The thing that would strike me particularly about this meeting we are
having is to see people come from so far away; a group that is on fire
with interest in a fruit which has no great economic importance, in a
place like the central west, in comparison with other fruits. Another
thing that is interesting, as contrasted with other fruit groups, would
be this; that the extent to which nuts become of great economic
importance in these places lies very largely with you. It seems to me
that without the insistent desire of a very small minority of people an
industry like this would not get very far.
Ohio has not done as much as she should. You may have come to Ohio to
give us a shot in the arm. On behalf of the Director, I want to extend
to you a cordial welcome to the Experiment Station and to Wooster. This
Station has 3600 acres of land and one-third is at Wooster--1200 acres.
We have 15 district and county farms, 63,000 acres in state forests and
parks.
This station has introduced a number of varieties of wheat. Sixty to
seventy-five per cent of all wheat in Ohio is grown from varieties that
originated at this station.
This station was organized in 1882 at Columbus. The Federal Hatch Act
permitting this type of organization was passed in 1887; thus Ohio was
five years ahead of the Federal Act. In 1892, the station was moved from
Columbus to Wooster. The state act provided that an experiment station
should be located within fifty miles of Columbus, but later it was
permitted to extend the distance to 100 miles. They settled on Wooster,
which is 90 miles.
The tendency is to work more and more closely with the State University.
The trend seems to be so they will function as one agricultural
institution.
I would like to extend the keys of the Station to you, but the keys may
not unlock the fruit storage.