8 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



cash prizes aggregating $1,141, and three silver cups. This is 

 doing business on z breadth that would be a credit to a society 

 much more general in its purposes. 



This exhibition is, I am aware, only an incident in the cam- 

 paign the State Pomological Society has conducted during the 

 past few years. And to its efforts very largely is due an active 

 work throughout the state which, from the very nature of 

 things, cannot bring large immediate results, but will gradually 

 and surely put Maine where she ought to be among the pro- 

 ducers of good fruit. The old practice of planting an orchard 

 and waiting complacently to harvest the crop is being discarded. 

 It is no less humiliating than unprofitable for our people to be 

 furnishing a market for Oregon apples, wdien we can beat them 

 at their own game if only we will. To you who are success- 

 fully struggling for this end w'e say, Welcome, and God speed. 



Of our own work, that of the Lewiston Chamber of Com- 

 merce, which I have the honor to represent, I may say that our 

 purposes are much like yours. Our slogan is. "Lewiston, the 

 Industrial Heart of Maine," and if you will look at the map 

 you will agree that it is ndt inappropriate. You wdll find us 

 nestling at the foot of one ;0f the best powers of a r.iver that 

 has as good natural facilities for furnishing power as almost 

 any in the country, and whose natural facilities have been 

 augmented largely through the engineering genius of a member 

 of our Chamber of Commerce until we no longer fear spells ot 

 low water. We are the center of a steam railroad system that 

 taps directly our county and Franklin to the north clear to 

 the Rangeleys, our own county and Oxford to Rumford and 

 the lakes again, our owmi county, Kennebec and thence on to 

 the northern and eastern parts of the state and the provinces, 

 our own county and through Cumberland, Sagadahoc and 

 Lincoln to the coast, by the Grand Trunk to central Oxford 

 and beyond to Canada, and by the Maine Central to Portland 

 and beyond. We are the center of a great trolley system link- 

 ing us with the suburbs and extending to Waterville in one 

 direction, and through Brunswick to Bath and Portland in the 

 other, with a direct line to Portland nearly completed. Geo- 

 graphically we are the center of a circle with a radius of fifty 

 miles whose sweep would include eight cities and nearly half 

 the population anfl more than half the wealth of Maine. 



