The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-04-05
2 O POTEAT'S PAPER
INTERESTING MEETING HELD
YESTERDAY.
STANDING COMMITTEES APPOINTED
The Next Meeting Of The Association Will be
Held in May and There will be a Bas-
ket Picnic on the Centennial
School Grounds.

ton Yesterday nelu the H1osl lHttloS,ih0
and largely attended meeting since its
organization.
It met at II o'clock in the Centennial
Graded school. The general subject dis
c,.Ssed was "Librarics.'
The discussion was opened by Prof
w. l.. Poteat. of Wake Forest College,
who read II most excellent paper Oh
the Use and Value of Circulating Lib
raries.'
Among other things. Prof. Poteat, i'll
this admirable discourse. said:
The isolation of families IN the coun-
try is Il physical barrier which does, m
deed. seriously hinder their Development
in certain directions. But 1t may be
fairly questioned whether We have not
taken it for granted that this barrier
was i~nsurmountablc, surrendered out
right in its presence. and 50 excused
ourselves from any effort to improve and
brighten rural life. The graded school
is the hopc and pride Of the town, but
for the country it is impracticablc: 50
runs our conclusion registered before de
bate or trial. \ system of lectures Is
i'm high favor for the town. theoretically
80 AT lcdSt. Dit VIZ iilllhS VI II as q
bic in the country? What 4 delight and
stimulus is the town reading club; but Il
country reading club: OF course. that
is a failure before it begins. and 50 it
does not begin. \ town that Is alive to
its higher needs would as soon think Of
excluding market wagons as Of giving
I'D its library. But Il public library in
the country? Preposterous. Who ever
thought such il contradiction i'll terms
could be realized in fact. except perhaps
certain Missionaries in Iowa and the We'll
meaning but impractical enthusiasts
who, l understand. will presently make
us Il report on the subject.
But something must be done to
quicken and lead out the intellectual life
of the country. And that, for the SAX
of the country itself.
Fine men and fine women, says Mr.
Froude III one of his delightful volumes
of colonial observations. are not to be
reared in own among taverns and the
aires and idle clatter of politics
They are natures choicest crea
tons and can be produced only on ma
lures own conditions. under the FREE.
air of heaven. on the green earth, amidst
woods and waters. and i'll the whole
some occupation Of cul~tivating the soil.
And yet. with all this natural adapta
ton to the production of What Is OF
most worth III manhood ard w~omanhood.
the country wants the power 10 hoil
what it produces. 1t IS ever cmptying
its wealth of original strength into the
lap Of the town. This is we'll enough
for the town. but for the country it Is
lrodigality md must end in poverty. 1t
is a settled truth among farlneTs that. if
all which the soil produces is taken off
and 40 part of it in any form is returned
to it, the soil sooner or later loses its
power to produce anything. Now, this
constant losing of its best material is an
index Of the existing poverty Of coun-
try life. as well as the cause and
prophecy Of still deeper poverty to fol
low Our civilization would. | fear. be
d~iScredited if Il test proposed by john
Burroughs should be applied to it. He
says that country life i> perhaps one of
the best tests of civilization.
Against this dreary alteration of la
Dor and ennui or dissipation there must
surely be some provision. And here we
come in sight Of some Of the special needs
Of country life.
"The first Of these needs which |
mention is il widening OF the horizon and
q Il 81 oltlooh " IiiiliiI iittl ISlS. l ht
penalties of specialism are nowhere
more manifest tina amongst farmers.
"A second need of country life is the
elevation OF its sole business by putting
more intelligence into the conduct Of it.
50 that we may come to feel it to be as
creditable to ones mental abilities TO
succeed on the farm as to succeed III the
office. \ better fertilizer than the
Owl Brand is brains. which contain,
believe, Il high percentage Of phosphorus.
When the calling is 50 Lignifieu. it will
not be SO difficult to retain on the farm
the boys who are ambitious OF i~ntellec-
tual distinction.
But the great need of country life.
TO make it attractive and resourceful. is
intellectual food and intellectual com
panionship.
These needs ought to be recognized
and met, not only for the sake of the
country, but also for the sake of the
town.
Il need not dwell upon the great world
movement of population from the coun-
try to the town. True, it dates from the
time of Cain, who went out from the
presence of the Lord after killing his
brother, and buIlded 4 city: but in the
present century it haas been more active
tudu ever DtIOlt. anu Ill the UtCauP from
1880 to 1890. Outran the record for any
previous decade of the century. dare
not hope that the census Of 1900 will
show any abatement Of it. The dcprcss-
ing statistics Of this drift are generally
accessible and are probably familiar Ia
YOU. l mention but one item. Even in
quiet old North Carolina. during the
ten years preceding 1890, there were as
many as 1910 townships. about % PEI
cent. Of the whole number. which ac-
tually decreased in population. Mann
seriou questions emerge from this
state of things. but my only purpose now
is to call attention to the stream of hu-
manity which is pouring out Of the coun-
try into the city.
.'Families waste and die out. 1t has
been said that when New York was
buried i'll snow by the fearful blizzard