STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 25 



ANNUAL ADDRESS 

 By Charles S. Pope, President. 



Ladies and Gentlemen : As it has always been the practice to 

 open oui' meetings with an address by the President, it may not be 

 advisable to altogether ignore the custom at this time, but I shall be 

 brief and will not detain you long from the feast of good things 

 which has been prepared for your entertainment. 



Firstly reviewing the work of the Society for the past year. By 

 invitation of the trustees of the Maine State Agricultural Society 

 the Executive Committee of this Society perfected arrangements for 

 holding the Society's sixteenth annual exhibition in connection with 

 the exhibition of their Society. The arrangements made were well 

 understood and there was perfect harmony of action between the 

 two Societies, and we are glad to state the most friendly relations 

 have continued to the present. The Executive Committee gave the 

 revision of the Society's premium list most careful attention and 

 made several changes, the most radical of which was to offer 

 increased premiums for our three leading varieties of winter apples 

 for market, viz. : Baldwins, R. I. Greenings and Roxbury Rus- 

 sets. The premiums offered for each variety were $5 ibr the first, 

 $3 for the second and $2 for the third. At first there were some 

 doubts about the wisdom of this plan but as the season advanced it 

 seemed to be approved by fruit growers, and when the tables at the 

 exhibition were put in order there was spread out before the public a 

 display of winter fruit never surpassed in Maine. 



Tbere were county exhibitions of fruit from all the counties 

 except Hancock, Piscataquis, Washington and York. It was a 

 pleasure to have so large a part of the State represented, but we 

 ought not to be content till our tables are laden with fruit from every 

 county. Hon. Parker P. Burleigh, from Linneus, made an excel- 

 lent display of fruit, and from the fine specimens of apples in his 

 collection we are convinced that Aroostook will soon produce an 

 abundance of apples. 



The executive officers took special care to have every part of the 

 exhibition well cared for, and to show every attention possible to 

 the exhibitors and the thousands of visitors. 



The Fruit Growers' Convention, held during the evening of Sept. 

 12, was a grand success. The attendance was large, and the papers 

 contributed for the occasion were practical, and the subjects were 



