Many county societies were formed in 1836 and for some years
flourished; few of them, we believe, exist now. We hope that the day
has come for them to revive; and, that the experience of the past may
not be lost, it is well to record the reasons why these county
societies declined.
1. Just after their birth, came on the fatal years of fictitious
prosperity; when every man expected a railroad on one side of his farm
and a canal on the other—and when everybody was about to be
exceedingly rich; not by legitimate business; not by producing wealth;
but by the _rise of property_. Now the wealth of a farming community
is always to arise from the products of the farm. Whatever withdraws
attention from assiduous cultivation, or plants the hope of gain in
other sources than in the herds, the dairy, the grain and the grass
field, will, eventually, insure disappointment and even poverty, as
many of our farmers can testify. It would be difficult for those who
had not seen it, to imagine the fervent, sanguine, exulting, state of
mind with which the whole community, at the time we speak of, looked
for the wealth. Farms were to quadruple in value; pork was to be
cashed at enormous prices; grain and grass, stock and fruit, were to
swell the golden tide; and, for once, the world was to see great
riches from little labor. Carelessness, waste, rashness, and
incredible presumption were the result. Societies for the promotion of
a careful and patient cultivation of the soil could not long be
thought worthy of attention in a community which expected to be rich
by a dexterous bargain, by one lucky speculation, by town lots, and
shares, and that mysterious hum-bug—the rise of property.
2. Succeeding such days came the opposite extreme. Everybody was poor
and expected to be poorer. There was no money and no market. Hogs were
hardly salable, grain a drug, and all produce unavailable. Nothing was
brisk but debt and debt collecting. Men were discouraged. Said they,
“if one can sell nothing, there is no use in raising anything; twenty
bushels an acre is as good as forty, when one can’t sell or use it.”
Schools languished, public spirit died, business was totally deranged,
and agricultural societies became extinct with the downfall of other
useful institutions.
3. There were some things in the management of the societies which
embarrassed them independently of these other causes. There was too
much talk and pretension—wind work; the offices were taken for the
honor—patient endurance of drudgery, which somebody must bear, was
_shirked_ off. Men took little pains _between_ the meetings;
everything was to be done at the time of meeting; and, of course, half
done. This led to dissatisfaction. The mistakes of carelessness were
attributed to partiality or prejudice. Some dropped off; others
relaxed; and, when the excitement was gone, few cared to take the dull
but real and necessary business.
4. Notwithstanding all these things, the county societies did a great
deal of good. A skillful farmer told me, that in the county, where he
resided, there was hardly a considerable farmer who did not try a few
acres, at least, to see what he _could do_; and even many renters
exhibited specimens of fine cultivation. More attention was paid to
every part of the farm; and, for a time, everything felt the impulse.
A few words to those who may embark again in this good cause.
1. It is best to begin as you can hold out. A great meeting, a vast
roll of by-laws, a regiment of officers, a parade of speeches, these
make a fine meeting, and that’s all. Let a few stanch friends to
improvement put their heads and hands together, without show or noise;
begin at the little end, and hold fast what is gained.
2. In choosing officers, societies almost invariably steer upon one
rock on which thousands have split. There is a desire to put great men
into offices, to get their influence. In a mere public meeting of a
day, this is well enough; but in a society which is to exist by
efficient labor, it is suicide. Such men like to be puffed and
published as presidents, chairmen, etc., etc., but that ends the
matter. They go away and are not seen again till the next annual
meeting, when, lo! a resurrection takes place; and they flame again, a
whole year’s zeal exhibited in one day. It is best to select officers,
who are well broken, of a good strain of blood, and who pull steadily,
on hard ground, in the mud, over bridging, or upon turnpikes. In this
way we may not have quite so large a show, but we shall have a
steadily growing and efficient society.
3. In the award of premiums, more or less of dissatisfaction will
always be felt. A man who has worked a whole year for a premium cannot
be expected to lose it without some pain. Premiums should be awarded
with great care, with scrupulous impartiality, and every effort made
by the leading, substantial farmers to soothe and keep down everything
like bitterness and faction, in consequence of disappointment.
4. It is _indispensable_ that agricultural papers should go hand in
hand with agricultural societies. We will venture to say, that no
society will long exist prosperously, which does not have a reading
membership; and that a society can hardly fail to prosper if its
members are regular readers of agricultural papers.