STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 1 25 



Hon. A. \\'. GiLMANj Commissioner of Agriculture, Augusta, 



Maine. 



I just want to say to the peoj^le that I am very glad to meet 

 with you here this morning. The first time that I learned that 

 I was to have an address for this occasion, it came from my 

 friend Air. Boardman of Bangor. He wrote me that he wanted 

 a synopsis of the address that I was to deliver here this morning. 

 The Department of Agriculture is very much interested in the 

 State Pomological Society. We have a man with us well trained 

 in this part of the great farm work. 



The apple is the king of fruit and it reigns supreme the year 

 round. That is the beauty about the apple. It is not a fruit 

 that is for a little while, a short time, but it is year-round. 



I have with me today on my force a gentleman who is well 

 versed in this line of work, Prof. Card, and I told your Presi- 

 dent sometime ago that if he would let us know when this meet- 

 ing was to occur, that we would suspend the Farmer's Institute 

 and I would bring my forces down here and we would take you 

 by storm. We are here this morning. I am not going to 

 deliver an address along the line of fruits, but I am going to say 

 this, that the Department of Agriculture through Prof. Hitch- 

 ings has done much this year towards this special line of work. 

 You know that news came to us that a larger per cent of our 

 apple trees this year were destroyed than any previous year, and 

 the professor set himself — after consulting with the officers of 

 the Pomological Society about it — he set himself to work, by 

 employing men, to see if he could investigate and learn what was 

 the cause, and to prevent it in the coming years if possible. Just 

 how far the professor has got along with this, I don't know. I 

 haven't seen him for some time. I assure you the Department 

 of Agriculture is with you in this work. At any time and under 

 all circumstances you will have the entire support of the whole 

 department. 



I thank you for the opportunity of saying this, and I was very 

 glad of the opportunity when you asked my people to come 

 down. We have got some bright men on our force doing insti- 

 tute work, and they will be here at your service during the day 

 and the evening; and I especially want some of you people to 

 know what this man from across the line says about their fruit 



