Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Jan. 5, 1887, edition 1 / Page 1
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TT ' - - - .. . . f . . : , ii; if Vol. 1. OUR FARMERS CLUBS. What our Farmers are Doing and How the Work of Organizing is Progressing. TRINITY CLUB. Subjfct Agricultural Clubs, County Institutes and the Convention. Dr. Joseph Bird. These are cer tainly fertile themes for every-enterprising farmer. I have certainty been benefited by my attendance at the club. We compare notes and experience our success and failures It makes us read more, and calcu late closer, in order to discuss the many question presented by the Club. I have myself put questions and have invariably received help and satisfaction after putting them to the test. I am satisfied that the policy of following the successful is a safe one. You all remember that some years ago we discussed at sev eral oV our meetings the subject of manure making and its application. Its effects are evident in all this sec tion. In all my reading and my own experience I have seen nothing that improves upon our plans. Farmers live more isolated than any other class. They work on the same old line of thought they ought to be pulled out of the old ruts. Therefore let them mingle more with each other. Ireland is specially adapted to the dairy busi ness, and it is a large industry there but for the want of skillful operatives they have thus far failed to produce an article that commands the best prices. However, I notice that they are now establishing special training schools wherein the dairymen may be instructed. It is well to cultivate the mind but at the same time the hand must not be forgotten. While the State is making such efforts to induce outsiders to come among us we are neglecting to devel op and bring up those who are a' ready here, and many of these become disheartened and leave J. B. Frazier. I attend club meetings so seldom that it looks like inconsistency in me to speak of its benefits. I remember froinj with inv father some fifteen vearsj aero to some club meetings. The? impressions made on me then, some of them at least, are vivid to-day. I am satisfied that every farmer should atten 1 such meetings. A. Parker. I am convinced that every intelligent farming community should establish and maintain a farmers' club. Every farmer in the community should feel it his duty to attend each and every meeting he possibly can. I was as busy and hard pushed in work last summer any one. But f made arrange ments to attend the club meetings twice a month, and feel now like the time was profitably spent. On my Wiy to one of our meetings during the buy scfson, I was asked by one f my neighbors in passing, "How c'aii you spare the time from your work to attend these meetings?" I replied that a man should not be actuated entirely by selfisb-j J o tor my own good," and A -ca 1 1 ; ii to j)e ni,r (iuty to h - 'eel it. t( 0 11TT ,l.it,r "v Uoln U11U. l'Or tfM; (liiK .fV. ,nrstwil irfiu - ' citizens we owe this to eact r.ther. 'nf)' 'it:,! m I am earnestly seeking and gladly avail myselt "i e. -,,. ..Li: 1 is tr: '"riiuiuy to ouiaui it. n f in 17 U I itSUi.:icllIUIJ Willi trni an 1 reading on topics we ( !i H! impracticable theories lI'U hrittV articles that we should nt a By concentrated effort fo.t! lilt an0- po(-iety are held Jiev. I fanner I ,1,1 , 1 1 . Wood. I am not a ;lt I am a native of Ran- .u i iiimi,.i.i i x: i "iMint up on a iarm uu ' I left the county 25 have been ashamed 0" , a f are u :"ng of my county until yars ago. Other counties -d but none have mad&J more dolnl a "nm:oV,ement of late than Ran has tot r Tave f improvement Is' ,rT!1the northwest corner. 11 the 0,1 Evidences of this in r INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS ments. These benefits have crown out of the clubs. The good effects are not confined to your immediate circle, but are plainly evident out side. The influences are spreading. It is dsirable that the farmers in every township organize. All other callings are organized. Preachers, lawyers, doctors, mechanics are all organized, but the farmer will not organize worth a cent. By all means let us have the Club, the Institute and Farmers' State Convention. D. M. Payne. Some one has per- erg tinentlv said that more than half of life is spent on what we eat, and while we live in aland of plenty it is a lamentable fact that many go hun gry. To satisfy hunger is commen dable. The producer is a benefactor and his cause a noble one. As farm ing is a worthy vocation it should be attended with some remuneration, either of emolument or honor. To render it such requires encourage ment from those sources that are calculated to make it so. If the State and good society would fall in with their aid it would be such. To put the farmer in this position society must pay its respects, and communities must not be slack in providing means for its advance ment. Assemblies for this purpose should consist of thinkers as well as laborers. Push without brains goes slow. Brains and muscle are not always wrapped in the same hide. When they are you have a founda tion upon which to build as near a perfect man as it is possible to make. In the healthy business of farm live we have all that goes to make muscle. We only lack cultured brain to have the man In evolving such men you curtail in some degree the necessity for so many learned lawyers and doctors with large fees. Thus the world will grow better. Such a state of things would be desirable. Let us form clubs and aid each other. If indi viduals are bettered communities are also. If the parts are made strong, the whole structure will be secure. Out of clubs will come county insti tutes. From these will spring State conventions, and in time national aid. s Man is a creature of desire for no toriety. Make it as possible in this as any of the learned professions and he will seek it. In this way his talent is secured. Talent and possi bilities go together. As one expands the other increases. Cultivate the mind on a subject, that subject booms. Mental culture for the farm er brings rich soil and large yields, and these in turn bring peace and plenty. Is it fair for the husband man to grope in ignorance, feeling his way like a snail, almost aimless when cyclones and blizzards are to be combatted by him, and the world fed by him and he the noblest factor in the whole computation. Reason, fair dealing and justice answer no. (rive him light and latitude and the soil will respond with almost mys terious vield. Petty larcenies will diminish with a corresponding ratio for stint in a majority of cases causes them.- .In this way, if no other, he will find but.that he is one of the lords of the land, . and monopolies, corners in. speculations and strikes will cringe at his approach and the world -will bless him. Dr Parker. Iam ready to testify that this club has been immensely, beneficial to me and that I have never attended a single meeting in which there was not some help and encouragement afforded to any one who wanted to learn, tor one 1 feel grateful to the steady going farmers of this community for their earnest efforts to improve the con dition of our farmers. They have but to look around them to see the fruits of their labors. Unmistakably our club is doing good, and this should serve as an incentive tor stin further and more zealous endeavors to make our farm work more profitable and pleasant. We have as yet, however, out iKen steps on the highway of an elevated step culture. From the good already OF OUR PEOPLE PARAMOUNT TO ' 1- WINSTON, N. C, JANUARY done you ought to feel encouraged to never say quit as long as there is a single farmer in all this section who needs your sympathy and help. The ambitious young man of to- day when castmgaround for avenue to excellent distinction, is bewildered when his eyes fall upon the glittering laiocu w buvu uniy iieiiits by human genius and heroic effort. xi ui ueari uuru lurmuiiaryrenown he shudders when he sees to what uiuuv tiiiu Biuuciiuuus iieiiiity great warriors have mounted, arid fixed high up their eternal Jfame. How dare he even hope to excel Alexander or Hannibal or Napoleon or Washington. It is almost sacri lege to even dream of outstripping either of these great chieftains. And if he look upon the grand array of great statesmen, learned jurists, emi nent scholars and scientists, world renowned painters and sculptors, musicians, divines, great surgeons and physicians he is awed into silent wonder at their almost super-human excellence. How in the world can he ever think to soar to sublimer heights than Milton or Pollock or Shakespeare or Scott or Byron? To these great ones in almost every habitation of man and in every clime have been erected monuments built of marble and enduring brass that resist the ravages of time and shall perpetuate their fame to the remot est ages. Every nation under the sun takes pride in doing homage to her great men. But where in all the universe of God was there ever a monument erected by a people to a single one of the farmers? Where? There is not a single one in the world two inche long that was built to honor a farmer as such. Why is this? Simply because there has never been a single instance where a man has pre-eminently dis tinguished himself as a farmer. No, sirs! Never. The vast domain of agricultural possibilities a 1 most boundless has never been explored. It is true that Jethro Tull, Elkana Watson, John Johnston, David Dickson and Dr. Jones have made a few tracks in this great field of re search, and caught a few faint glimpses of its immense richness "only this and nothing more." While the naturalist has made gigantic strides towards absolute perfection in grouping, classifying and naming every bug and beetle, with every mammoth monster that roams the forest down to the tiniest insect that flits in the sumbeam he is familiar he can tell you the nature and habit of every bird that flies and every fish that swims and every worm that crawls and every huge leviathan that wallows in the briny deep. But the farmer, poor fellow, gropes his weary way along the vale of shadows, having never once fixed his eyes upon the glitter ing pinnacles of his far away capa bilities. Not one in a thousand knows even the merest rudiments of his calling dosen't even know how to curry a cow and very likely dosen't know that she needs it. Where within the wide confines of the commonwealth of North Caro lina is there now or has there been a single man who was or is an acknowledged authority on agricul tural questions? I defy mortal man to name a single instance. We can name hundreds who are justly held as eminentauthoritiesin almost erery other calling here in our own State, while the patient, toiling far mer with now and then a feeble ray of borrowed light falling upon his way, is sorely puzzled over the very alpha of his God-given work and while he is slowly spelling out his first lessons bla, ble, bli, bio, blu, bly the favored of other voca tions have passed away beyond the big bull-dog in the spelling book, easily and glibly calling out incom patability, unintelligibility, incom prehensibility, : and sure , enough it is incomprehensible jargon to the bla, ble, bli, bio fellows. In the name of the rhigh heavens ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS OF 5, 1887. is there no way out of this long night of bondage, from this thraldom of mental darkness? Oh for a Boan erges with a voice of apocalyptic ' J Ithunder to shake off this enervating squalor of the soul, and split in a .ill r Itwain the leaden firmaments and let 1 in floods and oceans of all-healing I light. And may some Moses speed- i uy appear on ine scene ana give ine I command to forward, march! to the" f vanaan or deliverance. Kif North Carolina would pis lace a proper estimate upon her highest interests she cannot longer withhold her fostering care from the farmer and the farmer boy. There must i be some legislation in their behalf, and now is the opportune time. jAllow me to suggest a beginning point. Let the present legislature imake liberal appropriations for es tablishing Agricultural institutes in every county of the state, where every farmer in each and every county may be taught how to farm and how to live. And also establish an agricultural and mechanical col lege, wisely located and liberally furnished with every needed appli ance so that it may be universally beneficial all over the State. It is an urgent, crying necessity that the common farmer shall have some aid, some comfort, some help. Shall they forever plod and toil and suffer on and continue to pour into the State coffers their thousands in tax es for the general good with such meagre returns to themselves? The flimsy attempts in the past to give him relief are about as futile as to try to raise a good colt on dry stub ble or stall feed an ox on chaff and thin air. What good is there to the farmer of all this hue and cry about dogs killing sheep and loudly calling upon the State to afford some protection against the incur sions of the worthless and hungry curs? Until I am smarter than a sheep killing dog I have no business to make a fool of myself by trying to raise sheep. I would not give a snap of my finger for all the dog "whereases," "provided further more" and "alsos" of every statute and legislative enactments that could be crowded into all out of doors. And besides every general assembly since the spring that Ring was a puppy has been as afraid of this dog question as they would be to meet the devil in his night clothes. Yes, sir! They would ftyfrom its simplest consider ation as they would from the open j iws of the all-devouring whang doodle. For one I say let the dog question rip. I can kill more dogs in a week than all the kennels in the country can spawn out in a month. You see I practiced medi cine occasionally for twenty years. But there arether pressing needs of the farmers of the country that the legislators can take hold of and render invaluable aid and if their patriotic zeal is as fervent now as when they were before the peo ple for their votes it was red hot then they will not hesitate but will gladly do all in their power to better the condition of the "dear people." All they lack is to know what will best subserve the farming interests and promote the general good and it should be the purpose of the farmers convention to say what they want done and suggest a line of state policy towards the farmer. The State cannot longer ignore this, the most important factor in all her varied interests, but should at once show its appreciation of the men who are its main stay and solid support by a liberal effort to raise them up and out of their present dreadful estate. This in a great measure may be done as already in timated by establishing the county Institute through which the mass of the present generation r of farmers may be reached and pulled out of the old ruts and the boys now on the farm may be taught the "elements of a better system of agriculture, and thereby be the better prepared t prosecute a higher course of study STATE POLICY. No. 47. in the Agricultural and Mechanical College. Both of these (the college and the institute) are an absolute necessity or how can the farmer be educated in his calling? Every other profession, trade or business by which men gain a subsistence have their schools of training while the burden-bearing farmer is left out in the dark to grope his way as best he may. Oh that the farmers of North Car ina could be aroused up to see their real condition and then have the manly courage to demand the helps which are theirs in simple jus tice. Then light and knowledge would pour in upon their tedious swanderings and they could strike out from these low. grounds of sor row for the high road to the king dom come! Let the farmer hence forth feel with Tennyson that Knowledge is now no more a fountain sealed, Drink deep until the habits of the slave. The sins of emptiness, gossip and spite, And slander die. Better not be at all Than not be noble. pleasant ridge club. Editor Progressive Farmer: Our club met on January 1st with a full quorum present though not all the members. Yet we had the best attendance we have had for several months, and there seemed to be more interest manifested than for some time. We resolved to have the attendance better in our club or the membership smaller. We are with the farmers' club like we are with farming. , We believe a club with a small membership well attended is better than one with a large mem bership poorly attended. Our club now numbers thirty-seven mem bers. The chair appointed the fol lowing delegates to the next county meeting, which convenes on the 8th inst.: S. Pfaff, A. A. Flynt, R. B. Flynt, B. R.Kiser,R. L. Yarborough W. A. Schultz and F. N. Pfaff. Hav ing a good deal of business to trans act we had no discussson on any particular subject, but we had a few speeches from various members upon our road laws. The majority of our members seem to approve of the employing convict labor and also all the insolvents in our courts who fail to pay their fines and costs. We notice in the tabulated statement made by the clerk of the board of county commissioners that half the fees paid by the county in such cases amounted to over two thous and dollars which would do a vast amount of work on our public roads. And not only would it do the work on our roads but we believe it would have a good effect on the morals of our people. Time would not admit of a full discussion upon this impor tant subject at this meeting, so it was set apart for t he topic of discus sion at our next meeting on the third Saturday of the present month at 7 o'clock p. m. F. N. Pfaff, Sec' V FARMVILLE club. The farmers' club of Farmville township met at its usual time and place and admitted five new mem bers to its roll. . Much interest was manifested on the subject of the pro posed State convention of Farmers and it was resolved that this club endorse the proposition to call a convention of the farmers of the State in the city of Raleigh during the next legislature and pledge their support to any action that body looking to the elevation and dignifying of the industrial pur suits. Other matters of local nature were discussed, and all seemed hope ful of the benefits derived from the farmers' movement in the State. Subject for discussion at the next meeting ivotaiiou oi urop. . ! FRANCI8 JOTNER, . Secretary. Continued on bth page.) v. ! ' I c-w '.v, III tUC II1IJIC-
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 5, 1887, edition 1
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