60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Sept., 



present weed growth of our pastures by white clover and 

 blue-grass, will more than double the carrying capacity of our 

 New England pastures. 



It seems evident then, that whether our aim be dairy cattle, 

 beef animals, or sheep, our first concern must be to provide 

 home grown grains and better pastures. I have endeavored 

 to point out certain steps of re-organization and re-arrange- 

 ment which must take place on individual farms and in most 

 New England communities before these ends can be success- 

 fully accomplished. On this basis a permanent and profitable 

 New England agriculture should be developed, 



THE NECESSITY FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF 

 AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS. 



By Dr. Thomas N. Carver, Professor of Political Economy 



in Harvard University. 



They who cannot or will not work together are the natural 

 prey of those who can. Sometimes, in a pessimistic turn of 

 mind, one is tempted to say that they are the legitimate prey 

 of those who can and will work together. 



There are, however, several excellent reasons why farmers 

 find it difficult to work together. These reasons may be 

 classified as geometrical and temperamental. The geometri- 

 cal reasons are that farmers live so far apart; the distances 

 between them are usuallv measured in miles, whereas the 

 distances between the business men of our cities are meas- 

 ured in feet. Now, distance is difficult to overcome, in spite 

 of good roads and automobiles. With bad roads and poor 

 teams and vehicles it is still more difficult to overcome. 



The temperamental reasons are not quite so easily ex- 

 plained. Farmers are temperam>3ntally a somewhat inde- 

 pendent class and each one prefers to go his own Avay rather 

 than to co-operate .with his neighbors. For a long time our 

 population has been going through a sifting process. They 

 who like to work in groups and under a boss have been 

 going to town. They who dislike it have remained in the 

 country. One of the most painful operations for a certain 

 type of mind is that of deciding for itself what to do next. 

 The farm is no place for a person to whom that is a painful 



