Middletown transcript., 1898-03-12
PRESIDENTS ANNUAL ADDRESS
BEFORE PENINSULA HORTI-
CULTURAL SOCIETY.

| HhESIOEAI'S ANNUAL ADDhESS
BEFORE PENINSULA HORTI-
CULTURAL SOCIETY.
Meeting Held at Snow Hill. Nd, Jan
uary 12, 18, Il. 1895.
Fellow Members of the Peninsula
Horticultural Society:
i Again a kind Providence has spared
us to meet as horticulturis!s after 8
year Of additional experiences. They
have been varied, but doubtless in.
struciive TO ourselves, and our presence
here is in some measure an expression
of desire to give others the benefit that
may have been derived, and in turn to
get good from them. We are to have
with US invited guests from other
States, who are eminent in their know
ledge and ability to help US. 1t is
pleasing, indeed, to feel and know that
We can so easily avail ourselves Of all
these benefits. and, perhaps, in turn do
good to others. How unlike the ordi-
nary business man is the tiller Of the
soil2 Who, merchant, or mechanic, or
inventor is ready to give to his fellow
man the secrets of his success, when
there is any chance of him becoming
thereby competitor in businessP
Not long since I was talking with a
prominent grower of export apples,
who said to me: "What fools we fruit
growers are. to publish all we know
about our business" He very forci-
bly, went on to express the idea that as
soon as we find some better variety,
some improved method of culture, good
location or new market we rush into
print and tell everyone else of it; so
that, it is not long until the business is
generally understood in all its details
and perhaps over done. Then no one
can make much out of it.
Now this is quite true in theory, but
not SO generally in practice; and, why
not? Because it is not in human nat
ure generally to take the pains to ac-
curately. follow the directions that
are necessary to success. A few may
do so. and even improve upon the pre-
vious ideas. Why do we not have
first-class fruits grown and marketed
more commonly than poor, wormy,
scabby stuff Are best varieties and
the best methods of manuring, culti-
waiting, sprayiDg thinning, sorting and
packing not generally knownp Verify
they are. But how many do them all;
or even a part of them thoroughlyp
1t is true that we are apt to rush into
the planting Of some cheap and easily
grown fruit like the Kieffer pear, the
Elherta peach, the Concord grape, or
the Ben Davis apple, but, who grows
and markets faultless Bartlett or An
jou pears, or Brighton grapes that will
always bring top price in fancy mar
ket? recently met the Steward of the
Waldorf Hotel in New York city, who
was trying to learn from me where he
could find such fruit to put on his din
ing tables as he saw on the exhibition
tables. He said he would glady pay
good price for that which was really
choice. / could only give him the
names of few growers who I thought
might satisfy him.
Now what may we learn from these
suggestions? If anything, this: That
we need not be stingy Of our knowledge;
"freely we have received, freely give."
That there is room for very much of
Improvement in all our ways of doing
things. Our information is far ahead
of our practice. We talk of over pro-
production, and there is an over-pro-
duction of poor fruits and vegetables;
but there is not of such as is really
choice, and, perhaps, there never will
be.
1t would be folly to say that our in
sect enemies and fungous diseases are
not o serious drawback to all branches
Of horticulture. Indeed they some
times utterly destroy our crops. But
were it not for them 1t would be almost
too easy to produce good fruits and
vegetables in great abundance. They
make the wide.awake and industrious
struggle to get to the head Of the line
and keep the ignorant and lazy 10 the
rear where they belong. These ap-
parently Insignificant, yet mighty
enemies, by reason of their stealthy |
habits and countless myriads, keep US
on the alert. And who is not the bet
ter for being busyp In the tropics |
where things grow 10 almost boundless
and with very little labor,
there is less Of happiness and sterling |
character. Our battles for supremacy
over nature bring out the best there is
in US. From business standpoint, it
may be, that the dreaded Sa n Jose
Scale will be a blessing, by causing us
to have laws enacted and to look after
all our insect enemies and the fungous
diseases too; and far better than If We
had never heard Of it. There are two
sides to all these questions Of our
troubles in horticulture. Let us look