Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1872-12-02
THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE,
MANUFACTURES AND MINING.
BY OUR AGRICULTURAL EDITOR.

mers' Institutes held by the State Board
of Agriculture in this and other counties,
are paying investment. We think ma
iority of them are inclined to decide in
the negative.
The above we find in the local items
from Irasburgh, in the MONITOR for Nov.
4, and without doubling the truth of the
concluding sentence, the question at once
arose in our own mind, are "a majority
of them" qualified to .'decide" in the
matter? We think we are safe in say
ing, that in all branches of human in
dustry, except agriculture, it is consid-
cred safe to decide upon the merits or
dement's of any new movement having
a bearing upon those industries, only af
ter full investigation, and we do not
believe that agriculture should form an
exception to this rule. The question
then is pertinent: Are the farmers of
our state,-or to confne it nearer home
are the farmers of Orleans County
qualified to decide the question? Have
they made such full and fair investi-
CATION of the matter as to render them
competent to decide it, and if so, how?
Certainly not by personal attendance
at the meetings of the board which have
been held in the county. There have
been but two meetings of the Board held
in the county, one at Newport and the
other at Craftsbury. At the former we
are informed that but three individuals
from Orleans County were present the
first day. The second day we should
Judge, from personal observation, that
there might have been ten or twelve Or
leans Co. men in the meeting. There
was however, for short time, much
larger number in attendance-some forty
or fifty we should judge. There hap
pened to be a political convention held
in the same building on that day, and
through a mistake quite large number
of the sturdy farmers, who had assem-
bled to manage the convention. got in
to the room where the meeting of the
Board of Agriculture was being held,
and it was really amusing to see the
blank looks on their faces and witness
the alacrity with which they ''skedad
died. when kindly informed by ou1
friend Cleveland, who was President o.
the meeting. that though their presence
would be most welcome, they had prob
ably made mistake and had got into +;
farmers meeting instead of politica
convention The attendance at Crafts
bury was somewhat better, though no
to exceed thirty or forty, we shoul'
judge.
We think we have good reason the
for saying that a majority" of our fa1
mers have not made themselves qualife
to decide this question, by a persona
attendance at the meetings. So far a
: we have heard an expression from thos
, who did attend those meetings, the do
tive ah hea ttFeng kavp th hsr a R9a
e cations" Dealers have their Boards,
Clergymen have their Councils an
! Physicians have their Societies" an
a we doubt if any considerable number {
} intelligent men connected with these di
!, ferent branches of industry doubt tt
= value of these agencies to their bushes
e But not so the majority of the ia
n mers. Anybody or anything that a
S sumes to instruct them is a humbug, an
Il ''don't pay" Now while we, as ia
q mer, are proud of the general INTEL
: gence. morality and worth of our We
y mont farmers, would in no sense cast an
L odium upon them, we are bound to sa
that they are the most self-conceite'
o egotistical class, so far as their busine
is concerned, that can be found. Viii
S all other classes eagerly seek for all IL
Il information and aid in regard to the
! business. which is within their reac
/ the majority of the farmers either loo
it with utter indifference, or with positi,
e opposition upon anything which propos
to instruct or assist them. They som
~ how seem to have an idea that q
IS that is worth knowing about farmin
d descends from father to son by sort
y natural inheritance, from generation
generation, and that it can neither
q added to nor diminished; certainly n
e by 'scsenti!tc" pettifoggers.
q But we will return to the origin
- question, docs it pay % In order
20 answer the question intelligently, it W
IL be necessary to know what the cost
Let us look then and see what all the
n meetings cost the taxpayers of the stat
a Our impression is that some ten or twel
v meetings have been held in different Sc
v, tions of the state. No entrance fee
>, charged to any one attending the me,
- ings, and so far as we are informed
N those who have assisted at the meetin
ii by reading papers or joining in the d
r cussion, Outside of the members of t
Board) have done so without compens
Ill ton, and we knoU that some at least ha
4 travelled from thirty to seventy-fve mil
III and have borne their own expenses,
s. assist at these meetings. and in ca!