farmers' institutes. GGY 



The marked iucrease in the attendance for tlie last year .shown in the 

 table is due to a difference in the method of reckoning as compared with 

 that used in previous years. Prior to l!>ll8-04, the average of the attend- 

 ance at the several sessions of any institute has been put down as the 

 attendance for the institute. Manifeslly this falls short of the actual. 

 number of different persons attending the institute, and, therefore, fails 

 to show the full attendance. At the liK)?. meeting of the American Associa- 

 tion of Fanners' Institute NN'orkcrs. it was dt'cided to compute the attend- 

 ance by adding, to the nniiiher present at the session showing the highest 

 attendance, one-half th:> number present at the session showing the next 

 highest attendance, as this has been found to give apjiroximately the 

 number of different persons in attendance. Accordingly this method has 

 been pursued in reckoning ilie attendance at Indiana farmers' institutes 

 the past year. To illustrate the method now in vogue: Suppose the 

 highest attendance at any session of an institute to be 50f), and the attcmd- 

 ance at the next highest session 4UU; adding half the second attendance 

 to the first gives 700 -as the approximate number of different persons in 

 attendance. While this method, as stated above, is onlj' approximately 

 correct, and probably exceeds the real niunber present, it doubtless gives 

 more nearl}^ the actual attendance of different persons than the method 

 of taking the average of the several sessions, previously employed in this 

 State. 



District Institutes.— Beginning with 1901, when the increased appro- 

 priation for farmers' institutes became available, a few district institutes 

 of two days each have been held in the late summer of each year, the 

 number varying according to the funds remaining at the close of the 

 regular institute season. 



The general management has three i)urposcs in holding these district 

 meetings: (1) To promote some special line of agriculture in a section of 

 the State specially suited to its pursuit: Ci) To afford high-class instruction 

 that would i)rove helpful to the most intelligent and progressive men 

 engaged in special agiicultural pursuits; (:'>) To awaken a wider interest in 

 the subjects considered antl to stimulate the workers in attendance to mure 

 earnest effort in behalf ()f the local institutes to be held during the winter 

 mouths. 



Thus far llii' attendance at these institutes has been disappointing as 

 to numljurs. This is, perhaps, unavoidabh' owing to the season of the year 

 when the meetings have been luM. Doubtless the attendance would be 

 considerably greater if the meetings could lie held in October, but this has 

 seemed impracticable (1) Because the annual conference of institute offi- 

 cers and workers is held in that month, and (2i Becausi' the gencr;il man- 

 agement is absorbed in other necessary work at that time. _ 



The outline programs of two of these distri<t institutes, which ajipear 

 below, will serve to show the general cliar-icter .-ind trend of ilie wurk done 

 at these meetings. 



