390 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



resulted in a request that they be- published for the information of 

 teachers and others responsible for education by extension methods. 

 The department accordingly has issued these papers as a bulletin of 

 the Office of Experiment Stations. 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF FARMERS' INSTITUTE 



WORKERS. 



The annual meeting of the Fanners' Institute Workers of the 

 United States and Canada was held in Washington, D. C, last No- 

 vember. At this meeting there were representatives from 37 States, 

 the District of Columbia, and 3 of the Provinces of Canada. The 

 discussions were classified along the lines of institutes for women 

 separate from those for men, but affiliated with the present institute 

 system as auxiliaries, and institutes for young people between the 

 ages of 14 and 18. 



The discussions relative to women's institutes were confined prin- 

 cipally to papers presented by representative women who had experi- 

 ence in institute work in various parts of the country. It was shown 

 that institutes for women were being conducted successfully by a 

 number of the States. The Province of Ontario was, however, the 

 most striking example quoted of the organization of women upon a 

 considerable scale. There are now in this Province over 600 separate 

 institute societies for women with an enrolled membership of over 

 16,000 persons. Five thousand four hundred and eighty-three ses- 

 sions of women's institutes were held last year in that Province with 

 an attendance of 140,388. 



A resolution was adopted by the association recommending that 

 greater consideration be given by institute directors to subjects relat- 

 ing to home life, either through the organization of special meetings 

 for women or in the regular institutes. 



An entire session was set aside by the association for the discussion 

 of institutes for young people between the ages of 14 and 18. It was 

 shown that out of every 500 young people in the country districts of 

 the United States only one ever enters an agricultural college, and 

 that out of every 100 rural and urban children only 5 enter the 

 high school, and only 6 ever get beyond the elementary schools. In 

 order to provide for young people between the ages of 14 and 18, out 

 of school, institutes similar to those for adults were advised, in which 

 vocational training would be predominant. A resolution embodying 

 the sense of the association in this matter was adopted recommend- 

 ing the several directors of farmers' institutes to make the experi- 

 ment within the next year of holding some institutes for young 

 people between the ages of 14 and 18, and to report their success or 



