2 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



best information that may assist us in solving the problems 

 with which we are confronted, and to stimulate each other to 

 a more eager and earnest pursuit of our calling. It is to such 

 a gathering that I welcome you all most cordially, to this, the 

 seventeenth annual meeting of the Connecticut Pomological 

 Society. 



For sixteen years this Society has been faithfully endeav- 

 oring to improve the quality of the Connecticut fruit and the 

 condition of the Connecticut fruit grower. Since this Society 

 was organized the growing of fruit has advanced with great 

 strides in Connecticut. While the fruit of the Garden of 

 Eden was one of the first products of which we have record, 

 the fruit of the present day in kind and quality is chiefly a 

 product of the last half century. It is only when manufac- 

 tures and commerce divide the labors of an intelligent popu- 

 lation, when the development of science gives us the key to 

 nature's secrets, when the cultivation of the fine arts and the 

 accumulation of wealth creates a refined taste, that the united 

 application of art and science is manifested in the beautiful 

 and luscious products of the expert fruit grower. 



The would-be successful fruit grower of to-day must 

 realize that he has to meet a demand for a fruit far superior 

 in appearance and quality to what was required a few years 

 ago. In this work he is confronted with greater difficulties 

 with insects, pests and diseases ; due largely to the increased 

 amount and rapidity of transportation and the fact that the 

 land has b?en longer in tilth. On the other hand, science has 

 furnished him with means and methods of overcoming these 

 difficulties, and has given him a knowledge of the require- 

 ments of soils, fertilizers, and culture needed to produce the 

 largest yields and finest quality. 



It is in disseminating this information that such societies 

 as ours do their greatest good. Our work is largely educa- 

 tional and is carried on by these annual meetings, field meet- 

 ings, institutes, exhibitions and publications. 



The field meetings the past year formed one of the pleas- 

 antest and most profitable lines of work. I believe that 

 demonstrations could be profitably substituted for some of our 



