50 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



quart of cream any way. An apple tree is an apple tree. You 

 understand what I mean. It is a question in my mind just 

 how to get at the accuracy of the amount of apples in this 

 state, whether you have the correct number of trees. You 

 depend upon the ten year census. When that is given, one 

 man will figure up every apple tree that he can possibly think 

 of on his place and put in ; another man will make a guess ; I 

 question the accuracy of that. I know one man who was a 

 village resident who wanted to take the census, and when he 

 got into the country he went to one farmer. "Now," he said, 

 ''you give me your crops, your stock, and all that sort of thing 

 as is required, and I am going to estimate — I don't know 

 much about these things — I am going to estimate the rest of the 

 town by yours." I question the accuracy of the census in many 

 respects ; I think that there may be errors in the total amount 

 of apples produced in this state, coming from a lack of knowl- 

 edge of the number of trees. As the crop is given in the state — 

 not claiming to know very much about it, not nearly so much as 

 some of these apple men — it seems to me that the crop is too 

 large, as given by the department. 



Mr. Sanders : Mr. Robinson has touched upon another 

 fundamental difficulty that stands squarely in the way, and that 

 is, that undoubtedly the estimates that are made are much 

 greater than the commercial crop. There is no doubt about that, 

 because our estimates cover what is known as the agricultural 

 crop, that is, the entire volume of everything that is called 

 apples. Apples, on the other hand, among you fruit men, are 

 thought of as part of the total crop which is sold or handled 

 as eating apples. You never think of culls and cider stock as 

 apples. But our estimates are based upon the whole business 

 and necessarily include all that might be called rubbish. Nec- 

 essarily they are materially above what the commercial apple 

 crop is, and we recognize that as one of the greatest problems 

 that we have, the complete absence of the necessary basic 

 information. That is, if we knew exactly what the commercial 

 crop here in Maine and in every other state in the country is 

 in any given year, then I think it would be practicable and 

 possible, if the apple men would come forth with generous 

 cooperation and, using this method I have indicated, I believe 



