602 FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 



BY F. N". SHEPARD. 

 [Read at the Bancroft Institute.] 



The Grange, Farmers' Club, the Farmers' Alliance, and other organiza- 

 tions of a similar nature, all have in view the same object, viz: that of bringing^ 

 the farmer to a point where he would not only know but would assume the 

 duties and responsibilities of his position. While all other classes have 

 had their organizations for years, it is but a short time that the farmer has 

 had anything of the kind, and yet in that short time see what has been accom- 

 plished! We all know the work which the Grange has done and is still doing. 



The Farmers' Alliance in some of the Western States, though but a recent 

 organization, is making itself felt. Look for a moment at some of the results 

 of this work. Were it not for the farmers' organizations, would it have been 

 possible for a farmer to have been elected Governor of the great State of 

 Michigan? Would the Interstate Commerce Bill and other measures design- 

 ed to promote the prosperity of the people, have been passed without the aid 

 of these organizations? In view of what has been done is it not wise for 

 farmers to go on in the work they have undertaken? And as a means of 

 education for the farmer I can think of no better organization than the 

 Farmers' Club. 



Though yet in its infancy the Farmers' Club is already attracting an 

 amount of attention which bids fair in a short time to place it in the front 

 rank as an organ for the education and advancement of the farming com- 

 munity. A few of the most desirable qualities of the Farmers' Club are its 

 simplicity, its practical work, its independence, its educational qualities, and 

 its social features. Having but few by-laws and rules of order and these of 

 a nature to be easily understood, it seems to be the plan best suited to the 

 farmer, who unlike the lawyer and politician, seems to have an aversion to 

 complicated rules and points of parliamentary practice. 



Taking up questions of vital importance to the farmer, and dealing with 

 them in the most practical manner possible, each member discussing the 

 question, giving methods jWhich accord with his own practice, is, to those 

 desirous of learning the practical details of farm management, most desirable. 

 The Farmers' Club, unlike the Farmers' Alliance and similar bodies, is an 

 independent organization having no State or National body to which it 

 must be subordinate, and hence is trammeled by no laws except those of its 

 own making, and is independent in its action and can take its own course as 

 a body without any interference of a higher power. Although not a secret 

 order, the fact that the membership of the Club is confined to a certain 

 number of families, prevents the attendance of too large numbers, as is some- 

 times the case with bodies whose doings are of a public nature. 



Here then is the place for an interchange of views on all topics of impor- 

 tance to the farmer. Not only are the discussions and essays of interest 

 from what can be learned, but as all are required to take part in the exercises, 

 it proves valuable in enabling the members to acquire that confidence in 

 themselves and readiness of expression which is so desirable to those engaged 



