THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



393 



EXTENDING THE USEFULNESS OF AGRICULTURAL AND 

 LABOURERS' FRIEND SOCIETIES. 



Myobject ia making a few remarks upon this in- 

 teresting subject is to call attention to the many phases 

 of usefulness which these societies comprise in their 

 operations, with the view of promoting their extension. 

 The department of usefulness to which I confine myself 

 is the encouragement and improvement of the agricul- 

 tural labourer. This, correctly speaking, would refer 

 mainly to the societies denominated '' labourers' friend 

 societies ;" but as almost every local society throughout 

 the kingdom combines as essentials the encouragement 

 of good conduct, skill, and industry amongst the la- 

 bourers in husbandry, with the improvements in the 

 feeding of stock and the management of the farm, I of 

 course include all sucli admirable institutions; and I 

 should greatly rejoice if my humble efforts should con- 

 duce to their extension and improvement. 



I have no enviable opinion of those who delight to 

 cast ridicule upon such laudable objects, and scarcely 

 possess patience sufficient to refute their asserLions with- 

 out asperity. Do these objectors imagine the labourer 

 in husbandry to be void of ambition, and that the locsl 

 distinction of winning a prize is as nothing to him 

 beyond the value of that prize? if so, they are totally 

 mistaken. No one can conceive the intense interest 

 manifested by our provincial ploughmen prior to a con- 

 test, but those who have witnessed it. It is a gross and 

 ignorant libel upon our good friends Giles, and Will, 

 and I3en, and Joe. Why, any one of them would tra- 

 verse a county, even be it as large as Yorkshire, to find | 

 a better plough than his own with which to compete. 

 And let me tell such folks that, good as the implement 

 may be, it is the skill of the ploughman alone that 

 directs it aright. There is no mechanical arrangement 

 in the machinery to prevent the workman doing wrong ; 

 all depends upon his steady eye, his strong nerve, and 

 powerful arm — his sh'tll. It is the same ia every de- 

 partment of farm-work ; and much of the farmer's suc- 

 cess depends upon the proper execution of his work. 

 If farm-work is unskilfully performed, all goes wrong. 

 The d'tches and drains fall in from improper construc- 

 tion, the hedges decay from bad cutting, the fields are 

 foul, and the crops defective from bad ploughing. In 

 stock management it is still worse. A negligent herd 

 soon restricts your number of cattle : an ignorant 

 shepherd will soon seriously deteriorate your flock ; and 

 these in spite of the master's attention in very many in- 

 stances. 



The main object in all these societies is to promote 

 improvement in every department of agriculture ; and 

 for this purpose a very varied and comprehensive prize- 

 sheet is generally prepared, by which competitors are 

 to be guided, and the terms of competition for the vari- 

 ous prizes set forth. Those for the encouragement of 

 good conduct, skill, and industry take in the various 

 occupations and positions of the agricultural labourer. 

 The shepherd is rewarded for his attention to his flock, 

 and the prize is chiefly given for the most successful 

 breeding flock; by this he is induced to strict watchfulness 

 whilst the ram is with the ewes, and carefulness in their 

 management throughout the winter, and more especially 

 during the anxious time known as " the lambing sea- 

 son." I never knew a shepherd who did not manifest 

 unusual pleasure in receiving this prize ; rejoicing that 

 he had not only obtained honourable distinction amongst 

 his very useful class, but that he had been the means of 



contributing largely to his master's benefit. Who would 

 not commend the honest man's exultation ? The ordi- 

 naiy workmen are rewarded by prizes for skill in farm 

 operations generally — ploughinj;', stacking, thatching, 

 hedging, ditching, draining, drilling, mowing — indeed, 

 every departmental operation requiring the exercise of 

 skill and carefulness. The honest, sober, and industri- 

 ous are rewarded by prizes for the laudable manner in 

 which they have brought up their families, the steadi- 

 ness with which they have laboured on a particular oc- 

 cupation, and similar useful distinctions. 



The poor widows are generally included in the list of 

 rewards, depending upon their industrious independence. 

 Much as these simple matters may be ridiculed by some, 

 they have not failed to advance the well-being of the 

 rural population wherever they have been permanently 

 established. I could point to some remarkable instances 

 of improvement in a whole district, from the single fact 

 that for a series of years prizes were offered " for the 

 cleanest and best-managed cottage and garden." It 

 gave a new feature — a new taste to cottage-management 

 and garden culture. The ornamental became commend- 

 ably mingled with the useful and substantial. The 

 prizes given for the classes of allotment-holders is 

 another remarkable feature in such societies ; it not 

 only leads to good cultivation, but stimulates and en- 

 forces upon the occupiers the necessity of looking out 

 for the best grain, the best roots and vegetables to cul- 

 tivate ; and the produce reaped by many of these holders 

 is astonishing. 



Another feature is creeping very adroitly, and very 

 properly, into these societies ; I mean the encourage- 

 ments to be given to the children of the labouring poor. 

 These are called " educational prizes." This seems 

 probably to some to be stepping a little out of the way, 

 and cannot be included in the common objects of such 

 societies. There are difficulties attending it undoubtedly ; 

 but where you can organise a good society, it is very 

 pleasant to find one, and another, and another, from 

 amongst its members, stepping forward with the request, 

 " Only let us give these encouragements through your 

 society : we will find all the money, and relieve your 

 officers from any extra woik." In this way much good 

 is dong, and with permanent effect. 



The prizes for educational purposes usually combine 

 a reward for the schoolmaster who produces the most 

 efficient pupils ; for lads who show the greatest profi- 

 ciency in the common rudiments of learning, and the 

 greatest aptitude upon the trial before the judges; the 

 lasses who, in addition to the above, exhibit the greatest 

 skill in needlework, knitting, darning, &c., and also 

 show the greatest aptitude in the exercises given out by 

 the judges. Constancy of attendance at school is also 

 rewarded. This is comparatively a new feature in such 

 societies. It has long been one of the most interesting 

 phases of the society with which I have been long con- 

 nected, and works remarkably well ; and one of the 

 most remarkable facts about it is this — that while all 

 the National, British, and Free Schools are invited to 

 compete, the Union House Schools are prohibited, and, 

 I believe, solely from the known proficiency attained by 

 the children's long and constant attendance upon their 

 teachers there. This speaks wonders. Ob, happy 

 England ! thy neglected and lost ones, the pauper and 

 the orphan, are now so cared for and taught, as to be- 



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