I will say it is a pleasure to me to be with the Minnesota horticulturists again.  I have met with you quite a number of years but not in the capacity of delegate.  I did not expect to be a delegate this time, thought I would leave the place for some younger man, but there seemed to be no other present, and so I had to accept.  I rather felt as though I was not competent or did not care to take the responsibility of making a report.  I am getting old and a little tired, and I do not like to do so much of that kind of work as I used to.  However, I presume I will have to do the best I can and let it go at that.

I will say you have a wonderful society here.  It is a wonder to me sometimes how you keep up the interest, how to keep up so much interest in this work.  There is no other state in the Union that has such a good, live society.  I attended a great many of the state societies last year.  I had the pleasure of attending the Missouri State Society.  I can say that you discount them and then some.  An old state like Missouri and a fruit state, you might say, it is supposed to be in the fruit belt, and still you fellows up north here have all the vim and the snap and determination to do things that those fellows do not do at all.  It is more in the man, I think sometimes, than it is in the location.

It used to be said that Minnesota was not a fruit state, you could not grow apples in Minnesota.  Well, I believe Mr. Gideon said that if he could not grow apples in Minnesota he would not live there, something to that effect, and he did not intend to leave the state either.  Now, you all know what success he made, and you that follow have a great deal to be thankful for the work he did, and you are hoping—­and I presume you will be successful—­to obtain an apple that is even better than the Wealthy.

I am glad that you take so much interest in this matter of new seedlings.  It will surely develop something some day, there is no question about it.  Of course, you cannot tell when, and you cannot tell who will be the lucky man to get the thousand dollars, but undoubtedly there is more at stake than the thousand dollars; that is a very small item.

I think I will not take up your time.  It is getting on, and I have not thought of making any talk, have nothing prepared and nothing in my head.  I thank you for your attention. (Applause.)

The President:  I am going to call on our good friend, Professor Hansen, secretary of the South Dakota Horticultural Society, who has done so much for us.

Mr. Wedge:  Mr. Hansen is not here.  I just want to say a word that might interest some of the younger members of the society in regard to our friend who has just left the floor, Mr. Whiting, of Yankton.  He is the original Dakota nurseryman, who went out in the days of the pioneers before I think there was any such thing as South Dakota, and he has stayed on the job ever since.  That is not so wonderful, for others, lots of people, have stayed on the job, but he has made money out of the business and got rich.  I think he deserves some very special praise.  (Applause.)