No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AG UlCl ' I -Tl ' Ui:. '.'S 



NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF FARMERS' INSTI- 

 TUTES FOR THE YEARS 1902-3. 



ilarrisburj;, I'euua., Deceiiibei- 31, 1!J0;J. 

 To Iho ITonorable N. B. Critclificld, Secretary of A<iTiciiHiire : 



Sir: 1 have the honor to present herewith the Niiilli Annual Re- 

 port of tlie Director of Farmers' Institutes. 



Tlie year's worlc has progressed satisfactorily, i liave lo report 

 a greater number of days of institute than lias heretofore been held 

 in any one year within the State— three hundred and twenty-seven 

 (327) days. The practice of assigning three instructors to attend 

 each institute has been strictly adhin^ed to. The wisdom of this 

 course is fully vindicated by results which follow. Such is the de- 

 mand amongst our progressive farmers for accurate information 

 relating to the '"Soil"' which he cultivates; how to increase that 

 great plant-growing quality, Nitrogen, and unlock the scarcely less 

 import ant elements, Potash and Phosphoric Acid, and make avail- 

 able these combined fertilizers in such proportions as to increase 

 fertility of the laud, and at the same time increase the yield per 

 acre, is one of the problems which agricultural science is analyzing 

 for the farmer; hence, we assign to all our meetings one man versed 

 in some line of agricultural science, in order that the farmer may 

 avail himself of such knowledge and light as the chemist has devel- 

 oped within the last decade, which is a wonderful advantage to the 

 farmer, who avails himself of it. Years of experience has fully 

 taught us the importance of having the practical aud experienced 

 farmer and instructor attend all our institutes, for by continued 

 years of actual work and experimenting upon the farm, his instruc- 

 tions are accepted as true, and generally adopted as rules of prac- 

 t ice. 



Pennsylvania, having a greater variation of soil, clinuite and alti- 

 tiide than any other state, her farm operations are more diversilied; 

 hence, no corps of institute lecturers would be complete, unless 

 equipped with a specialist along some line of agricultural pursuits, 

 such as dairying, stock breeding, poultry, horticulture, market gard- 

 ening, swine breeding, sheep husbandry, bee-keeping, tobacco grow- 

 ing, etc. The specialist farmer is amply qualified to give instruc- 

 tions along certain lines as above mentioned. His example has 

 been the means of lifting many a farmer out of the old rut, causing 



