184 STATE BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



and he is glad io mingle once more with his fpecie', though of the most humble 

 description. The farmer and his family neces.'avily live a most isolated life, or 

 neglect their business in a greater or less degree if they mingle much with their 

 fellows. If the farms in a community be large, and the season hurrying, days may 

 easily pass without meeting any person but the members of the family or the farm 

 hands employed. What Avonder, then, that when brought into the society of 

 people of leisure and elegance the farmer appears awkward and ignorant, his 

 wife old-fashioned and plain, and his children painfully bashful? 



Men who till the soil for a livelihood, who grow the bread and meat and veg- 

 etables that sustain their lives, though following to my mind the noblest work 

 that stout hands and hearts can do, have become everywhere a synonym for 

 coarseness and ignorance, and also, — let us say it with pride, — for innocence and 

 honesty. Though the innocence, by the elegant city swindler, may be termed 

 greenness, and the honesty be considered a fault, yet there are others whose 

 opinions bear more weight than his. 



We have taken one long stride toward remedying these inconveniences of a 

 farmer's life, by the organization of our grange system. There, old and young, 

 rich and poor, mingle freely together on one common platform. There, youth 

 may profit by the experience of the old, and age take a new lease of life from 

 witnessing and joining in the gayety of the young. The poor may profi.t by the 

 advice and couusgI of those who have been successful in acquiring property, and 

 the rich may be moved to pity, encourage, and assist their weaker brethren. 



Ignorant and uninformed people need not long remain in that unfortunate 

 condition when they mingle freely and equally with their cultivated and educated 

 brethren and sisters of the order. If gifted with ordinary powers of perception 

 they must, — insensibly, perhaps, — im2:)rove mentally ; and, if the noble princi- 

 ples of our admirable organization be carried out in all their original purity and 

 excellence, morally as well. 



I see no reason why our young people should not make better, more cultivated, 

 more honorable, and more efficient men and women, — more competent wives, 

 more successful husbands, and more contented and law-abiding citizens, for 

 having become associated with the order of Patrons of Husbandry. It is to 

 these same youths and maidens that we must look for the future welfare and 

 honor of our beloved grange. Then let us induce as many as possible to join 

 us, and make them welcome and useful when they come. Let us strive to 

 inculcate principles of uprightness, truth, and honor, and while educating their 

 heads, educate also their hearts, and fit them in every possible way to fill even 

 the most exalted positions our land can offer. 



People who dwell in cities have ready access to well-filled and carefitlly-selected 

 libraries, while few of the farming community can afford the luxury of owning 

 one themselves. Books are a great aid to the development of the conversational 

 powers, and help to keep the mind employed during many otherwise lonely 

 hours. Evenings may be profitably spent in the i>eru3al of an interesting vol- 

 ume, and the younger members of the family will find the reading, or listening 

 to the same, a powerful incentive to remain at home, instead of Wandering away 

 in search of less innocent amusements. 



I would advise every farmer or farmer's ^vife to take at least one good news- 

 paper, with one or more standard magazines, and season the mixture with a 

 liberal sprinkling of the latest publications of the most popular authors and 

 poets. This will certainly keep the mind from retrograding, and I think will 

 soon prove a decided benefit. 



Mr. W. L. Carpenter read the following essay on 



