138 ESSEX AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



sachusetts^ injurious to vegetation? Is it not, in part^ because 

 it has never found its way into their hands ? And would not a 

 Ubrary, Uke that here contemplated, be the means of conveying 

 this, as well as other valuable works, to many farmers, who 

 would not otherwise be able to obtain them ? 



But should only a few farmers repair to your library, what 

 then 1 Is it not worth the expense to give to these few, the 

 means of information ? Will these men, men of reading and re- 

 flecting habits, be likely to hoard up the knowledge they thus 

 acquire; or will they not rather dispense to others, the informa- 

 tion derived from this source, either by conversation, or the ex- 

 ample of an improved husbandry? It is thus, that most of the 

 improvements in farming, make their way into general use; not by 

 any new idea, suddenly promulgated, and as suddenly adopted, 

 but gradually and almost imperceptibly, as they are commended 

 to others, by the successful practice of a few intelligent and en- 

 terprising men. Place, in every farming community, but one 

 reading, reflecting, and go-ahead farmer, a Buel or a Phinney, 

 and the influence of his superior knowledge, as developed by his 

 husbandry, will show itself, after a time, among its whole farm- 

 ing population. If, then, the advantages of these libraries 

 should be, in the first instance, shared only by a few, it would 

 not necessarily constitute a sufficient objection to their estab- 

 lishment. 



A small number of books, judiciously selected, would suffice 

 for a beginning, and it would soon be ascertained, whether or 

 not an increase were demanded. Let the experiment be fairly 

 made ; let the farmers know that it is for their special use and 

 enjoyment ; let them know that it requires no competition, nor 

 the winning of a premium, to share in its benefits ; that it is free 

 to every member of the society, and to all alike ; — and then it 

 will appear, whether there are farmers, who have a taste for 

 reading, and a desire for the acquisition of knowledge, and who 

 can find the time, however pressing their labors, for this agree- 

 able and profitable employment. 



