Now I come to a point where I will venture a proposition to my brother farmers: That we organize a—well I don’t know just what to name it, but say Farmers Communicative Society. I mean by this that we select some farm journal that seems most fitting and send in our names and addresses, agreeing to write once a month a short and candid statement of our plans and successes and failures in our agricultural and horticultural pursuits. I am of course intending to get the best of the bargain as I always try to do in business. But it must be apparent to all that we, as farmers, can be more benefited by commingling our interests together in the developments of the farm, and learn from one another in a few years what it will take each one of us a whole life time to learn in case we continue to “go it alone” as in olden times.
Now Mr. Editor, I think you can afford to second the motion to help organize these practical old farmers and get them to write for your journal. I feel that we can give your readers many practical ideas of benefit to all, and you agree to clothe our crude thoughts and make them appear intelligent before the public, so that no one need be embarrassed to “speak out in meetin’.”
Now the benefits to be derived from an association to communicate through the paper are to my mind much greater than from conventions. All admit that farmers’ conventions have accomplished great good in the different interests, and that they are indispensable. I am indebted to these conventions for much of my success in farm life. But I conclude that as great good, or even greater good, can be accomplished at much less cost. For a few hundred farmers can communicate to each other through a good farm paper like THE PRAIRIE FARMER, so paged that it can be filed for future reference, and we can, as it were, have our meetings every week at our homes and with our families, and impress the lessons upon our children’s tender minds so they will not have to wait until they are of mature age before hearing discussions as to the best modes practiced in agriculture and horticulture. I have felt in attending these conventions like asking those old veterans who must soon pass away, where are the young men of our country? For very few seem to attend these interesting gatherings.