so that Secretary Latham may know how to prepare for you.

At this time recess was taken until 1:30 o'clock p.m.

December 9, 1915, Afternoon Session.

Discussion on ”The Topworked Orchard,” led by A. J. Philips, Wisconsin.

(See index.)

The President: The next order of business will be the election of officers for the coming year. The secretary just handed me this slip which gives you an idea of the requirements in order to be eligible to vote for officers. (Reads extracts from const.i.tution.) The first will be the selection of a president for the coming year. Nominations are in order.

Mr. Bradley: Mr. President, it is said that republics are ungrateful, but it is not necessary for horticultural societies to be ungrateful. It has been, I think, in the past, and I hope it may continue to be in the future, the policy of this society to recognize the services of its officers and so we, I think, are justified in recognizing the distinguished and efficient services of our present presiding officer. I take great pleasure in placing in nomination for president of this society the Honorable Thomas E. Cashman. (Applause.)

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