No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 331 



men must be seen and secure their good will, and gel a local notice^ 

 if possible, without paying the price of an "ad." He must lay out 

 plenty of work for his workers and then see that they do it, and if 

 they do not, he must spare time to do it himself. He must, like 

 the great Napoleon, have marshals that can plan and lieutenants 

 that can execute. He must see to it that the hall or place of meet- 

 ing is in such condition that the audience can be comfortably seated. 

 He must see that the speakers are provided with good hotel ac- 

 commodations or good quarters, where proper hotels can not be had, 

 as is the case in some localities. He should see to it, after the 

 speakers have been notified, how they can reach the nearest railroad 

 station where the institute is to be held, that good teams are there 

 to meet them, and that on time, so they can reach the institute 

 early, that the chairman may have a little time for consultation, 

 which sometimes is important, and it will also give time to introduce 

 them to his committee and as many farmers as possible, who are al- 

 ways glad to meet them. The chairman of the board should always 

 be a fit man to preside at his institutes, and should have his co- 

 workers close at hand to advise with at anytime. However, should 

 he feel that he is not competent to preside, he should appoint some 

 one he knows is a competent person to fill the position, for many of 

 us know that much of the success of an institute depends upon the 

 presiding ofiicer; an incompetent presiding officer will never get 

 the best work done or the greatest good out of any institute — who- 

 ever he may be, he should study, in advance, the duties of a presid- 

 ing ofiScer. He should be a fairly good parliamentarian, and see to 

 it that the business of the institute is conducted in order and with 

 dispatch, never allow business to lag or be run on slip-shod methods, 

 as is sometimes done. I have often thought it would be well to 

 have the old adage, in large letters, hung over the platform of every 

 farmers' institute, where all could read, that ''order is heaven's 

 first law." The chairman should adhere to the program as nearly 

 as possible, announcing the subjects and introduce the speakers in 

 a few well-chosen words, especially if they come among us as 

 strangers. He should time each speaker according to the length 

 of the program, and have the courage to call him down, even 

 though he be a State speaker, who insists on giving a lecture or 

 read a paper from an hour to an hour and a quarter long. He 

 should see to it that not a moment goes to waste — always having 

 something on hand to entertain and interest the audience, and to 

 use up every spare moment. But, should there be a lull, or the 

 audience become restless, he should be ready at once to entertain 

 them with some music, or a short recitation, such as the young 

 people are always ready and pleased to give us. We should make 



