EDUCATIONAL EXTERPRISES 373 



as much as $100 for the promotion of its objects, the 

 county board of supervisors is permitted to levy a 

 tax in further aid of the work of such a society, for 

 the purchase of premiums, "the diffusion of valuable 

 agricultural, manufacturing and mechanical knowl- 

 edge," or otherwise to promote the objects of the 

 society. In many counties of the State, agricultural 

 societies or farm bureaus have been organized and 

 have become the recipients of county financial aid 

 in the promotion of their work. Later (1855), a 

 State statute made provision for the incorporation 

 of such county, town or district agricultural and 

 horticultural societies. 



AGRICULTURAL JOURNALS 



Most Michigan farmers do not attend schools of 

 agriculture, but very many obtain knowledge of im- 

 proved agricultural processes through the columns 

 of the agricultural papers published within the State 

 and elsewhere. Of Michigan's agricidtural press, the 

 oldest periodical is "The Michigan Farmer and Live- 

 stock Journal," whose history is nearly coincidental 

 with that of the State. This paper, in 1843, suc- 

 ceeded "The Western Farmer," founded at Detroit 

 several years previous. Down to 1893, when the 

 paper was taken over by M. J. Lawrence and Brother 

 of Cleveland, Ohio, proprietors of "The Ohio Far- 

 mer" (whose firm name became the Lawrence Pub- 

 lishing Company two years later), there were many 

 changes in the ownership, place of publication, and 



