No. 4.] FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 215 



Farmers' Institute! 



BY F. W. SARGENT, AMESBURY. 



It was a wise piece of legislation when the Board of Agri- 

 culture made the rule requiring each incorporated agricultural 

 society to hold each year three or more farmers' institutes. 



The fairs held each autumn by the several societies we have 

 long had the benefits and pleasures from, but much more 

 recent was the establishing of a series of annual lecture 

 meetings. Now these meetings or institutes are, in most 

 cases, looked forward to by the progressive farmers with as 

 much eagerness as are the fall fairs ; and in my opinion 

 they are, when properly conducted, capable of increasing 

 an interest in practical agriculture. 



Our societies are incorporated for what? For the promo- 

 tion and advancement of agriculture ; and the farmers' insti- 

 tutes, held during the winter months, the farmers' season of 

 comparative quiet and rest, are, when properly managed, 

 conducive to education, sociability and recreation. They are 

 the means of bringing together leading representatives of the 

 greatest business or occupation in the world, — that of food 

 production, — to listen, to discuss and to compare notes re- 

 garding subjects near and dear to them in their every-day 

 occupation. 



There is not the excitement and bustle attending the meet- 

 ings that characterize the fall fairs, but rather there is quiet, 

 tone and dignity, educated and gentlemanly speakers, black- 

 board and chart illustrations, sometimes music and frequently 

 appetizing lunches or hearty dinners, all of which combined 

 make the institute days what they were designed for, — i.e., 

 to place the calling of agriculture on a higher educational 

 level. 



They are, I am certain, doing much good, and in many 

 cases the abolishing of them would be a serious loss to the 



