. REPORT OF SECRETARY. 



W. J. RiCKER, Turner. 

 Ladies and Gentlemen: 



Last year, when we were in W'aterville, we had two thin^^s in 

 our minds that we wanted to accompHsh during the coming 

 year. One was to get an experimental farm where oro]:'.ard 

 research could be carried on. The legislature of 1907 was 

 asked to provide such a farm, but they in their wisdom referred 

 the bill to the next legislature. The matter was left to Dr. Tur- 

 ner to bring before the legislature of 1909. This he did, and 

 with the help of a large number of interested members we got 

 the bill passed, and we have now Highmoor Farm. We are 

 today just as much interested in an experimental farm as we 

 were a year ago, but perhap.'; interested in it in a different way. 

 Last year we were interested to get the farm. This year we 

 are interested to see what we can get out of it. 



The other thing that w-e were particularly interested in was 

 to get some laws by which we could regulate the standard of 

 box and barrel and provide suitable grades for packing and 

 marking our apples. Dr. Twitchell had long been a committee 

 of one to keep us informed on the doings of other states along 

 this line, and to recommend suitable legislation. After talking 

 the matter over it was left with him, and he drew up a set of 

 laws and submitted them to the executive committee in Decem- 

 ber. The executive committee went over them with him and 

 recommended that he present them to the legislature. It is 

 unnecessary to say that the laws, after being changed a little 

 were passed, and we today, if we are living up to the laws of 

 the State of Maine, are packing our fruit in standard boxes and 

 barrels, and marking them either "Fancy," "Ones" or "Twos" 

 and marking them in large letters "Maine Apples." 



