The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-10-01
Educational Work Of the Oranges.

Educational Work Of the Oranges.
William b. Cutting, Esq, secretary of
Maple Grove Grange, No. 1856, writes to
us as follows under date of Westminster
West, September LIST, 1884: You ask
what our oranges are doing for agri-
cultural education | cannot reply for
the oranges in general throughout the
state, but will give you brief summary
of what our grange has been doing in
that and other directions. Maple Grove
Grange was organized December 18th,
1874, with about sixty members-and
we still number about the same, having
lost some of the poorest Chose who
Joined from purely selfish motive, or
from idle curiosity and gained from a
better class. For the first four or five
years after we organized we paid con-
siderable attention to the financial fea-
ture, purchasing flour, feed, fertilizers,
groceries and agricultural implements at
wholesale. We still purchase all but
groceries in this way, or, perhaps,
should say of the latter agricultural
Implements we purchase through a
member of the grange who is agent for
manufacturers, allowing him a small
commission for his service. The grange
and Sovereigns of Industry run gro
Gerry store at Brattleboro very success
fully on the Rochdale plan, selling for
cash to the members and to those outside
alike at one price. The profits are di-
vided among the members of the grange
and sovereigns, pro rata, according to
the amount of trade. We hold, during
the winter, two meetings month, in
the evenings, one of which is open to
our families and such visiting friends
as may chance to be with us. At our
private meetings we have the usual
routine work, with some discussions on
farming and other topics. AT our open
meetings the exercises are varied by
having the children take part in dec
lamatiOns and music. We also have
essays on educational, farming and
other matters, also select readings and
sometimes a political essay, which,
though not partisan, sometimes gives
an indication of the political bias of the
writer. | will add, however, we have
never had any discussions to mar the
| nnnI faa1inpS of tha rpar,harc | ~ 81
spring, or the latter part of winter, we
had the questions of the town system of
schools and the abolishing of the high
way surveyors, and at our spring cleo
ton, we adopted the town school sys-
TEN and voted to raise fifteen cents on
a dollar of the grand list for highway
purposes, placing the money in the
hands of the selectmen to be expended
by them. The result has given us bet
ter schools and vastly improved our
highways at less cost than by the old
method. Perhaps it would not be mod
est for granger to claim the credit of
all this work for the grange, yet think
| may safely say, had it not been for
the free and full discussions by the
grange, the good work would have been
indefinitely postponed. During the
summer we have but one meeting a
month, which is an open one, and at
our two last meetings we had not less
than one hundred present, including
children. These meetings are held at
the residence of some member of the
grange, and as the summer evenings
are short we give the afternoon to the
work, and, that you may have some idea
of our work, / enclose three papers
which were read at our last meeting,
held August l4th. These are, of course
not for publication, neither is this com
munication, which is simply written tC
show you that we are not idle, and that
if we do not show to the people of the
state in general what we are doing, WE
are confident that we are doing some,
thing to carry out the principles of the
, order as designed by its founders, viz
for mutual instruction and protection
to tighten labor by diffusing knowl
edge of its aims and purposes etc.
should not inhict you with this large
/ dose, did | not believe you to b'
5 friendly to the grange and to ask for in
t formation in good faith. | read you
department of THE WATCHMAN will
r much pleasure, admiring your indie
pendence and ability as writer.
t have but one other paper which is 81
H, conducted, the HuSbondmdn, publishe,
1 at Elmira, n. y. Now | am aware tina
e the grange is not doing the work whicl
y, it should, and it is mainly because tn
It mass of farmers of ability hold them