Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-10-24

ranked us in opposGr OF education; and
by appeals to low instincts and narrow
ideas, exciting prejudice against those la.
boring for higher standard and more
general diffusion of knowledge. Bro
Hoskins, in II late number Of the TKtt:h-
man, published an article which we wish
our limits permitted US to reprint entire,
but from which We can only give extracts,
which shall us far as possible and in all
fairness give correct idea of the general
tenor of the rest of the articIe
DO WE ALL KNOW ENOUGH
1t is our observation, from pretty eX.
tensiVe acquaintance among our brother
farmers that th0 most kilfu and the mos
successful amongst them are those who
have been and are the most anxious to
learn every detail of their business. They
are the men who most constantly attend
the agricultural meetings. read agricullur
III books, and subscribe TO agricultural PIT
pers. The time is past when the " book
farmer can he sncercd ut by the uninte
llSClLL VI lllo llbINSolOliS vi pOlutN'A at l'l
his broken fences, weedy fields, scrawny
cattle and Improbable crops. 1t is now
commonly admitted that knowledge, both
general and special, is us useful to the
farmer us it has always proved to be to
others.
Figures will not lie. and these crop av-
erages cannot be got away from. We
need more knowledge, and we need IL
have it more generally rlilfused The man
VINO says 50 is not insulting the farmers
and any one VIII makes such charge is II
demagogue. or ln ass, whom every intel
ligenL person sees through at once. 1t is
no more an insult to the farming class for
one Of ourselves, or for any outsider, To
say we need more knowledge, than it j.
for the minister to tell lis we need more
religion. The m IN who feels inaulred in
either case is the man that is most in
need
With such record, who
would expect to find that man railing III
efforts to spread pIoliable KIN iwledgr
among our farms! Who would not feel ii
rs the lowering of II noble standard to see
such man endeAvoring to excite pr .ju-
NllCt lObluNt IL ltllOW-ltNlOlJl Nv tIIl W
low instincts and narrow i,leasP Yet thai
is the position into which Bro PnEh TN I
the FREEMAN seems willing to put hun
self
AS 1T first intimated, it is new expert
ence 10 us To be cla,scd is an opponent OF
education, the one thing Of winch We have
personally fell 50 keenly the need, -and-
the lack, and toward the attainment 0
which striven so long and earnestly.
And we have cIre(ulIy considered our
record ON the subject, to sec what of our
public writings or private conversation
could give such IN impression, and fail to
find any thing which could by any possible
ity be tortured to any such construction
except few remarks on Mr. Bliss paper,
NJ the meetin@ef the Butter, Cheese and
Egg Association, and remark on re.
printing another article Of lhr Doctors on
the ignorance Of farmers. This article
asserted That,
Three-quuters, at least, of the mel
and women tod y engaged in rural labcl
in Vermont are unaware, and are SO i'll
educated that they cannot be made avail,
of the sim. jlr prim Try facts and condition,
on which successful farming depends
There is no possible way of reaching lhriI
minds with these facts, because they hav,
not had that early mental training and ill.,
structlOn by which alone the human mind
is fitted to eceive and make use Of knowI-
edge"
While we believed this assertion of tn,
gross ignorance Of our farmers-so gross
rs 10 be ignorant of simplest GsctS and con.
diIions underlying their occupation, and
that there was no possible way of reach
ing their minds to better SO sud condi
ton and let in IL ray of light ON such denSD
mental darkness-to be not only unjust br-
untrue, we RETAINED from saying us much
leaving the answering for others, who did i
and did it well. Now we submit that Their,
is IL very broad margin Of difference be
tween such dense ignorance, and, nll
knowing enough, which the Doctors head
ing to the last article assumes to be tn,
question. We Should not think it npcos
sary, or quite judicious, if we wished t,
cure II man Of chewing tobacco, TO start il
by informing him that he was ronfrme,
and hol e'es, cannibal.
We are firm in the belief, founded OF
considerable knowledge of and assuria
ton with them, that, as II class, farmers
are the equals in Intelligence and nalura
ability, and in acquired knowledge an,
understanding of their business. of thos,
of other occupation, in their vicinity.
We have not said, CT given req>un fo
others to say that we farmers knew
enough, and there WAS no chance for fur
Their growth or Improvement, but what w
have protested and do protest against, i
being lectured on our ignorance general
Iy; and especially our ignorance of GU
business by any and every man who has
dinrrhea Of words, ana finds IN occasion t,
discharge them, and that, too, when tn
same talk shows conclusiveIy that tn
speaker has no more intelligent idea o
what the farmer needs to learn, or how Il
supply those needs, than an angle worn
has of astronomy.
Bul such talk has been cheap and com
mon; it has been considered rs safe hiyI
moral grounds to take, to bewail igno
rance and praise education, and farm
ers have had to lake the brunt of it
We said about this same in our com
ment> on Mr.. Bliss paper before name.
and we say further, that for man to com
mend the education and elevation of tn
farmer, urge that be needs to he educate,
because he might then make four OF fiv
times rs much and infniLeig better butter
and in the very SAME paper sly that ever
now, ut our present low state of product
and intelligence, the great danger wa
oUer production, is an impertinence and Al
insult, as much so as it would be for US Il
undertake 10 lecture he Doctor on his 10
norance of those subjects he so well I'm
derstands, and of which we are quite 10
norant; rs much an impertinence and III
insult as it would be for n minister t,
preach the need Of moro religion in hi