92 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



Dr. Twitcmf.ll: We have with ns the old Secretary of the 

 State Pomological Society, a man who has served the society 

 well and faithfully for years, a man who is interested in po- 

 mology and a man who did an infinite amount of work in 

 "building up the society and keeping up the interest during all 

 the years that he served it. I know we would like to hear from 

 IMr. Knowlton. 



Mr. Kxovvlton : Mr. President and Gentlemen: — I am 

 •exceedingly glad to be here with you and to know of the in- 

 ■creasing interest in the affairs of the society. I feel especially 

 grateful for this, because years ago the society was struggling 

 to make itself felt in the State. At the present time we have 

 •evidence that it has been growing all these years, and I think 

 we may now recognize as a matter of congratulation that its 

 influence in the State is greater and far more important than 

 it ever was before. This influence has only begun, for the 

 work in the future is to be far greater than the work in the 

 •past has been. 



There are certain measures which are pressing hard upon the 

 fruit growers of the State. One is the importance of providing 

 in some way for some general storage of our fruit. We do not 

 ■quite realize that when w^e sell a barrel or a carload of fruit 

 .at the present time it goes to some city and is lield in storage 

 until it is ready for the consumer. Sometimes that extends 

 ■over several months. — in the case of the late keeping varieties 

 four, five or six months, and storage in the city of London or 

 in the city of New York, or Boston, costs a good deal. The 

 farmers do not realize that the cost of that storage must in 

 ■some way come out of what the fruit is actually worth. In 

 •other words, the farmer who produces the fruit has to pay for 

 that storage. What we need throughout the State is some sys- 

 tem of inexpensive storage by which the fruit of the State may 

 "be held economically until it is wanted for market. 



The importance of marketing the fruit is so great that this 

 is a question that we should talk over, it seems to me, and con- 

 sider at every meeting of the society, hoping that eventually 

 some plan will be formulated which will be feasible and helpful 

 to the fruit growers in selling to the best possible advantage 

 their fruit. 



