78 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



"Instead of fiftj'-four varieties of fruit recommended in 1848, 

 it now contains the names of five hundred and seventy-seven 

 kinds, and with the list of six hundred and twenty-five rejected 

 varieties passed upon by the Society, makes a total of twelve 

 hundred and two on which the Society has set its seal of approval 

 or rejection. An important part of this work, not shown by these 

 figures, is the reduction of the list as compared with former cata- 

 logues, by striking out varieties too good to be placed on the 

 rejected list, yet superceded bj' better sorts. In pears alone, this 

 reduction has been from one hundred and twenty-two to ninety- 

 one kinds, 



" It was an important step taken by the Society when it placed 

 its mark of condemnation on the long list of unworthy fruits which 

 were then in our collections, thereby saving to cultivators a vast 

 amount of time, trouble and expense in the propagation of useless 

 varieties. It requires the utmost caution in the future to avoid 

 the insertion in its pages of the names of inferior or insufficiently 

 tested fruits, and to establish a correct nomenclature for all time, 

 so that with every revision of the catalogue it may more nearly 

 approximate to perfection." 



To co-operate in this most desirable work is the 'appropriate 

 duty of the Maine State Pomological Society. It should be its 

 aim to discover and retain the most valuable kinds, to discard the 

 worthless and indifferent and recommend to the different sections 

 of the State the cultivation of those varieties of fruit best adapted 

 to their respective localities, and also to transmit from time to 

 time to the parent Society all the useful information acquired. 

 For want of such necessary information, the list of fruits recom- 

 mended for Maine is comparatively meagre. It awaits the dis- 

 coveries, the observations and the experience communicated by 

 our own fruit growers acting collectively through our own organ- 

 ization. Ours then be the task in our appropriate sphere to ascer- 

 tain the best fruits and make a catalogue of varieties so full and 

 accurate for each region of our widely extended State that no one 

 need to err in the selection. Ours too be the duty to encourage both 

 by precept and example the raising of fruit so abundantly, that it 

 shall be in common use at our homes not only as a luxury but as 

 a necessary article of food, and shall afford a large surplus for 

 exportation to less favored climes. The following is the list 

 already recommended by the American Pomological Society for 

 cultivation in Maine. 



Apples— Tied Astrachan, Early Harvest, Large Yellow Bough, 

 Porter, Garden Royal, Primate, Ramsdell's Sweet, Danvers Winter 

 Sweet, Ribston Pippin and Black Oxford. 



