TWENTIETH ANNUAL MEETING. 3 



By the combined efforts of our growers and the men, 

 who were wiUing to work in conjunction with them, our crop 

 of apples proved of the best quaUty and brought large prices. 

 And not only New England, but the West, were looking for 

 them. We have the quality and so the demand for more 

 fruit. We have the farms and the best markets in the world, 

 for they are near our large cities, where the people not only 

 want, but are willing to pay for good fruit. 



We are not obliged to ship our fruit 3,000 miles with 

 railroad freight of $300 per car, but sell largely in our own 

 state. Our New England Fruit Show, held in Boston in 

 1909, has helped to open good markets for our fruit. 



How shall we meet this question? By bringing to a bet- 

 ter standard our old orchards, starting new, giving them bet- 

 ter care. We have planned this year to make an exhibit at 

 the next New England Fruit Show in Boston, and ask each 

 one to help us by growing fine fruit. Connecticut fruit should 

 stand first; let us make it such. 



I wish now only to add that we have a society to be 

 proud of, large in numbers, bound together by a noble work, 

 well worth putting forth our best efforts, and I wish for its 

 future prosperity the same loyal support it has had in the 

 past. 



The President: The next is the report of our Secre- 

 tary, Air. Allies. 



Secretary AIiles : Our worthy President has set the 

 example of presenting a brief and comprehensive report, and 

 I suppose that he intended that the rest of the ofilicers should 

 follow his example. I have only one apology to oft'er for 

 the length of the Secretary's report this year, and that is 

 the fact that we are twenty years old, as you all know, and it 

 seems right and proper that we should take a glance back- 

 ward and note the conditions existing twenty years ago 

 when we began, and compare them with the present situation, 

 and this I have attempted to do to a certain extent. 



