Connecticut western news., 1884-01-02
THE TANNERS CONVENTION.

| The annual winter meeting of the state board of agriculture is such a pleasant social affair and at the same time so entertaining and instructive that those farmers who stay at home deny themselves a real treat At these
 meetings every one is good natured and jolly, the discussions are lively, and the papers-many of them written by hands that show marks of long life of manual toil-are spicy and suggestive.
 The recent meeting at Waterbury was no exception, but if it differed from former gatherings, it was only to excel them in pleasant features. Probably 200 or 300 of the 25, 900 Connecticut farmers were there and to an outsider their faces and discussions must have | conveyed the impression that to be a farmer one must have large amount of intelligence-but,a alas! We are too often judged as one would judge chain-by its weakest link-and so, in the eyes of the world. the typical farmer Is man good for nothing else.
 The lecture by l.. P. Chamberlain on New England Farm Labor pointed out very clearly what is too often overlooked by both the present generation and that just passing away, i. e.-the radical changes made in our methods of farm labor by the introduction of improved machinery. The old folks are inclined to stick to the old hand methods, even when you show them it don't pay i; while the young man Is perhaps prone to go to the other extreme and invest inJudiciously in machines that are not as much money saving as labor saving The speaker alluded to the p years preceding the war as the golden age of farm labor, while now we are witnessing the decline of labor and use brain power in the ascendant. In regard to the management of hired help, Mir Cham berlain urged that if the hired man be we'll treated, well fed and well paid little trouble would arise.
 J. NJ. Hubbard's lecture on Things Which Seem Worthless was one emi- nentlX calculated to make the farmer contented with his lot. He reminded us how many comforts we enjoy that our'city cousin cannot buy and showed that, although our cash dividends may be small, We should reckon up among our profits many things that money will not buy and which are too often thought worthless on that account With the true typical farmer the simple acquire ment of money Is not the chief aim.
 Dr G. A. Bowen showed that the possibilities of the farmer and his family for perfect health are exceptional that his natural surroundings and his oppor- tunities for good food and pure water are unsurpassed. He then went on to show how wantonly these opportunities o,. h.,
 house drainage and water supply bed sickness and death. The usual scientific tribute was paid to fat pork and Die and the speaker compared the list of an expert New England pie maker in mag nltude to the stars of heaven. He seemed to think that many farmers didn't live well enough, that they were too much inclined to sell the best of their produce and heroically eat them selves what no one will buy. This is certainly the case with those farmers who seem to regard the getting of money as the prime object of life
 Prof Brewer, concerning the educa- tlonm influences of the farm, showed again in an original way, how the farmers boy has the advantage over his city cousin. A feeling of personal responsibility begins to rest on the country boy very early in life; from the time he is large enough to feed tue chickens and drive the turkeys out of the yard he has something to do and likes to do 1t. Again, he is educated in a system of care and forethought all the operations he sees going on about him have some relation to the future, SD he Is being educated for his life work from the very start, while the city boy knows nothing of business and feels none of the responsibilities of life until in many cases 1t is too late to learn to him nothing seems to fail for lack of forethought,-a seems to depend on the supply of money, but how to get money he don't know.
 A. w. Cheever, ill Various Views of Farming, rode his small farm hobby very effectively. Too many farms are too large for the capital employed in rInning them. The earnings are too often sent to the savings bank instead of being turned ill to increase the busi- ness capacity of the farm The farm of It acres was mentioned us having cleared last year, above all expenses, $22OO and another of nine acres cleared $500. This shows the possibilities of New England agriculture
 J. B. Olcott, ill The Conflict of Civili- Lation with it's own Waste, showed what filthy animal man is and how reckless ne IS Ill disposing of his filth.
 The program furnished by Secretary Gold concluded with paper by Mrs