STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 7I 



years gone by, and I can assure you we have relaxed no effort 

 to bring you the best things there are in fruit culture. How- 

 ever much you may enjoy our meeting I can assure you we shall 

 be made equally happy by being among you again. Again, I 

 thank you for your greeting, and in behalf of our society prom- 

 ise you the best we can bring for your entertainment. 



THE PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 

 By John W. True, New Gloucester. 



Ladies and Gentlemen : 



It is pleasant for us to meet the people of Winthrop at this the 

 annual winter meeting of the Maine State Pomological Society. 

 We are again assembled at the place of its birth in 1873, ^"d it is 

 well for us to look back and see the steady growth of our society 

 from that time until the present. 



Then we were few in numbers, but strong in the faith that by 

 hard work, good could be accomplished; and it was all hard 

 work, for they had little money to "grease the ways" at that 

 time, and until recently we have had but $500 per year from the 

 State. The balance of all the funds the society has paid out, 

 for premiums at our annual fairs, for speakers at all of our meet- 

 ings and all the expenses of the society have come as the result 

 of our own efforts. Now we are receiving $1,000 annually from 

 the State, and we have succeeded in paying all the indebtedness 

 to our permanent fund, which amounts at the present time to 

 $1,300, the interest of which goes towards our annual expenses. 

 It is our earnest hope and charge to our successors that, if it is 

 possible for them to honorably avoid it, they shall never again 

 encroach upon that fund; and there should be an earnest effort 

 made to induce more of our fruit-growers and fellow-citizens to 

 become life members of the society, as that is the only way for 

 us to enlarge our permanent fund, or at least, it is the only way 

 in which it has been accumulated. In other states, similar 

 organizations have been the recipients of donations and 

 bequests, but I fear it will be a long time before our society will 

 be so fortunate, therefore we must depend upon our own efforts 



