STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 21 



not only in Maine is the interest in fruit growing increasing, 

 but also in Massachusetts, and in fact in all the New England 

 states. I believe, as one of the speakers here tonight said, we 

 are on the edge of a new era in regard to agricultural matters, 

 and particularly in regard to the growing of fruits. 



Maine is peculiarly fortunate I believe. It has a great many 

 things in its favor. You have in the first place this society, 

 where you can focus so much of your strength and efforts for 

 improvement and betterment of conditions in your state. 

 Through this society you can get legislative action better and 

 other things which are along the line of improvement. You 

 are fortunate in having an agricultural newspaper in your state 

 which is so well suited to conditions as they exist here. We 

 are favored of course in having in our eastern states agrcultural 

 newspapers of the highest class, both as to the subject matter 

 which they contain, and the editorial treatment of those papers. 

 We have the Rural New Yorker, one of the best papers in the 

 country. We have our American Cultivator. We have the 

 New England Homestead. We have the New England Farmer. 

 We have these papers which give local color to our agricultural 

 efforts and work. And we are peculiarly fortunate in having 

 the assistance of this agricultural press to instruct us, to en- 

 courage us and to help us along all these lines for the better- 

 ment and uplifting of our agricultural work. 



You are fortunate here in the State of Maine in having three 

 other things, which to me seem very important and vital. At 

 the conference of governors, held at Boston about a year or 

 more ago, one of the suggestions which I had to offer was that 

 each and every state in New England should have an official 

 something after the type and style of your state entomologist, 

 someone whose work it should be to instruct and to counsel with 

 the people of the state along that particular line of agricuhural 

 work, and give them the best instruction which they could. 

 You here in Maine have an official of that type in Prof. Hitch- 

 ings, and I have no doubt whatever that he has been of great 

 assistance and benefit to the pomological life of this state. We 

 all know what he has done for your fruit growers in organ- 

 izing your efforts and presenting specimens of your wonder- 

 ful fruit at the Boston Fruit Show. And Maine is to be con- 

 Cfratulated in having such an official. You are to be congrat- 



