If I remember rightly, this society was organized in 1867.  It has assumed a definite leadership in the development of horticulture in the state of Minnesota; the university has gradually been adapting itself, so to speak, to the work of this society.  The society and the university have officially been in close relationship.  I believe that in the early days the secretary was at the same time a university officer and for the last twenty-five years, I am told that at least one expert of the university staff has always been a member of the executive board of this society.  This has made a personal bond.

Then the society has done a great many important things.  You have stood by at times when people were not perfectly certain about the importance of various kinds of scientific work.  You have been steadfast.  Sometimes it required courage to stand for the scientific ideals which the university was attempting to carry out in important work that had a bearing upon horticulture.

And you have, of course, the chief responsibility and distinction of having seen to it that our fruit-breeding farm should be established.  I believe you were also kind enough to pick out the site, although none of you were personally interested in the particular real estate ultimately purchased.

So that we feel—­we of the university feel—­that the work of horticulture in this state is distinctly a co-operative undertaking, and that the leadership and enterprise and vision of this society have been the chief things that developed horticulture in Minnesota to the point it has reached.  But we do believe that the co-operation of your university is an important and, we hope, from now on will be an increasingly important thing.  Certain work is going on constantly at the University in the various departments, and that work is of distinct benefit because you recognize it.

We had a good illustration a few minutes ago.  The professor of soils was having his brains picked, as he had a perfect right to have, by you.  You were asking him questions, and I noticed once or twice he said he didn’t know.  That must have inspired confidence in him; I have a good deal of faith in people who don’t know it all.  That shows two things—­they have a sense of humor, and they expect to find out.  There is something pathetic in a person who knows it all; it is a case of arrested development.

So out of the department of soils you expect to get the result of careful and scientific study of the nature of soils.  From the department of plant pathology you expect to learn about the various forms of plant diseases and the way in which these may be eliminated.  From the department of entomology you expect to learn something about the troublesome insects, which are so universal an annoyance.  I think they simply exist to test our character, to see whether we have courage to go on, bugs or no bugs.  We do the best we can to become familiar with the