.00 Repoet of Faemers' Institutes 



Institute workers are representatives of tlie Department of 

 Agriculture, and tliey should keep this fact clearly in their minds 

 at all times. Everything they say, therefore, whether technical or 

 legal, must be iii accordance with the law of the state of New 

 York, and the attitude of the institute workers must be one of 

 loyalty to that law. The law is our guide. In all probability some 

 farmer will rise up in an institute meeting this winter and say 

 that he " has it in for " the Department of Agriculture because 

 the Commissioner has eliminated the games and some of the shows 

 at the county fairs. He will probably say that he believes, and 

 many other people believe, that this is unreasonable. Explain to 

 such a person that the Commissioner, in doing that, was simply 

 enforcing the law of the state; whether reasonable or unreason- 

 able, it was law, and that all loyal citizens should be glad to com- 

 ply with that law. 



Again, some fruit-grower may criticise the department because 

 it requires the producer to brand a barrel of apples put up " tree- 

 run " and sold as such to a dealer, who immediately puts them 

 in storage for repacking later. He thinks this unjust and blames 

 the Commissioner of Agriculture. Explain to him that whatever 

 the merits of the case may be, the law requires such branding, and 

 that the Commissioner of Agriculture in enforcing the law is 

 only doing his duty. At all meetings the institute workers should 

 try to create a spirit of loyalty toward the laws of the state, and a 

 willingness on the part of the public to cooperate in the enforce- 

 ment of those laws. 



CONFLICTING IDEAS 



Occasionally the fact is brought out at the Normal Institutes 

 that scientific experts disagree as regards their recommendations, 

 or the opinion of an institute worker may not be in accord with 

 the recommendation of a scientist. The fact that two scientists 

 may disagree does not necessarily mean that one or both are 

 wrong; usually after research has disclosed all the truth both liave 

 been correct. . But as institute workers these differences of 

 opinion must be faced, and I want you to take this attitude : 

 wherever scientists disagree, or your opinion differs from theirs, 

 say nothing, unless it is necessary to answer a definite question on 



