The President:  I am sure we are very much indebted to President Vincent for this most scholarly and delightful speech.  We hope he can continue with us during the afternoon.  Owing to the fullness of our program this forenoon we are unable to discuss one of our most important subjects, and that was “The Elements of Hardiness,” by Prof.  M. J. Dorsey, member of the Fruit Breeding Section, of the University Farm.  He will discuss that question at this time. (Applause.) (See index.)

The President:  Senator Dunlap, who so delightfully entertained us this morning and instructed us on the subject of “Spraying” will now speak to us on the subject of “Packing and Marketing Apples.” (See index.)

Discussion.

The President:  I am now going to call on a gentleman that hasn’t said a word during our discussions and that is Mr. Weld, and request him to recite his favorite poem.

Mr. Weld recites “The Three Warnings.”

The President:  We have had a very interesting session, had a good time, everything has gone very nicely, but somehow there has been one thing lacking.  The old friends from Iowa have not been with us with one exception, Mr. Ferris, who gave us the lantern talk on Tuesday, but Friend Gardner, Patten, Sherman and several others (I believe Sherman has been in town, but we have not seen him here) have been absent.  The reason for it is that the Iowa people have been holding their annual meeting.  But I am very glad that Mr. Gardner is with us this afternoon, and I am now going to call upon Mr. Charles F. Gardner, of Osage, Iowa.  (Applause.)

Mr. Gardner:  Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen:  I have attended your meetings so long that when I appear here before you I feel as though I had got home.  I have attended every meeting of this society except two since this society held its annual meeting at Lake City the last time.  That is when I joined the society, and since that time a great many things have taken place.  Think it is seventeen or eighteen years ago, in that neighborhood.  I was absent two years.  I went to New Mexico, I went there to die, but luckily I escaped and came back home.  I want to say this, that when I got back to this part of the country, if there was anything I thanked God for it was that I was spared to get back.  I think there is no necessity of emigrating either from Minnesota or Iowa, and people that have traveled over the west and made a tour extending along the Pacific coast and finally get back into this country, this latitude, are generally pretty well satisfied and stay here.  That is, providing they didn’t spend all their money and can not get back here.  Some of our citizens are now stranded out there and will come home whenever they can.

In regard to the progress of horticulture in this length of time, I know you are very much interested in the work of Mr. Patten and a good many of you have trees that he originated.  I want to say that the people of our state of Iowa have not really gotten their eyes open yet in horticultural ways.  They only appropriated for our use $4,000.  We have five societies, the state society—­and then the state is divided into four sections.  In the last few years our state society has appropriated to carry on, to help Mr. Patten carry on his work, we have appropriated and used $4,600.