8 AGRICULTURE OP MAINE. 



tion of southern Maine; 1 have spent hours and days trying to 

 get people to spray their trees, to do pruning and take better 

 care of their orchards, and I fully realize how hard it is to get 

 people to do anything along this line. Although this Society 

 has been working in the State for a great many years and put- 

 ting in hard work, nevertheless you can go into many parts of 

 Maine today and see old orchards which, if the trees were 

 properly sprayed, the dead limbs pruned, the cavities cared for, 

 and the ground fertilized, could be made to yield many times 

 more in quantity and fruit of much better quality. In the 

 West, especially along the Pacific coast, where I was a few 

 years ago, I found that they took the very best care of their 

 fruit trees. They kept them under the highest cultivation and 

 as a consequence made them yield the maximum in quality and 

 quantity. There is only one thing for us to do, and that is 

 what this Society is doing, — to go out amongst the people, 

 make our beautiful displays of fruit, as you see here this 

 evening, that are obtained under scientific treatment, build up 

 a permanent school of instruction, and bring home to the indi- 

 vidual by actual practical tests the fact that they must do these 

 things in order to accomplish the best results. We cannot 

 stand still. We must either progress or go backwards. 



You could have selected no better city than Augusta in which 

 to hold this meeting. She, today, is the convention city of the 

 State. There is every reason why she should lead the other 

 cities in this respect. She is centrally located. She has ample 

 accommodations to provide for the welfare and comfort of all 

 comers. When a few years ago she found that her accommo- 

 dations were inadequate for all who wished to come, the citi- 

 zens ])ut their shoulders to the wheel, got down into their 

 pockets and the present Augusta House is the result. There 

 wasn't a citizen who ventured in that movement who expected 

 to get the full return on his money. It was purely and simply 

 a public spirited movement. Recently the Maine Teachers' As- 

 sociation met here, numbering some 2,700. I think it was one 

 of 'the greatest conventions that was ever held among the 

 teachers. They were highly pleased with the reception and 

 care they received while in the city and agreed to come and see 

 us again. And that is the way we are going to make you feel 

 before you go away. Our homes are all open to you, to stay 

 as long as you will. 



