STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Ill 



I am very glad to be here at the Experiment Station of the 

 University of Maine for the purpose of viewing the work which 

 has been done here and which is being done. 



I am glad of another thing. I don't know how many years 

 ago it was, but it certainly was within my recollection when I 

 visited the University— it was State College then— the campus 

 and this location which has been made so beautiful in recent 

 years was, — well, I don't know, I believe I told one of the trus- 

 tees of the institution that it looked a good deal like a God-for- 

 saken place if I knew what such a place was, and that feeling 

 was intensified quite a good deal from the fact that it so hap- 

 pened that this visit was in the spring of the year, and those of 

 you who have ever tramped over the ground in the spring of 

 the year and know what Orono mud is know my feelings when 

 I came here and found that it was almost impossible to get 

 around here anywhere without getting into the mud. Well, I am 

 very glad indeed that to a large extent those conditions have 

 been wiped out. I think very little of this decorative work here 

 was done before Prof. Munson came here, and it seems to me — 

 I don't know how the University people themselves may feel in 

 regard to the matter — but it seems to me that this society and 

 the visitors here certainly owe Prof. Munson a large debt for 

 the beautiful work which he has done in bringing out the nat- 

 ural beauties of this campus, in making it one of the most beau- 

 tiful college campuses in the New England States. I have 

 visited several — I don't know of any that are more attractive. 



It seems to me that there isn't a hall here, or a building here 

 which is any more attractive in its settings than Fernald hall 

 right across the way, and nearly every tree and shrub that is 

 placed around it came from within ten miles of Orono, perhaps 

 less than that. It is worthy of the study of every one here, 

 especially of every one who has looked upon a church with no 

 decorations around, and very few churches in the State of Maine 

 have any decorations around them. And yet of all the spots 

 in the State that ought to be'made beautiful and lovely are the 

 churches. Again there are our school-houses, our school- 

 grounds — how few there are of those that have any decoration 

 to make them attractive to the children. They should be the 

 most beautiful spots, if possible, in the whole communit'y. So 

 I say that today, if as a result of this meeting we can impress 



