Agricultural Societies 117 



men, cotton -growers, florists, nurserymen, 

 seedsmen, evaporated - apple men, fruit-grow- 

 ers, melon- growers, bee-keepers, horsemen, 

 shippers, and the like. When such economic 

 groups do not exist, it is the business of some 

 one to see that they do exist ; and, if they do 

 exist, it is the business of some one to see that 

 they are more effective. Society cannot escape 

 the responsibility of being concerned in such 

 group-associations. They register the effect- 

 iveness of the community. 



Agricultural organizations have undergone 

 an interesting evolution in this country. Some 

 of the early groups were on the plan of a 

 "society for the promotion of agricultural 

 knowledge," apparently patterned after the 

 so-called learned societies. The proceedings 

 must have been ponderous. These appear to 

 have been followed by the democratic discus- 

 sion-society, still reigning in many forms. A 

 social basis developed with the grange. Coop- 

 erative groups have arisen, but as yet with 

 too little net results (p. 72); in some regards 

 we are behind our European neighbors. The 



