250 ANNUAL REPORT. OF THE Off. Doc. 



Two men may have equal knowledge of the composition of soils, 

 fertilizers and crops, but be very unequal in their success in applying 

 this knowledge; this inequality being due, outside of differences in 

 natural ability, to unlike mental power, that is to unlike ability to 

 reason and co-ordinate facts in their bearing upon a particular pro- 

 blem. Such reasoning powers come from mental discipline and while 

 certain technical studies have high disciplinary value, attention to 

 these alone does not produce a well-rounded and symmetrical mental 

 development — the result is a one-sided development and the subject 

 of it has serious limitations of mental vision. 



The institute worker and teacher meets these peculiarities in in- 

 dividuals in every class-room or audience. How to balance an ad- 

 dress or temper a subject to meet the greatest number of persons in 

 any gathering is not an easy task. I have frequently known persons 

 to appear on a platform and discuss a subject entirely ditferent from 

 the one announced on the program. This was not done, however, 

 without reason. Last winter I w^as scheduled for an evening address 

 on ''Co-operative Work Among Farmers," at an institute in -a thrifty 

 dairy section. A blinding snowstorm raged all day long and late 

 into the night. It was impossible for farmers to get to the hall. The 

 meeting was called, however, but the audience consisted of about 25 

 persons from the village. The subject discussed was not ''Co-opera- 

 tion," as announced, but "Little Things in Nature That Help Us." 

 As a result, the address was repeated in the same hall the following 

 spring to a crowded house. Many teachers fail in the class-room and 

 elsewhere because they lack a complete mastery of their subject. A 

 student young or old, is usually quick to discover the weakness of a 

 poorly prepared instructor. A good instructor should be full of his 

 subject. 



The CHAIRMAN: The next thing in order is music. We shall 

 now have the pleasure of listening to another piece of music by Mrs. 

 H. A. Surface, with piano accompaniment. 



The CHAIRMAN: To know what influence the local institute 

 worker exercises is certainly a very important question and we have 

 with us to-night two editors of ''The National Stockman," a paper 

 that has done so much for the cause of institutes in Pennsylvania, 

 that I know you will be pleased to hear one of its editors discuss this 

 very important question, and I now have the pleasure of introducing 

 to you, the genial Mr. T. D. Harman, Editor of The National Stock- 

 man and Farmer^ who will address you on "The Influence of a Local 

 Institute Worker." 



MR. HARMAN: Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: My speech 

 is entirely extemporaneous and, therefore, as I have been taken 



