STATE POMOLOCICAL SOCIETY. II 



dom of Troy with your golden apple of discord, you gave 

 William Tell a bad half hour when you perched on the top of 

 little Tellie's head, and you are responsible for much apple jack 

 and more hard cider. But for all these things we forgive you 

 because of the men and women you have brought to Portland 

 today. 



Members of the Pomological Society, on behalf of the Port- 

 land Board of Trade with its eight hundred and twenty-five 

 members I welcome you, and may your coming draw closer the 

 bonds between your home and our home, so that more and more 

 we may realize that we are neighbors. I congratulate you upon 

 your harvest exhibition. You are steadily raising the standard 

 of the fruit of Maine, and I can assure you that we stand 

 ready to assist you in every way possible. I can understand 

 why laws upon fruit marking have been imperfect in this State 

 in the past. Rigid laws would have been like some of those 

 whist rules, very good if one held the cards. But every year 

 you are now producing an increasing crop of the highest quality, 

 which cannot afford to be dragged down by short sighted and 

 even blind legislation. You all remember the barrel of Maine 

 "Number i" Baldwins purchased last year in the open Boston 

 market and brought down to Augusta and opened there. Hardly 

 a "Number i" Baldwin in the barrel. You may also know of the 

 Maine man in Liverpool who said to a consignee half jokingly, 

 "I should think you would be ashamed to beat down the price 

 of our good Maine apples so." "Do you want to see some?" 

 said the consignee. "Pick out any barrel you want with the 

 Maine label on it and turn it out." And the man did, and he 

 told me afterward that he was the one who felt ashamed. 



And therefore, knowing how the name of the State under 

 present law is liable to be abused we feel the more grateful to 

 you members of the Maine Pomological Society who are doing 

 so much to honor it. We feel that the time must come when 

 the name "Maine apple" shall be such a sacred term that every 

 marking upon the package shall be made to tell the truth, and 

 that no man shall be permitted to inflict an injury upon his 

 neighbor by pulling down the reputation of his State. It all 

 comes out in the market price. T say, therefore, that we want 

 to assist you in whatever you may deem wise and prudent. 



