82 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



every day affairs, and therefore such as they 

 are more or less familiar with. While exer- 

 cising the mind, they are reaping other ad- 

 vantages as well. 



Practical Knowledge 

 Is acquired. However humble the individuals 

 composing the Club, however ignorant in 

 "book learning," however fough their exte- 

 rior, if they are practical farmers each one 

 knows something which will be an advantage 

 to the others. Some rough and otherwise ig- 

 norant men are critical observers, and are 

 possessed of a fund of practical knowledge, 

 which, if it can be drawn out, will be of ui- 

 tercst to all. All farmers need a share in 

 their knowledge, but it is very difficult to 

 obtain. They are not public talkers, and any 

 efibrt made under the formalities of a public 

 meeting would quite surely result in a failure. 

 I have seen such men at farmers' conventions, 

 after the meeting was dissolved, gather to- 

 gether in knots and talk over the subject 

 under discussion in a manner which would 

 have done honor to the lecturer himself. A 

 Farmers' Club is the very best place to draw 

 out the knowledge of such men, and at the 

 same time it is a good place to draw out the 

 knowledge of those who are accustomed to 

 public speaking. 



Associated Effort. 

 Another advantage of these organizations is 

 in associated effort. This advantage will 

 manifest itself in many ways. Great good 

 will come from association alone without com- 

 bining in any effort. When men come to- 

 gether and comjiare notes, as the saying is, 

 when they talk over the work in which at the 

 time they are engaged, when they compare 

 the different crops raised with the yield of 

 their neighbors, they are spurred up to effort 

 and are led to inquiry. These comparisons, 

 this incjuiry, lead to thought, and through that 

 to better cultivation and better crops. They 

 will be encouraged in trying new experiments. 

 They can also associate in procuring new and 

 costly kinds of seeds, and in trying new im- 

 plements to prove their value. In many cases 

 the members of a Club have combined in pur- 

 chasing thoroughbred animals for the improve- 

 ment of their Hocks and herds. Such efforts 

 cannot be too highly commended. In one in- 

 stance the results were so satisfactory, and the 

 interest awakened was so great, that it resulted 

 in one of the members purchasing the entire 

 herd of one of the most celebrated Short-horn 

 breeders in New England. When such re- 

 sults are being realized from these organiza- 

 tions, who will dare measure the influence they 

 are destined to exeit if properly conducted 

 and earnestly supported ? 



Social Intercourse. 



Farmers necessarily live at considerable dis- 

 tances from each other, and in consequence of 

 this and their habits of steady labor, confine 



themselves too much to their own fields and 

 firesides. They and their families need recre- 

 ation, need pleasures, need something to 

 counteract the effect of the constant labor in 

 which they are engaged. The mechanic in the 

 village or city has his mind frequently drawn 

 away from his work by that which is going on 

 around liim, but the farmer, being diff'erentl 

 situated, finds nothing to break up the monot- 

 ony unless he seeks for it elsewhere. It is 

 quite probable that more work would be ac- 

 complished and a better tone of feehng be 

 experienced, to say nothing of the more cheer- 

 ful countenance which ^ould be worn, if a 

 half day each week were given to social in- 

 tercourse with fellow farmers, instead of de- 

 voting six full days each week to unremitting 

 labor. After a day spent pleasantly away 

 from home, the labor is not so irksome — the 

 laborer is happier. Allowing as much was not 

 accomplished by giving a little time to relaxa- 

 tion, it s-hould be borne in mind that food and 

 raiment for the family, forage for the stock, 

 and money for the bank, are not the only 

 things worth striving for. We need happiness 

 as well. But if a portion of this time be 

 given to a wide awake farmers' club, ideas 

 will be gained, practical knowledge acquired, 

 which in time will bring about results far in 

 excess of those which will be realized by the 

 farmer who does not improve these opportu- 

 nities. 



, The Exercises of the Club 



Should be varied to suit the tastes of different 

 members. Discussions upon familiar farm 

 topics should generally be held each evening, 

 and every member should take part in them. 

 Do not depend upon professional talkers, who 

 may know little of the sut)iect about which 

 they are talking, but give your own experience 

 and your opinions drawn therefrom, as you 

 would talk them to a neighbor sitting by your 

 own fireside. Practical knowledge will thus 

 be imparted, which all should seek for. Es- 

 says upon the subjects which are to be consid- 

 ered, may be prepared and read by those who 

 have a taste for putting their thoughts in 

 writing. It is a good practice to assign topics 

 six months or a year before hand, so that 

 those who are to prepare essays may have 

 ample time to "read up" their subject, or to 

 experiment upon it on their farms. In this 

 way almost every member can, if he will, pre- 

 pare a valuable paper. To fill up any spare 

 time, extracts from books or papers, which 

 are not accessible to all, may be read, and the 

 ideas or recommendations discussed. — Z. A. 

 Gilbert, Androscoggin Co., Me., in Countiy 

 Gaitleman. 



— Moisture sometimes generates in a bee hive in 

 winter, and runs down the sides to the entrance, 

 where, coming in contact with cold air, it is frozen, 

 filling up the space, and stopping ventilation. 

 This matter should be looked to occasionally. 



