Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-07-26

Plan In Which the Oranges of the
State Shall Co. operate.
Public opinion in Massachusetts,
seems to be favorable to some forward
steps in the development of agrlcul-
ture and country life. During the past
two or three years intelligent interest
In this subject has grown apace. New
er was there SO much faith in New
England agriculture, never so keen a
desire to achieve the best possible life
wealth
The question comes, therefore, What
are the next steps in order that this
interest and faith may be capitalized
and worked over into practical re-
suits? The most engaging idea to me
In this connection is that Of a state
wide plan for rural progress. 1t is
not entirely new idea 1t has been
discussed at good many meetings
during the past few years Indeed,
80 long ago as the autumn Of 1907,
nearly five years ago, the idea was
rather thoroughly gone over at the
Massachusetts conference on rural
tumn. l think that the idea has al
ways met with favor, the question al
ways being, Are we ready for this
larger enterprise? l raise the questions
now: Is the time ripe for the organi-
cation of such plan? Are we ready
to attempt comprehensive organized
movement of all rural forces on behalf
of a genuine campaign for rural prog
ress?
Let us see what such plan or cam
paign involves. In the first place, it
involves special campaigns. 1t will
not do to deal merely in talk or in gen.
eralities. Specific, definite, helpful
things must be done in those fields
where help Is most needed We must
have, therefore, a state wide campaign,
for example. in apple growing. There
ought to be developed a series Of in
vestigations that will discover, If pos
sible, all facts which we most need to
know about the conditions of success
full apple growing in Massachusetts.
discover should be placed in the hands
of everybody to whom this information
can be of aid. Consequently we need
education. Methods Of marketing must
be developed: prizes must be offered;
consumers must be educated as to va
r1eties and uses. Now, to do all this
successfully every agency interested in
hn ,,til
they must all work together for one
large general end. The board Of agri-
culture. the various horticultural so
cieties, the commission men, the rail-
roads and the agricultural colleges and
experiment stations must all help. In
other words, there must be a compre-
hensive, definite, thoroughgolng plan
for building up the apple industry In
Massachusetts. What Is true Of the
apple industry is also true of the dairy
industry. The need here is even great
er. SO there might be special cam
paigns on behalf of corn growing, al |
falfa growing. poultry raising. better
farm management, general rural i'm |
provement, the country school and the
country church.
But these special campaigns must be
in some way related to one another if
they are all parts of one general |
scheme of betterment; consequently |
there should be state committee or
federation for rural progress made up
of representatives of all the different !
agencies interested. Such a fedora
4 IN e-I
careful surveys of conditions, hold con-
ferences and discuss definite, concrete |
lines of work. Their purpose, in fact, |
is not so much to do work as to cor
relate the efforts of all the different |
agencies along specific lines of prac- |
teal aid.
am satisfied, however, that, in adj
dition to state wide committee, the !
great need is that each rural town
shall seek to build up within its own |
borders the highest type of agriculture |
and rural life. Aid and suggestion |
may be rendered to some degree from
outside, but the work must be done |
from within. Consequently every rural
town ought to have a committee or
federation for rural progress which |
seeks to develop a town plan for the
upbuilding Of agriculture as bust
ness, for cooperation In marketing,
for the teaching of agriculture in the
schools, for the strengthening and CO.
operation of churches, for better roads
and greater beauty, for Fairgrounds
and recreation in general and, in fine,
for a town plan of progress.
KENYON L. BUTTERFIELD.
Grange Athletics.