56 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



even with the annual meetings. It is our duty as a society, as 

 progressive men, to raise the standard of practice in pomolog- 

 ical work, and for that reason it seems to me that the educa- 

 tional feature of the society should be emphasized. I say this 

 with a full recognition of the very valuable labors that our offi- 

 cers have been putting forth for a number of years. We all 

 recognize the earnest efforts which Secretary Knowlton has 

 put forth to raise the standard of the work of the society, and as 

 I look into this new report I can say that I am proud of the 

 showing which the report of this society makes as compared 

 with that of the other leading State societies. There are very 

 few of the State societies which send out a report which will 

 rank higher than that of our own. But I say we must come to 

 the support of our officers and make our meetings specially 

 educational in their nature so far as it is possible for us to do. 



Now there has been in the past a certain amount of complaint 

 made at some of the rulings of our experts that we get here from 

 other states, at some of the rulings of our fruit committees, in 

 reference to the exhibits. They cut pretty close home some- 

 times. But what is the reason for that? There is not a man 

 here, I am sure, who does not, if he stops to reason with himself, 

 recognize that there is a principle behind all that. Your com- 

 mittees will say that fruit is not up to a standard of excellence, 

 and it is our business, our duty, as loyal members of the society, 

 to raise that standard of excellence, and I am glad to say that 

 the standard is very much higher now than it was five years ago. 

 I say it is our duty to raise the standard and show the people 

 what varieties, if we come to a study of varieties, are valuable for 

 our State; to refuse to grant gratuities to unworthy varieties, 

 and to compel observance of the rules of the society as laid 

 down. This then is one of the educational features. 



Another of the educational features is to get at some of the 

 reasons for our work, to study methods of culture, disseminate 

 varieties and communicate ideas. At the present time the busi- 

 ness man, the man with a broad training, is the one who "gets 

 there" if I may be allowed such an expression. It is not the 

 man that knows simply how to cultivate fruits, but it is the man 

 who knows how to market. As I go into our fruit stores in the 

 city of Bangor, I find the California fruits everywhere, — I find 



