12 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



And in this present exhibition over a hundred citizens of this 

 city have contributed actively toward your reception and enter- 

 tainment. I wish I could mention all their names, and I am 

 going to mention Mr. J. Henry Rines and his Agricultural Com- 

 mittee of the Board of Trade. Rut in closing T desire to say 

 for them all and for the Board of Trade that we welcome 

 you because we know you, because we honor you, and because 

 we believe that yoti are today one of the shining hopes of Maine. 



RESPONSE. 



Dr. G. M. Twitch ELI,, Auburn. 



Mr. Fresidcnt, His Honor the Mayor, Mr. President of the 

 Board of Trade, Ladies and Gentlemen: 



It is a pleasant duty assigned to me this afternoon to express 

 our thanks, the thanks of the ofificers and members of the 

 Maine State Pomological Society for the very cordial words 

 of welcome extended to us by your Honor the Mayor, and the 

 President of the Board of Trade. But, gentlemen, it was not 

 necessary that you should speak these words for us to know 

 that we were welcome to the City of Portland, or that you were 

 cooperating with us in doing all that was possible for the suc- 

 cess of this exhibition. The magnificent list of special prizes, 

 unknown by any other State Society, in all the East, has been 

 speaking to us all these months, telling us of your desire and of 

 your kindly interest, testifying to your appreciation of the work 

 of this Society, to your faith in the fruit industry, to your 

 purpose to help promote its best interests. 



But, gentlemen, this is not our exhibition. Yours it is, as 

 much as ours. We are not here to compete for prizes only. 

 That is but a secondary matter. We are here to help build up 

 the great fruit interests of the State, and therefore it becomes 

 your exhibition as much as ours, and its chief purpose will 

 fail unless every man and woman in Greater Portland visits 

 this hall during the next two days and inspects what is spread 

 upon the tables and in the boxes and barrels. 



