The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAYS SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1876.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 132, 15 July 1876, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAYS SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1876.

"Within the last few years, Farmers’ 'Clubs or Associations, of greater or less pretensions, have 1 flourished both in the -adjacent Australian colonies and in the Home country, and have proved of incalculable service, in a variety of •ways, t'o those they wore formed to serve. In some cases their organisation :has had higher aims than mere interchange of information amongst agriculturists or stock raisers, and has aspired to exercising political influence, as well as to the humbler but more useful ends -for which they wore originally designed, 'This, however, has been chiefly confined vfo Home alone, and politics have hardly formed part of any of the Australian .-associations as yet. At the -same time, • some; of those existent in the colonies have, gone deeper into the matter than has been necessary, and have constituted themselves rather scientific bodies, chambers 'of agriculture in fact, than clubs calculated to promote the interests, and •extend the practical knowledge of the farming class. An instance of this is ■ shown in a late •number of the “ Australasian, which, in speaking of the Ballarat Farmers Club, has the following ro■iinarks: — Its usefulness had been steadily extending, Ithad been favorably noticed by the press in the Australian colonics, and wo have had the pleasure of recording the fact that some of the papers read at its meetings have been republished in Great Britain and - America. The secretary has stated no more than the truth with regard to the society’s proceedings, but his, report fails to convey an accurate representation of the society’s condition and position. The annual meeting of the club was attended by only seven members, besides the president and secretary, and, small as Hie cost of managing such a:society need be, it seems

to have experienced some difficulty in making both ends meet, even with the help of an annual Government subsidy of £SO. Itrnust be confessed that, in view of this condition ol allairs,'the refusal of the office of president by each member in succession can hardly be regarded as surprising. The discussion which followed the motion to elect a new president elicited the fact of (he society being unpopular with the farmers-of the district, and that to such an extent as to preclude any hope of the Agricultural .Society and the club being brouglit into closer connection. Our contemporary proceeds rather to advocate the discussion of political sub jects by bodies of tbc kind, but, wo fancy, gives tbc key to tbe difficulties of the club referred to by implying that the papers submitted by members for reading at its meetings were of too elaborate a character, and adding:

The farmers’ club, on the contrary, may consist of comparatively few members; a dozen on the roll would be quite enough to justify the formation of such a body, and were tbc principle of exchanging experiences thoroughly understood and acted upon, an immeasurable amount of good would soon be accomplished by seemingly very small means. As a rule elaborate papers arc neither desirable nor necessary ; a simple question would olden suffice to start a practically useful discussion, one that would elicit information of a most valuable kind, which would bo recorded through the agency of the local, and subsequently by the metropolitan agricultural press be distributed over the length and breadth of the continent. It is astonishing bow much good a few earnest and intelligent men might do by meeting together and discussing their experiences ; on the contrary, it is not astonishing that the utterances of many who arc most forward arid readv to contribute papers arc not appreciated by men of tbe former stamp. The Ballarat club, in common with other similar bodies, has members of both of these classes, and it would be greatly to the benefit of clubs were a rule passed requiring all papers to be submitted for approval to a committee of selection a month previous to their being read before the members. _ If such a course were adopted, really practical and intelligent farmers would probably be less indisposed to become members of the clubs. It would appear from that, that at Ballarat too much had boon attempted, and hence the comparative failure above recorded. Now to compare great things with small, what reason is there why a Farmers’ or Settlers’ Club, on a scale suited to its surroundings, should not bo organised in the Patca district. Its whole present dependence and future prosperity depends on agriculture and stock rearing, and it is in highest degree improbable that mining or other like disturbing influences will ever invade this portion of the colony. Amongst those who have taken up laud and entered on this line of life, there arc many whoso original occupations or callings have been of a very diftereiit nature, and who therefore cannot fail to he substantially heuefitted by any information that may be thrown in their way, by mixing with others of greater experience, Happily, there is probably less envy and jealousy amongst agriculturists than amongst any other Though there is a wholesome spirit of rivalry and emulation, it does not degenerate into meanness, and, as a rule, information possessed by one is readily imparted to others. Such would be the case here, wc arc confident, and a Fanners’ Club would he both popular and useful. In New Plymouth an approach to an institution of the kind exists, under the title of “ The Northern Agricultural Association.” At its mootings papers on subjects connected with farming arc road, ideas thus interchanged, and its utility has been great. In Patca there is an Agricultural and Pastoral Association that can very readily tack on to its present sell imposed functions, the attributes ot a club of the kind. All that would he necessary would he to have frequent periodical meetings to hear papers, discuss subjects cognate to the body, and generally give and take any profitable wrinkle or new light that members may severally have become possessed of. All that is wanted is the extension of an existing organisation, and that such extension cannot fail to prove advantageous to all concerned there cannot be a doubt. Annual shows and ploughing matches arc all very well in their way, but the society’s usefulness should not stop there. We hope that, the beneficial results achieved in other places by the establishment of Farmers’ Clubs, will be extended to Patea, and, should the Patea Agricultural and Pastoral Association be the means of doing so, its members will alike benefit themselves and the district in which they have cast their lot.