STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 13 



RESPONSE. 



H. L. Keyser, Greene. 



Mr. Mayor, President of the Chamber of Commerce. Ladies 

 and Gentlemen: 



On behalf of the Maine Pomological Society I want to thank 

 the Mayor for his cordial words of welcome, and through him 

 and the President of the Chamber of Commerce, to thank them 

 for what they have done and what they are doing. 



Three years ago I had the pleasure, as presiding officer of 

 this society, in this building, to advocate two measures to be 

 brought before our coming meeting of the legislature in the 

 following January. One was a greater recognition of this 

 society by the state and the other was a law for the better grad- 

 ing and packing of fruit. At the hearings before the Agricul- 

 tural Committee at Augusta the committee very easily were 

 convinced that we should have at once a larger increase in our 

 stipend and consequently a better recognition by the state. 

 When it came to a consideration of the other measure, we w-ere 

 opposed, largely from want of proper information and under- 

 standing as to what we were advocating, a better grading and 

 packing of fruit, and I refer to this particularly here tonight 

 because at times the clouds were very dark and the outlook 

 was gloomy ; but when it came to the day of the second hearing 

 before that committee there was one great sunbeam came before 

 those who were fighting for this measure before the legislature. 

 And that ray was the presence of a large delegation from the 

 Portland Chamber of Commerce. They were not only there to 

 say a good word for us. but I want to say to them tonight that 

 if they had not even said a word before that committee, their 

 very presence at that time was of the greatest help to us and 

 of great assistance in receiving the unanimous report that we 

 did, recommending the passage of that measure before the legis- 

 lature from the committee. And it was not necessary tonight 

 for the Mayor to extend to us the keys of the city of Portland, 

 because we have been here before, Mr. Mayor, we have en- 

 joyed ourselves, and we have come back. We have been royally 

 entertained here in the past, and we recognize in the grasp of the 

 hand of fellowship, in the smiles which we received, that 



