96 ~ THE MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



farmers' institutes. He employs well qualified and experienced men 

 and women to manage some of the details of institutes in connection 

 with local societies. A convention of these state workers is held each 

 year to make suggestions for improvements. State directors meet with 

 each other once a year for consultation. To one not familiar with the 

 details of these plans, it would be surprising to witness the perfection 

 in numerous details. 



For several years our experiment station tested Jack Pine lands in 

 five remote counties to learn their capacity to produce forage crops, 

 apples, pears, cherries and small fruits. Some sixty-five species of trees, 

 including a few shrubs, were tested on land in Crawford county. 



A few sugar beets were grown in several dift'erent counties and tested, 

 , and this led the way to a prominent new industry for Michigan. The 

 director of the station has become an expert in the manner of growing 

 beets. He holds himself ready at any time to respond to invitation by 

 giving lectures and other assistance to the people of any region where 

 they contemplate growing beets or establishing a factory. The director 

 has responded to from fifty to seventy-five invitations of this nature. 

 Full.y as many as sixty calls have been responded to to aid creameries 

 or cheese factories in one way or in another. Special bulletins have been 

 prepared concerning the growing of sugar beets; certain students have 

 been prepared in the field and laboratories to serve as science experts 

 in these factories. If there is any unusual outbreak of a fungus disease, 

 or of insect enemies, or some mysterious plant has supposed to cause 

 death of people or domestic animals, a competent person is sent at once 

 to investigate the trouble. 



Most of the states of our country are preparing more or less exten- 

 sion work. In Michigan special bulletins have been prepared in agron- 

 omy, animal husbandry, veterinary and botany, and these bulletins are 

 for the use of young farmers at home and for all children and teachers 

 in public schools, and some are for use in reading courses in agriculture. 



In Illinois, as elsewhere, insects molest fruit and fruit plants, caus- 

 ing great loss to the farmer. That state appropriates money for the 

 purpose and at the proper season of the year, experts are sent to twenty 

 or more neighborhoods in as many counties to demonstrate the prepara- 

 tion and application of suitable remedies to aid in securing fruit free 

 from attacks of fungi and insects. This year Illinois will keep two 

 experts in the field instructing fruit growers in methods of spraying 

 and general orchard management. Fruit growers need not only liter- 

 ature on these and other subjects, but they need the work well done 

 before their eyes, to make them alive to the "new horticulture." 



Some fourteen years ago, Ontario employed experts to visit, inspect 

 and instruct the makers of cheese and butter. Later this work has been 

 chiefl}^ devoted to cheese factories and creameries, which has been the 

 means of improving the quality and raising the price of these products 

 in a very marked degree. 



New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota have also made nmch use of itin- 

 erant teachers or inspectors of dairying. The Agricultural College of 

 Illinois keeps two men constantly in the field in the dairy districts, 

 giving their entire time to the study of all the conditions with a view 

 to improvement. 



The same college in Illinois employs one man who devotes his entire 



