The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-06-04
Cooperation Ets Aims and Oh
ieeas,

jecss.
An Essay read by J. H. Putnam. at
meeting of the Grange at Putnam, VII
At the last meeting of the Yer
mont State Grange, the Committee
on Cooperation in their report said,
Incorporation is the bottom princi-
pie of our Order, the foundation
upon which the whole structure
rests. They further say that, ''co-
operation is the uniting of strength
to accomplish given purposes. This
strength is to be used in different
ways, as the object to be accom-
Plished appears in different forms.
The strength to be united is the
voices of the Patrons of Husbandry
scattered throughout our entire land.
Their voices are to be used in edu-
eating, IN demonstrating in petition
ing, in voting"
These voices are to be used in
educating. What does this term
imply? Education is a word which
is in everybody's mouth the signif-
cation of which is often misaDpre-
hended. The boarding school girl
after spending the allotted time at
some fashionable establishment, and
meanwhile having obtained a smat-
tering OF the various studies and &c
complishments taught, graduates
and is exceedingly glad that her
education is finished, and dropping
all idea of future Improvement, set
ties down into the common hum
drum of life and finds perhaps that
as far as her life wOrK IS concerned,
her education is of but little benefit,
and the same may be said of our
boys. If as is TOO often the case,
the idea of further improvement, if
the idea of making education lite
work is given up, and the habit of
study if it ever was formed is aban-
dOned, the moment the deploma is
obtained, then the education thus
obtained has not paid its cost. But
if the true object Of the discipline
Of the schools is realized and acted
upon, if it is impressed upon the
students that the greater object OF
school life, is to learn how to study;
and that education is not to be the
work Of few brief years but Of
life; and that education will only
cease when life closes, then will
all the time spent by our boys and
girls at school be well spent.
| will impress this idea upon the
n
cation finished the moment your
school days are closed, acquire
correct habit of study, this is better
done in school but if one has ac-
quired that habit, | care not where
it is obtained, that man or woman
is in the best sense of the term edu-
Gated, or rather he is prepared to
educate himself Every one who is
thus prepared can continue his edu-
cation through life It is an error
TO suppose that nothing can be
learned after the years of youth are
passed; that after a man has arrived
at the age of forty he must necessa-
rily be an "old fogy" and that there
is then no use in making an effort
TO improve the mind. If there is
desire for improvement and habit
of study has been formed while
Young, that faculty need not be lost,
but the man who is thus blessed
will be as capable of acquiring
knowledge at fifty as he was at fif-
teen. For minds thus trained there
is great need in the agricultural
ranks and for the purpose of filling
that want there should be working
together-a cooperation among Pa
irons. We should strive to make
,ur schools better, to make of them
iustltutions where our children will
be educated toward the farm in
stead of away from it. But we
must make the most of them as
they are and until our schools are
much better than they are at pre-
sent, we should i'm press upon the
minds of our boys and girls the inn
portance of spending considerable
time in attending school of a higher
grade than those found in the rural
districts of Vermont.
Now the question arises: Can
not those whose education has been
neglected while Young improve in
ellectually as they become older:
Certainly they can, and for this class
the Grange affoids its best opPor-
tunities. Il is e.nphatically their
school, a place where they can piece
out; make up to a certain degres
for the lost opportunities Of thell
YOUNGER days. Here they can learn
to he better farmers by talking
about and d!scnssin g all those ques
tions which relate to farm manage