FOURTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 



iiy 



make a homely illustration, the development of the apple busi- 

 ness in New England would be not unlike the development in 

 my old horse. A milk man in New York had an old mare 

 named Kate. She was stiff in her knees and limber with her 

 heels. She had been i)oundcd and abused for nobody knows 

 how many years. Still, she had been a faithful servant for the 

 milk man. He asked me if I would take the old mare to the 

 farm and keep her comfortable until she died. If I did not 

 do this, he said, he would shoot her, as she was no longer 

 serviceable to him. I thought I saw some undiscovered possi- 

 bilities in old Kate, so we took her to the farm and she jogged 

 about doing her duty for two years. At the end of that time, 

 I thought her work was done. For me, there were no more 

 undiscovered possibilities in the old mare. My neighbor is 

 a hen man. When he found that I was going to put the old 

 mare out of the way, he said he would like to take her and 

 feed the meat to his hens. I knew he would end her days 

 gently, and so he took her. To my surprise, a month later, 

 I found the old horse still living. Uncle George had discov- 

 ered possibilities in the old mare. He had her at one end of 

 the hen-house, and assured me that she kept that house warmer 

 than a big stove could ever do. When the hens got cold feet, 

 thev roosted on old Kate's back. The women folks drive her, 

 she is well cared for, and is good for several years more of 

 service. No doubt, when Uncle George gets done with her, 

 somebody else will discover new possibilities in the old mare, 

 and so it goes. 



TJic Apple: Men and sections have been given up and 

 abandoned because it was thought that their possibilities were 

 exhausted. Others, with a more hopeful view of things, or 

 with a clearer and broader vision of life, came to these mar- 

 kets, or men, or sections, and like Uncle George and the old 

 mare, discovered latent powers in that which should not be 

 thrown away. First, let us talk about fruit. I discuss the 

 apple, because it is the standard product of New England. 

 You ma}- say what you will about other products of the soil, 

 in \c\v England States, but the Baldwin apple is the one thing 

 most worthy among them. In my judgment, we are to learn 

 more and more the science of growing varieties that are suited 



