AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION, the voluntary association of farmers with the ob ject of promoting a knowledge of the science of agriculture. The first instance on record of such an organization is that of the Society of Improvers in the Knowledge of Agriculture, founded in 1723 by a group of Scotch agri culturalists. It continued its activities for over 20 years and has left behind its 'Select Trans actions,' published in 1743. In 1777 the "Bath and West of England Society" was established, followed by the "Highland Society" in 1784. The later organization exists to this day as the "Highland and Agricultural Society of Scot land," carrying on much the same work as the United States Department of Agriculture. In England the same functions in the development of agriculture were performed by "The Royal Agricultural Society," founded in 1838. Its present membership is considerably over 10,000 and at its annual agricultural fairs it distributes as much as $50,000 in prizes. It maintains an experimental station at Woburn and a veteri nary college at Camden Town, London. Another organization is the Agricultural Or ganization Society, Ltd., founded in 1901 to organize agricultural co-operative societies in England and Wales. It has affiliated with it about 400 societies and its membership includes over 20,000 individuals. In Ireland a society of the same name and the same purposes has been very active of recent years, under the guidance of Sir Horace Plunkett, who by some has been termed the father of modern Irish agriculture.
In the United States the activity of the De partment of Agriculture has made the extensive organization of such societies needless, but in 178S, before there was any thought of the government taking over such work, a society for the promotion of agriculture was founded in Philadelphia. In the same year another so ciety of the same nature was organized in South Carolina. Then followed other societies in Kennebec, Me. (1787),, New York city (1791) and the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture (1792). By 1809 these societies attempted the beginnings of a national federation, whose work should be of nation-wide scope, in the Columbian Agricul tural Society, with headquarters in Washington, D. C. The holding of agricultural shows or county fairs had its origin in Washington, in the efforts of Ellcanah Watson, of Massachu setts. Such exhibitions are now held all over the country by nearly 3,000 organizations, rang ing from international to local scope in their characters. In many of the States agricultural societies have developed to large proportions. Other societies have for their purpose the or ganization of co-operative buying and selling among farmers. But in 1913 the Department of Agriculture assumed a function approaching this very much in character — the rural organi zation service to assist farmers in forming or ganizations for the betterment of agricultural and country life.