4G8 STATE BOARD OF AOKIUULTURE. 



terms "Organize."' "Co-operale," iiiid "Fraternal," not oiilv into the 

 minds of men and women who have been sought as new members of the 

 order, but also into those communities wliere the subordinate Grange 

 has had a more or U>ss active existence for years. Up an<l down the 

 State the purposes of the order have been proclaimed by ollicers and 

 deputies. Again and again have they presented the cause of organiza- 

 tion to gatherings of farmers, as summarized in "General Objects of the 

 Grange/' as follows: 



"To develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood among our- 

 selves. To enhance the comforts and attractions of our homes, and 

 strengthen our attachments to our pursuits. To foster mutual under- 

 standing and co-operation. To maintain inviolate our laws, and to emu- 

 late each other in labor, to hasten the good lime coming. To reduce 

 our expenses, both individual and corporate. To buy less and produce 

 more, in order to make our farms self-sustaining. To diversify our 

 crops, and crop no more than we can cultivate. To condense the weight 

 of our exports, selling less in the bushel and more on hoof and in fleece; 

 less in lint, and more in warf and woof. To systematize our work, and 

 calculate intelligently on probabilities. To discountenance the credit 

 system, the mortgage system, the fashion system, and every other sys- 

 tem tending to prodigality and bankruptcy. 



"We propose meeting together, talking together, working together, 

 buying together, selling together, and, in general, acting together for our 

 mutual protection and advancement, as occasion may require. We shall 

 avoid litigation as much as possible by arbitration in the Grange. We 

 shall constantly' strive to secure entire harmony, good will, vital Broth- 

 erhood among ourselves, and to make our order perpetual. We shall 

 earnestly endeavor to suppress personal, local, sectional and national 

 prejudices, all unhealthy rivalry, all selfish ambition. Faithful adher- 

 ence to these principles will insure our mental, moral, social and ma- 

 terial advancement." 



In the work of promulgating these teachings a system has been de- 

 vised and carried into effect by Worthy Master Horton, which calls for 

 a large number of assistants, known as deputy lecturers or organizers, 

 and who, scattered throughout the State, work in their immediate local- 

 ities. The practical effectiveness of this system, as elaborated and per- 

 sisted in now for several years, is show^n by the organization of 116 new 

 Granges in the past twelve months and in the doubling of membership, 

 making a total of 413 active subordinate Granges and upwards of 

 20,000 members. The annual session of State Grange, held in Repre- 

 sentative Hall, Lansing, December 12, 18, 14 and 15, 1809, w^as a large 

 and enthusiastic meeting. Its pulse throbbed with fresh, vigorous life 

 that betokened an awakened conscience in regard to the combining of 

 farmers to better their conditions and uplift themselves. It showed a 

 keener appreciation of the fact that "the chief incentive to labor past 

 mere subsistence is social, educational, influential standing," and that 

 the means to attain this lie in the extension of organizations. Master 

 Horton gave voice to this general sentiment in these paragraphs from 

 his annual address: 



"At no time since the first formation of the order has there been 

 greater activity among Patrons and in Granges throughout the country. 

 Farmers are fast coming to see and admit that organization is not only 



