18 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



hinted at, the late winter varieties were too green to be shown at their 

 best, but the autumn fruits were large, well colored and handsome. 

 One thin<y was verj' noticeable in the exhibition of fruit and that is 

 the increased interest in the winter varieties. 



A new and attractive feature of the exhibition was the display 



of plants made by school children of Lewiston and Auburn. The 



plants were arranged around the elevator shaft and the stairway 



leading to the cupola. By request of Mr. Gilbert, the secretary 



prepared the following summary of the window garden department 



for publication in the Maine Farmer. This summary is as follows : 



Origin. As a part of a horticultural exhibition, or horticultural 



work, the plan originated, we think, with Mrs. H. L. T. Walcott, 



of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The committee in 



that society who have had special charge of the work were Mrs. 



Walcott and Mr. M. B. Faxon. It has outgrown the limits to 



which it was first confined, and now several hundred dollars are 



expended in this work and several exhibitions held. Secretary 



Knowlton of the Pomological Society first called the attention of 



the society to the subject of window gardening for the children. 



Interest was shown in the matter, which was finally referred by 



the executive committee to President Pope and Secretary Knowlton 



to work up for the fair. 



Object. Too little atteniioQ is given to the study of plant life, 

 and it is believed that the care of a plant for a few months by a 

 child will teach the child something of iuterest about the plant, and 

 he will learn something about the plant, how it grows and what 

 makes it grow. A few things learned of one plant will encourage 

 the child to study other plants, and in the end interest him in all 

 that grows on the farm or in the garden. 



Meditim. Dr. Twitchell gave tlie society $10 to be used for 

 premiums. L. F. Abbott gave for the same purpose ten annual 

 subscriptions to Vick's Magazine, and D. H. Knowlton & Co. for 

 the same purpose presented twenty annual subscriptions to their 

 school papers. President Pope and L. F. Abbott also presented 

 potted plants, and other plants were purchased and distributed to 

 the children, who were expected to care for the plants, etc. To all 

 who returned their plants, free tickets were furnished by the Agri- 

 cultural Society, admitting to the park one day, Thursday. The 

 children carried their plants to one of the school houses at the 

 appointed time, received their tickets, and the plants were taken to 



