STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 93 



another. The West has taught the people to want beautiful 

 apples and we have the quality to give them — and we can't go 

 backward, we have got to produce these beautiful apples. 



How can we reduce that cost of $2.00? How can we get a 

 price above $2.50? These are the problems that need to be 

 solved and need to be solved very seriously. And you gentle- 

 men who have only small sums of money saved up, a few hun- 

 dred or a few thousand dollars, figure out how far that will go 

 in establishing. — not establishing an orchard, but maintaining 

 and caring for an orchard for ten years till it -begins to give you 

 some returns. Consider the five-year old Baldwin this year 

 with a bushel of apples on it, but don't expect an orchard to do 

 that. You have got to figure to live for ten years and take 

 expensive care of the trees. It is a business proposition. If 

 the moneyed men here in Portland or in Maine are going to 

 invest money in this enterprise, remember it is a long interest 

 wait. A return will come sometime if the right men are hold 

 of the game as it will with any other solid investment, but don't 

 think it is coming in a pile and going to bring enormous divi- 

 dends. It will not do it. 



Another thing — this is what I am going to say about the 

 future. If there is any one here in this hall who hasn't got an 

 apple orchard and wants one, hold up your hand. Two of 

 you, — only two in this whole company ! Have all the rest of 

 you got them? Well, I want to say to you here tonight, those 

 of you who have not orchards and want them, sit down and 

 keep hold of your money and wait five years and you can go 

 out and buy the other fellow's orchard for a quarter what it 

 would cost you to develop it. Yes, I believe that, though it 

 may be heresy, it may be talk that ought not to be given at a 

 Pomological Society meeting. I have been an optimist all my 

 life. I have been a farmer and horticulturist all my life and I 

 have been an optimist from the very start. I believe in looking 

 after the good things in horticulture, and I have faith in the 

 New England people as I have in the people of no other part 

 of America. We are at the head here in quality. We are equal 

 in beauty. We have as strong and as fine soil as anywhere on 

 earth for the production of apples. We have everv'thing here. 

 Within twenty-four hours ride of your Maine farms are thirty 

 million people with more money than any other like number 



