Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1883-03-29
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY LECTURES.
The Social Life of Farmers.
BY PROFESSOR TowNsHEND.

| L t8OsfOoC lllo
3 to speak of the social life of farmers
f Our word social, as the dictionaries tel
US, Is derived from the Latin sOcius, Oh
companion. BY social life We shall un-
derstand that which enjoys the pleasure
the help and improvement of c, mpau
ionship in cUntradistinctlun from life
l spent III isolation or solitude
I Man is social being. He found out
long ago, that it is not good to be alone
He desires to share his joys with others.
and is thankful fol the sympathy which
divides his sorrows This desire for
companionship is common to all periods
of life, from childhood to old age, and is
felt in all conditions, from the highest
to the lowest in his amusements, in the
cultivation of the arts or sciences, in bis
religion, and in his industry, man seeks
companiOnship; and whatsoever form
OF life or occupation does not allow
cheerful mpanionship, is dull and un :
attractive.
Agriculture, although the most impor-
tant of our industries, providing man
with food and the materials for his
clothing, is TO many unattractive and
disagreeable, because to a great degree
it is unsocial. Farmers homes are not
collected into towns or villages like the
homes Of other workers, but are scatter
ed over the country from a quarter to
half mile, or even a mile apart, and
this distance, at times, is practically
more than doubled by the badness of
country roads. Much of the farmers
work is solitary-is without cheerful
cOmpanionship. He harnesses his team
in the morning, and plews until noon !;
after mid day meal he resumes his
work until evening. Whether he plows,
harrows, sows or plants his fields, much
of the work is done alone When night
GENES, he is weary from his work; per-
lhaps, also, he is worried because some
thing has not gone as it should After
the evening meal he is scarcely in con-
dition to enjoy the society of his family,
or of friends or neighbors. Day by day
the dull round is repeated until, to some,
this unsocial life becomes almost bur
| den. If the unsociableness of agricul
tural pursuits could be corrected, it
would be a great improvement. An oc-
cupatiOn which from any cause is dsa-
greeable, will not be likely to stimulate
men to push forth their best efforts, nor
to make the best of themselves, an i'm
provcment in the social life of farmers
will therefore be of great service.
More than eighty per cent of the ex-
ports OF this country are raised upon the
farm, and it is not for the interest of
the country that our means of exchange
should be diminished. If agriculture
was more attractive and therefore more
productive than it is, foreign nations
would be glad to purchase all onr sur
plus; an improvement in the social life
of farmers would therefore increase the
national wealth. AS consequence of
the lack Of social life among farmers
they are often deficient in social culture
and agreeable manners. The farmer can,
and ought to be a gentleman. | am sor-
ry to say that oftentimes he is not,
and therefore he fails to secure the at
tention and position he otherwise might |
secure.
Can the social life of the farmer be
improved? To this question l answer
yes. where there is will there is a
way" Farmers cannot bring their
homes together into towns and villages
the figure and size of farms make that |
impossible. The farmer cannot entirely |
change the character of his work much |
of it will forbid his having other COM
panions than his team. But the use of |
modern agricultural machinery will
make many kinds of work more social |
as well as more rapid and much less |
fatiguing. The rapidity and ease with |
which work may now be done should |
secure for the farmer more leisure, and |
leave him better fitted to enjoy the SO
ciety of his family and friends after the
labors of the day are over.
have said that it is possible to i'm
prove the social life of the fathers fam
lily. Let me indicate some of the ways
and means. Travelling about the State,
one may see here and there certain pleas
ant practices which only need to be
brought together and generally adopted
to convert dull and unsocial into bright
and cheerful homes. | have seen
farmers family, consisting of father and
mother, sons and daughters, hired man,
and one or more hired girls, make their
meals especially social and pleasant The
plan was very simple: the father and
mother understood each other, and one
or the other at every meal time had
somo pleasant item of news, some short,
spicy story, or some question which
served to start pleasant and profitable
No one but those parents
knew that the pleasant conversation
around that table was the result of any
plan; all seemed fresh and spontaneous,
as indeed it was with. the Younger mem
bers Of the family, and with the stran-
gers that occasionally enjoyed the hospi-
tality of that home. | have seen, in a
farm house in Ohio, the regular practice
of putting good lamp on the table af-
ter the supper had been cleared away
and all the papers and magazines taken
by the family, brought out and put on
the table for the use of the family and
and their help together. For the smaller
children there were pictures and puz-
zles, and games, so that old and young
could be pleasantly and profitably occu-
pied until bed time. To many families
music affords a means tof social enjoy
ment, the value of which can scarcely
be over-estimated. | have known a
family to have its own paper-a month.
ly perhaps to which all the members.
large and small, contributed. When the
afternoon or evening came for the read.
ing of the paper there was "lots of fun"
and many pleasant surprises. In the
intervals between the monthly readings.
a great many pieces had to be gotten nm
written and intrusted to the one who
played the part of editor and reader. In
a township in the northern part of the
State where grew up. there was a plan
in operation to supply the families of
with good reading at small /
A society or club was formed.
the necessary officers were chosen, two
dollars from each of seventeen members
was paid into the Treasury; after consul.
tation, the purchase of as many books
as there we're members was agreed upon
When the books had been purchased. the
Secretary wrote the names of the mem
bers of the club upon fly leaf, in the
order of their residences. The books ;
were then distributed, and each member ,
fOund his or her mama ot ,Lo -, |