3() KKl'OUT OK OFKK'K OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



liuiulicd :iii(l iiiiiot3'-^iix of tliotsc were, incmlxTs of the ji<^rifiiltui"iil 

 ooUc*,''!' or ('xpt'riiiu'iit station stut!', who coiiti-ilmf^'d 1, <'.«'»(; days of time 

 to this work. :itt('ii(liii>i- in all 7.")ii institutes. 



Tho ei'ji'lith annual convention of the American Association of Farm- 

 ers' Institute Workers was held at Toronto, Cunada, in June, ll»(»;{, 

 and was attended hy delegates from seventeen of the Stiites of the 

 Union and four of the provinces of the Dominion of Canada. The 

 proceedings of this convention have been pul)lished as Bulletin No. 138 

 of this OtKcc. An account of this convention is given on page 57. 



The work of this Office relating to the farmers' institutes has l)een 

 put on a permanent l)asis during the past 3'ear, and a special officer 

 has been ai)pointed to take charge of this work. The duties of this 

 officer, as stated in the act making the appropriation for this work, are 

 "to investigate and report upon the organization and progress of 

 farjuers' institutes in the several States and Territories, and upon 

 similar organizations in foreign countries, with special suggestions of 

 plans and methods for making such organizations more effective for 

 the dissemination of the results of the work of the Department of 

 Agriculture and the experiment stations, and of improved methods of 

 agricultural practice.'' 



Since the work of this Department relating to the farmers' institutes 

 is based on the principle of giving aid to the institutions maintained 

 under the authorit}" of the States, this Office has established the rule of 

 working in this line through the State officers charged with the man- 

 agement of the institutes. It is the intention to consult freel}' with 

 these officers, to welcome suggestions from them regarding the devel- 

 opment of our work, and to recognize them as the proper authority 

 through whom to deal in matters relating to the institutes in the 

 several States. It is our purpose to endeavor to strengthen the St;ite 

 organizations for the management of the institutes, and to create a 

 national system of institutes b}' promoting the reasonable coordination 

 of the work throughout the country and the cooperation of the State 

 organizations without weakening or destro^'ing their autononn'. 



Considering the conditions under which our work nmst be per- 

 formed, it is our intention to concentrate our efforts for the present on 

 a few of the most pressing lines in which it appears that the institutes 

 need the aid of this Department. It is generally agreed among insti- 

 tute managers that the most urgent pro])lem in institute work just 

 now relates to the securing and maintaining of an efficient corps of 

 institute lecturers. The longer farmers attend the institutes the more 

 they demand that the lecturers shall not confine themselves to stating 

 individual experiences, however successful these may have been, but 

 shall interpret to them the teachings of wide practical experience as 

 related to the results of experimental investigations conducted under 

 scientific direction. This means that the lecturers must be constant 



