156 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE EDUCATION" OF FAEMERS— COUN- 

 TY SOCIETIES— FABMEES' CLUBS. 



My Dear Sir : — I am much gratified with the 

 remarks made at the second Legislative Agricul- 

 tural Meeting, held on the evening of 17th inst. 

 inasmuch as it appears to me that the second re- 

 solve, introduced in that meeting, if it should be 

 carried out, will do more than any former move 

 has accomplished towards the advancement of 

 terraculture in our Commonwealth. In saying 

 this, however, I will in no way censure or con- 

 demn any previous move in the matter. Our 

 agricultural societies have accomplished much, 

 introducing better animals and better systems of 

 cultivation. But have their good influences been 

 as general as the necessities of farmers require ? 

 In many of our counties, from being in fixed lo- 

 calities, they have been inconvenient of access to 

 those residing in remote parts. There are, no 

 doubt, many first-class farmers in the State who 

 are deterred from exhibiting the objects of their 

 successful culture from this cause. In the pres- 

 ent arrangement, this evil cannot be obviated. 

 Those living in the vicinity of fair grounds can 

 well afford to take in their animals and products, 

 and in this way the rewards and credits are, to a 

 great extent, limited to a comparatively circum- 

 scribed area of territory, since the bounty of the 

 State is scattered over a small territory. And 

 yet we don't know that any one is to blame in the 

 matter, further than that a bad management was 

 made in the outset of the matter. 



Now will not the people at large be more ben- 

 efited if these annual fairs are made emigratory, 

 travelling from the centre to remote parts of 

 counties ? and thus, instead of letting A, B and 

 C bear off the prizes and honors, place them, oc- 

 casionally where they shall have the journeying 

 to perform to find competitors in D, E and F. 

 This would awaken a more general competition. 



Again, how large a proportion of the farmers 

 in the State are connected with the agricultural 

 societies ? Probably not one in ten, and each of 

 tht'se has no doubt some good reason for non- 

 numbership. Inconvenience of locality maybeone 

 cause. Then another will say, that so much un- 

 f.iirness is used in distributing prizes. The for- 

 mer objection is, no doubt, a serious one. The 

 latter should be met and controlled. Committees 

 should be selected with great care, and then they 

 are very liable to be deceived. But they or the 

 society should watch cirefully, in order that no 

 deception is practised, and then, they cannot al- 

 ways detect it. We have heard of a pair of worsted 

 stockings, a piece of diaper, another of flannel, 

 being stereotyped articles for competition, and 

 successful, too, as report said. Perhaps they were 

 entered in the names of different individuals in 

 different years ; but would that alter the merits 

 of the article ? Now the society has a right to 

 make a by-law allowing them to put a mark on 

 such articles to make them known, if offered a 

 second time, and the individual who offers them 

 should be forever debarred from further compe- 

 tition. 



But we have wandered from the main point — 

 that is, that the bounty of the State, as it is ap- 

 plied to our agricultural societies, does notequai- 

 *v reach the merits or demands of the agricultu- 



ral population. How shall the want be supplied ? 

 We have always been a warm advocate of clubs 

 or town associations. We have known them to 

 exist where they have been magic in their influ- 

 ence, extending it from the valley to the top of 

 the mountains. This is what we like, and would 

 we could see such associations in every town. 

 Now cannot the State, in her acknowledged mu- 

 nificence, do something to effect this? A few 

 years ago, she gave, on proper conditions a Web- 

 ster or a Worcester dictionary to every school 

 district in the State — a noble munificence, whose 

 benefits reach all. Suppose she make one more 

 offer to the people — from the people's money ; 

 that they will allow to each town in the Com- 

 monwealth that will establish and maintain an 

 association for rural improvement, said associa- 

 tion to hold stated meetings for discussions and 

 lectures on subjects connected with its objects 

 once in — weeks, and shall report its progress 

 annually to the Secretary of the Board of Agri- 

 culture, the amount of $ — annually, said amount 

 to be applied to the establishing and maintaining 

 an agricultural and mechanical library and muse- 

 um for the benefit of said associations. When 

 circumstances will permit, let a portion of this 

 fund be appropriated to the introduction of seeds 

 and plants. 



Why would not such an arrangement come di- 

 rectly to the root of agricultural improvement, 

 and prepare the way, at least, for a higher stand- 

 ard of agricultural education, which has received 

 so much commendation for the last dozen years? 

 The meetings and discussions would lead to deep- 

 er thought, closer observation and more profound 

 research, and with suitable books at hand, earn- 

 est study would be applied to master their con- 

 tents. The whole public, as well as the individ- 

 ual mind, would be brought into vigorous action. 

 Young men would see that there was beauty and 

 science in the old-fashioned and homely profes- 

 sion of their fathers, and no longer sigh to leave 

 the pure air and ever-varying scenery of pastoral 

 life, for the dependent, uncertain ties of other 

 professions. Agriculture, as a profession, aye, 

 and one of the learned professions, too, would 

 begin to arise in its native dignity, and soon 

 other and higher means of intellectual advance- 

 ment would be demanded, to give it its proper 

 position among the sciences of life. 



We have no wish to detract from the merits or 

 usefulness of any of our agricultural societies. 

 But they have been the recipients of State boun- 

 ty for a long time ; so long that it seems as 

 though they are old enough to stand and go 

 alone. Cannot, then, a portion of the funds they 

 are now receiving be appropriated to this new 

 and general object, without seriously injuring 

 their usefulness ? Suppose the number of soci- 

 eties that receive funds from the State were re- 

 duced to one for each county, and this made mi- 

 gratory to the principal towns, and the amount 

 now given to extra societies were divided on the 

 proposed plan among towns ? Would not the 

 whole people be much more benefited than they 

 now are ? Or, if it is thought sacrilegious to cut 

 off any of these societies, suppose the funds to 

 each were reduced one-half, and the other half 

 appropriated in the way suggested would not 

 this put the liberality of the State in a more 

 philanthropic and appreciable condition? An- 



