46 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



THE PRESIDEXT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 

 By John W. True, New Gloucester. 



Ladies and Gentlemen: 



The Alaine State Pomological Society has come together at 

 its twenty-fifth annual meeting. Another year has passed, and 

 the fruit-grower has not been exempt from the varying condi- 

 tions of success and faikire throughout our State. The ]\Iaine 

 State Board of Agriculture in its bulletin for November gives 

 some counties as low an average on quantity of fruit as i6%, 

 and as high as ii8% for x\roostook county, where until within 

 a few years it was thought apples could not be raised. Other 

 counties were given as high as 79% and 85% ; in our own local- 

 ity it is probably no more than 10% of a full crop, and perhaps 

 less than that was harvested, so that we would call the apple 

 crop a failure in our section. So, with two failures in succes- 

 sion, the apple raisers are not very enthusiastic over the subject 

 and are very much inclined to neglect their trees, claiming that 

 there is a more regular and steady profit to be derived from 

 other branches of farming. We are inclined to think it a mis- 

 take, Avhere farmers already have orchards, to neglect them, for 

 in many cases where fruit trees have been well cared for a fair 

 crop has been gathered the past season. In our own case, we 

 are still setting trees, and giving to those already set all the 

 time and dressing we can afTord and carry along our other farm- 

 ing operations. What was the cause of such a wide-spread 

 failure is hard to tell, as the bloom was very good ; but probably 

 it was the condition of the weather at the time of blossoming, 

 as in our section of the State we had very little sun and the bees 

 and other insects were out but two or three half-days and for 

 that reason the blossoms may not have been fertilized or the 

 rain may have washed the pollen out. Early fruit was plenty, 

 and as that usually blossoms a few days in advance of winter 

 varieties, the surroundings may have been more favorable. 



Spraying was given more attention the past season, but the 

 rain, coming as it did every day, partially defeated its good 

 effects, and we are inclined to the opinion that successful apple 

 culture will "simmer down" to those who give the business 



