persistently through to the end. He was and is a writer in 

 the State. 



Another member of that Board has done in a quiet way 

 perhaps more to influence agricultural thought in this State than 

 any other man. He was also an editor and writer — a very 

 prolific writer. Hon. Samuel L. Boardman is known to many 

 of us here very likely by his connection in later years with the 

 Bangor Daily Commercial. Mr. Boardman along agricultural 

 lines is what one might term an idealist, and yet he was a care- 

 ful, clear and luminous writer on subjects that had to do with 

 practical agriculture. 



I hoped that Mr. Gilbert would be with us today. Appar- 

 ently for some reason he was disappointed, as only a few days 

 ago he told me that he would be here, but we must remember 

 that these people are not longer young and it is not easy for 

 tliem to say where they will go and when they will go. 



Mr. Boardman is at the present time spending the winter in 

 New York so that it is impossible for him to be with us, but 

 he has written me a personal letter, which with your permission 

 I will now read. 



Letter from Hon. Samuel L. Boardman. 

 My Dear Dr. Woods: 



I am glad to know you are to observe in an appropriate and 

 public manner, the passing of the quarter-centennial of the 

 establishment of the Maine Experiment Station, and write to 

 thank you for an invitation to be present. First of all, I wish 

 to express my regret that it is impossible to accept your most 

 generous invitation and to say it is far more important that 

 you are to have with you men who were closely connected with 

 its official estabHshment and with the first years of its work, a 

 feature of most happy recognition in the day's program. I 

 refer to Hon. Frederick Robie, then Governor of Maine, who 

 signed the bill by which the act creating the Station became a 

 law, who was, for a full decade of years, State Master of that 

 influential organization, the order of Patrons of Husbandry; 

 and to Dr. Whitman H. Jordan of New York. Director of the 

 Maine Station for the first eleven years of its work — both of 

 whom are to address you. 



Tn general we do not give sufficient attention to the begin- 

 nings of things. In this day of invention and discovery, when 



