164 THE GROUNDSWELL. 



ing with the cereals, while millions far away wanted cheap 

 food. While in one nation thousands were starving, the 

 Western farmer, in many localities, was burning his corn for 

 fuel, because freights were so high that he could not trans 

 port it. 



The fault, it must be said, was not all with the railways, 

 exorbitant as were their charges, and grasping as were their 

 combinations to extend their power. The farmers of the 

 West had been raising too much of the raw material for 

 export. They had failed to keep up with the progress of 

 the age, and did not diversify their agriculture to meet the 

 requirements of the times. Therefore, education to a proper 

 business managment is one of the tenets of the Order. 



SOME GAINS OF THE GRANGES. 



They have gained much socially, in having been enabled to 

 bring together neighborhoods between which social inter 

 course had previously seemed impossible. Instances are 

 recorded where families have ridden fifteen miles, regularly, 

 to attend the meetings of the Order. The reason was, the 

 gathering was not only made the occasion when friends could 

 meet together in social converse, but the ritual, both written 

 and unwritten, tends to expand the mind ; the aim and scope 

 of the work in general being to make the members better 

 and more intelligent men and women. For as the action of 

 flint upon steel elicits sparks, so the attrition of mind with 

 mind elicits ideas and stimulates the intellect. 



The educational features are, by lectures and discussions, 

 to show the true value of business qualifications, not only 

 in buying and selling, but also as applied to the every 

 day routine of farm life. The Patron will be a better busi 

 ness man and a better farmer as well. The work of the 



