Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-03-22

life has made farmers slow to see the
necessity of cooperative dealings. AS
a most striking example of the possbil-
tiles of cooperation we should get and
put into circulation the Report of the
Farm Bureau of Binghamton, N, Y. |
The farming communities on the out
skirts of this city retain as adviser and
business manager scientific farmer and
practical business man. He advises
methods of planting, fertilizing, cult
waiting and reaping, and he directs the
inspection, packing and shipping of all
produce. The people raise more and
better crops and get better prices; in
five years they have become wide
awake, aggressive, progressive farm
ers.
By bespeaking the help of our con-
gressmen we can get our libraries on
the mailing list of the U. S. department
of agriculture. No more practical or
valuable material is to be found than is
published in the farmers bulletins and
the experiment station circulars; we
shall be surprised in looking over the
check list to find how few of them we
can do without.
Start campaign against disease.
With the natural conditions all in our
favor, the death rate in the country is
much higher than in the city. Tubercu-
losis, while not so frequent, spreads
more rapidly when once it gains a foot
ing, owing to ignorance regarding its
! treatment. The state health depart
ment will lend US an exhibit of pictures
and charts and perhaps send US lee
J turer.
1t has been said that the average
American farm woman works in the
poorest equipped laboratory in the
world. She is over-burdened with phys
ical labor, and her work is done under
conditions inexcusably hard. Clubs and
reading circles that will be attractive to
farm women are much needed, for the
old-fashioned hospitality of generation
ago is dying out and there are fewer
opportunities of getting people togeth-
err. 'There is enthusiasm in numbers"
| and the better people know each other
the stronger is the feeling of common
interest and welfare.
The home economics department of
Cornell university is doing a great work
for farm women. They publish Read
ing Course for Farmers Wives; the
care and feeding of children, dust and
its dangers, and saving strength are
some of the subjects. The director of
the department writes me that she will
gladly send these bulletins to Vermont
libraries. We could in this way reach
many mothers who can not attend study
clubs or reading circles.
We should avail ourselves of the OPP
portunity to secure lecturers from the
state departments of agriculture, for
estry, geology and health and invite our
summer visitors to help US. One YER
mont town, through the study of mush-
rooms under the direction of a visitor
who is a specialist on that subject, has
added real and available delicacy to
many country tables.
Nothing appeals more strongly to
country people than amateur theatre
Gals. We should supply those plays of
Walter Baker e Co. of Boston and of
Bingham Radcliffe Co. of Millville, N.
j., which are published for use in coun-
try communities where simple costumes
and setting are so necessary.
Every town which is a shopping or
marketing center feels the need of
rest and toilet room. The library, if so
fortunate as to possess facilities, may
well supply the need and in this very
practical way ingratiate itself with out
of-town constituents.
The artistic value of the fower-tables
in our libraries would repay us for the
thought and work which we spend upon
them. but they have a wider use and a
deeper significance. What one knows
one is interested in; and knowledge of
the flowers and ferns of our locality fos-
tiers love for them that cannot be over
estimated.
We should dignity the profession of
agriculture by displaying prominently
the catalogues and bulletins of the agri-
cultural colleges side by side with those
of Harvard, Pinceton and Yale. We
subscribe to engineering, electrical, and
architectural periodicals-ar we fair to
our community interests unless we
place beside them the best farming
journals?
1t has been said educate a boy and
you educate an individual; educate girl
and you educate a whole family"
Since the country girl is the country's
best asset, we should do what we can to
interest her in the wonderful and fas-
cinating things in the natural life about
her The state experiment station and
our school teachers will be our best