GO HAINE STATE SOCIETY. 



agency — was a practical benefit startling and decided enough 

 to arouse farmers to a more general and appreciative sense of 

 tlicir excellence. 



Tiie proper dissemination also of text books, tracts and 

 statistical tables devoted to the general subject of agriculture 

 ■would excite in every village and on every farm a fresh and 

 healthy interest in all that pertains to the improvement of land, 

 stocks and fruit, would quicken the intellectual development, at 

 the same time that it incites the physical system to a heartier 

 exertion, and would arouse a generous and noble emulation 

 between different farmers and different sections. 



Again, this knowledge could be fostered and retained by 

 social gatherings among farmers, or hj the more formal and 

 presuming county associations, both of which are extremely 

 useful in nourishing an esprit dii corps which unites the differ- 

 ent members together in sympathy for the success of their com- 

 mon endeavor. At such gatherings, much of the more intimate 

 experience of a farmer's life would be made known which might 

 otherwise never attain any general circulation, the repeated 

 struggles that at last resulted in success, and the various evils 

 which a cautious care had remedied. In this way also, discus- 

 sions would arise that might disclose the germ of most fortu- 

 nate experiments and improvements, which deriving fresh light 

 from the attention and thought of every person present, could 

 not fail in the end of producing the highest results. 



Not the least noticeable feature moreover would be the 

 increase of a genial sociability of disposition, a stronger confi- 

 dence in each other, a delightful faith in neighborly kindnesses, 

 diffusing a, brightness and warmth over the improvement wdiich 

 a contact with individual minds must always occasion. Thus 

 not only will the intellectual faculties be advanced, but the 

 whole man cultured and improved. There will be a growing 

 attention to, and a growing regard for, the humanizing and 

 liberalizing influences of litei-ature. The farmer will not only 

 be better and more successful in the discharge of his immediate 

 duties, liut he will be also a better citizen, a better neighbor, a 

 better host, a better man and a better christian. His family 

 will become a delightful social circle of which he is the central 

 charm and support. All those social amenities which accom- 



