STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 43 



■cannot pay too much attention to what we meet with in the 

 "world, especially in the world of nature. 



Dr. TwiTCHELL — The work started by this pomological 

 society a few years ago, seems to me, was at the time and is 

 to-day beyond the comprehension of the members of the society 

 in its magnitude. Unconsciously, I believe, and yet as a result 

 of the agitation of the question through the press and by the 

 pomological society we are finding that far more attention is 

 being given to the decoration of the lawns and yards about the 

 rural homes than at any time in the past. I have been surprised 

 during the last month in driving forty or fifty miles through the 

 country to find the number of farm homes wdiere you will find 

 the lawns graded, more or less, and closely cut and something 

 being done in the way of decoration. I have also been pleased 

 to see how some of our florists are agitating the display of 

 'flowers about the house, both for decoration and for bloom. At 

 any rate it seems to me that this is a step in advance of what 

 they have been doing in the past. There is no way to extend 

 the influence of the society so quickly as by object lessons. I 

 remember down in the provinces as I was driving along, I came 

 to two houses exactly alike, on opposite sides of the road. In 

 the }-ard and room of one house I saw plants in bloom, in the 

 door of the other house stood a hog. I think we can always 

 judge something of the home by its surroundings. I remember 

 in Aroostook how I was impressed in driving among the French 

 .settlements to see the flowers and plants around those homes and 

 I certainly think they had some appreciation of the beautiful. 



I think a society that can strengthen that love for the beauti- 

 ful, as well as for the useful, for the fruits as well as for the 

 flowers, and enlarge the scope of thought and purpose in this 

 good old State of ours will do a work the benefit of which to 

 the State is beyond computation. It means earnest, persistent 

 effort, beginning as the society has with the field meeting at 

 the hospital and this little exhibition of fruits and flowers. I 

 was very glad as I stepped into the hall to hear the secretary 

 speaking of giving more attention to the cemeteries, school 

 buildings and churches. A\'hy should our churches stand with- 

 out some outside adornment ; why should they not be made 

 perfect with running vines, and blossoming plants ; why should 



