Report of the Acting Director. 33 



New York was the foremost agricultural State, but it has gradually fallen 

 to fourth place in rank among the States. Now again there is evident a 

 general awakening of interest among farmers and the State is beginning 

 to move forward again. Agricultural lands are rising in value. The 

 poorer and waste lands must be brought into productive condition. To 

 develop the agriculture of the State the land must be worked by trained 

 men. For the agriculture of the State to be effective in any large way by 

 the young men receiving training in the regular college work will require 

 a decade or longer, and while this is a short period in the life of the 

 State it is too long a period to fulfill the recjuirements of the present 

 generation. One of the most pressing needs is to spread the knowledge 

 of improved agricultural methods broadcast among the farmers of the 

 State. Only a very few of the older generation of farmers will come to 

 the College or to any of the schools of agriculture to receive instruction 

 and the instruction must, therefore, be carried to these farmers on their 

 farms. 



The extension work has always been an important feature of the 

 activities of the College. The Farmers' Reading Course and the Farmers' 

 Wives Reading Course have attracted more attention during the past 

 year than ever before. This method of reaching the people is capable of 

 great extension. It is very effective, as supplementing the bulletins by 

 correspondence carries the lesson home in a personal and effective way. 

 It is possible that the pushing of these reading courses more in accordance 

 with the methods followed by commercial correspondence schools will 

 vitalize and improve the efficiency of this part of the w^ork. 



The educational exhibits made by the College at the State Fair and at 

 several county fairs last summer attracted much attention and are doubt- 

 less an efficient aid in carrying instruction to the people. 



Special railway farm trains have been utilized to considerable extent 

 during the past year for lectures and demonstrations. While the value 

 of this method of instruction was at first questioned, the results of the 

 year's work indicate that much good may be accomplished by its use. 

 The following special trains have been run during the year: 



1. A Fruit Special over the New York Central Railway in the north- 

 western part of the State. Five days, December 6th to loth. Attendance, 

 15,000. Special cars contained exhibits of fruit grown in New York in 

 comparison with selected products from the irrigated fruit regions of 

 Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. Demonstrations were made at every 

 stop of the box-packing methods, control of diseases by spraying, and the 

 like, accompanied by special lectures on improved orchard methods. 



2. A Farm Special over the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railway. 

 Three days, April i8th to 20th. Attendance, 4429. On this trip lectures 



:3 



