fi AGRICULTURE OF MAINE, 



income besides, they have gone a long way toward winning 

 the confidence of not only the people of the village, but the 

 people on the farms surrounding it as well. This organization, 

 necessarily, would have to instruct the farmers who supply 

 them with milk, under what conditions the milk should be pro- 

 duced — such conditions as the farmers can comply with with- 

 out putting them to extraordinary expense. If the local milk 

 routes were owned by the different Farmers' Unions in the dif- 

 ferent parts of the state, and run in connection with the store, 

 the store itself paying a small profit, and the milk route paying 

 a small profit, it would then become an easy thing, and follow 

 naturally as a part of the business of this concern, to collect 

 and ship the surplus product from that locality. It is, however, 

 unreasonable to suppose that any farmers' organization that 

 handles only a part of the farmers' produce can win the con- 

 fidence of the farmers of the state. It is absolutely necessary 

 that the drudgery attached to all of this work be done, and that 

 it be done openly, so that no one can say that there is an ele- 

 ment of crookedness entering into the transactions. This hav- 

 ing been accomplished, the Farmers' Union is on the road to 

 ultimate prosperity. 



Horticulture. 



The work of the Bureau of Horticulture has been under the 

 management of C. L. Wilkins, who has been ably assisted by 

 S. H. Eaton. The regular routine work of the department has 

 been promptly and efificiently attended to, and, together with 

 this a new departure has been made, calling the attention of 

 country and city dwellers to the beautifying of grounds around 

 their homes. This has met with a response that this department 

 hardly expected. 



Seed Improvement, 



The Seed Improvement work for 1916, as in 191 5, has been 

 under the able management of E. A. Rogers. This work I had 

 hoped this year to make self-supporting, but I found that it 

 was impossible. I feel, however, that the work should be con- 

 tinued, even if it has to be continued as at the present time, or 

 that a special appropriation be made for it. The importance 

 of the work can hardly be overestimated, and especially is this 



