STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 85 



drawn perfect in form and of extra size, and at that exact moment be- 

 tween ripeness and decay wliicli it is so impossible to hit in practice. 

 Frnit cannot be raised on this earth to taste as you imagine tljose pears 

 woukl taste. How yon watch the tender twicjs in spring, and tlie freshly- 

 forming bark, hovering about tlie healthy young tree with your pruning 

 knife many a sunny morning. That is happiness I Then, if you know it, 

 you are drinking the verj^ wine of life; and when the sweet juices of the 

 earth mount tlie limbs, and flow down the tender stem, ripening and 

 reddening the pendent fruit, you feel that you somehow stand at the source 

 of things, and have no unimportant share in the processes of nature. Enter 

 at this moment boy the destroyer, whose office is that of preserver as well ; 

 for, though he removes the fruit from your sight, it remains in your mem- 

 ory immortally ripe and desirable." 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The meeting was called to order at 1.30 o'clock, President Pope 

 in the chair. Mr. W. P. Athertou was introduced, who read the 

 following essaj'. 



THE CLIMATIC LINE OF FRUIT CULTURE IN MAINE. 

 By William P. Athertox. 



What is climate? What is climatic influence, and is there any 

 climatic line to fruit culture in Maine? In the discussion of this sub- 

 ject I shall not go into the origin of species. If, however, I should 

 be asked, "what determines a variety, climate or soil?" I should say 

 neither ; they are determined by a higher law and these are but 

 accessaries to modify or develop the species itself. We know that 

 the earth is continually changing, that some forms of flora that once 

 existed exist no longer because the conditions necessary- to their life 

 and growth are wanting. Still, much of the magnificent flora which 

 graced this continent lies buried in our mines in a condensed com- 

 bustible form which gives warmth to our dwellings, speed to our 

 engines and whirls a million spindles. 



But the question is, What is climate? I answer, it is the condition 

 or state of the atmosphere in which we live as regards heat and cold, 

 moisture and dryness and the amount and durabilit}- of the same. 

 In England we say they have a moist climate because of the sur- 

 rounding seas, the ocean currents and the frequent and long-continued 

 fogs. Here in Maine we have a colder, dryer and more changeable 

 climate, due, perhaps, not so much to the elevation and depression 



