FARMERS' CLUBS. 43 



his labors Ure apart from the bustle of life, and his recreations 

 comparatively few, and of the home whence must spring his in- 

 ternal prosperity ; let us inquire what power there is in association 

 to bring that condition flp to a fair standard with that of any other 

 class. 



All the great enterprises which man has achieved, have been 

 the results of comUnation. Imagine a single man at the mouth of 

 the Hoosac Tunnel^ forcing his way seven or eight miles through 

 a mountain of rock ; or one standing at the outskirts of the city 

 of St. Louis, spade in hand, entering upon the construction of the 

 Pacific Railroad ; or, look at another at Port Said, opening the 

 way through a hundred miles of desert sands, to let the waters of 

 the Mediterranean float the ships of the world into the Red Sea ! 

 The task would only be as hopeless as unwise. No great work 

 was ever accomplished in that way. Even the education of the 

 young is gained by a combination of varied talent, associated, 

 systematized, and imparted from time to time by preceptors and 

 tutors. At least, such portion of it as comes from organized effort. 



Mechanics combine for mutual instruction and protection. Mer- 

 chants combine to prevent sudden fluctuations in tradg, and 

 speculators form a "ring" to triple the premium on gold. Phy- 

 sicians combine to prevent quacks from hurrying us to premature 

 graves. Ministers combine to establish creeds and synods, or 

 ecumenical councils, and manufacturers of every kind tax their 

 powers to devise some mode of performing their work cheaply, in 

 order to increase profits. 



Mind needs the attrition of mind. To span a boisterous sea 

 with the Menai bridge, to convey us comfortably through a rough 

 country at the rate of thirty miles aji hour, while we eat, converse, 

 or sleep, or to appear in Chesapeake bay with the world-renowned 

 " Monitor, ^^ when the existence of a nation was at stake, were not 

 the achievements of a day or a year, but the results of a calm and 

 patient investigation of immutable laws, such as the farmer must 

 make into the realms of mystery about him. 



In order to secure the advantages to which I have adverted, we 

 must combine and systematize, and this leads me to speak of 



The Organization of a Farmer's Club. 



A constitution may be as follows : 



Article 1. This association shall be styled the 



Art. 2. Its object shall be to promote the interest of agriculture 



