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THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



of us. (Applause). The southern CaHfornia farmer is at 

 the mercy of the raih'oads. He has got to ship his fruit a 

 long distance, and the railroad gets a large proportion of 

 what is realized from the sale. Mr. Chairman, Connecticut 

 is certainly a state where it pays to raise good fruit, and 

 Avhere it can be done better than in California or Oregon. 

 (Applause.) 



The Toastmaster : Before introducing the next speak- 

 er, I wish to say just a word, and to take you into my confi- 

 dence perhaps for a moment and explain somewhat as to the 

 reason why I shold be inflicted upon you as toastmaster dur- 

 ing this part of our program. It was planned and expected 

 that our enthusiastic Vice-President would take the chair 

 this evening, but it seems to turn out otherwise. If you will 

 bear with me a moment, I would like to repeat that old story 

 of the father who gave his boy a pair of horses and a wagon 

 and a lot of chickens, and told him to start out and call at 

 the first house and find out whether the husband or the wife 

 seemed in control, and if the wife, not to leave the chickens, 

 and if the husband not to leave the horses. He could leave 

 the chickens and still have the pair of horses to drive with. 

 You may draw your owai conclusions. It is not necessary 

 for me to say any more. After some discussion the other 

 evening when we were trying to settle this matter of a toast- 

 master, one of our friends remarked to me, "Well, Gold, you 

 are appointed, you know you are the last choice." 



Now Connecticut for years has been noted for its institu- 

 tions of learning. It has not been willing to take a back seat 

 from any state in that respect. It has its Yale and Wesleyan 

 and Trinity, and our Connecticut Agricultural College at 

 Storrs. And I believe there is another one in embryo down 

 in New London, for the women. We have not only had these 

 institutions, or these colleges, but we have had men at the 

 head of them who have been able to maintain them, — able, 

 capable men. Connecticut has had them and these institutions 

 have had them in the past, and they have them now. We 

 have here in Hartford a gentleman at the head of one of 



