334 ANNUAL REPORT, OF THE Off. Doc. 



to co-operate with him as he endeavors to give us the very best in his 

 power. 



The CHAIRMAN: Our next topic is ''Institute Committees." This 

 topic is to be talcen up by H. W. Northup, of Lackawanna County. 



MR. NORTHUP: Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: We are 

 here this afternoon in this quiet place and we have come togjether to 

 discharge our duty. Now I want to say to you that I am sometimes 

 troubled with the gift of continuance, but I will not do that this 

 afternoon; it is not an uncommon thing for the Chairman to have 

 to rap me down. 



I like to see the people and see the farmers; I like to see their 

 families in the farmers' institutes. I would like to talk to you with- 

 out a paper. I never could do anything with a paper and some- 

 times I have wished that what I have said did not get on to the 

 record. However, I am going to read this paper as I have got it 

 here, and if I just drop off now and then a minute and interline 

 something, you will excuse me. 



Mr. Northup then read the following paper: 



THE ORGANIZING OF INSTITUTE COMMITTEES— THEIR 



WORK AND IMPORTANCE. 



BY Mk. H. W. Northup, Dalton, Pa. 



The farmers' institute of to-day is a progressive measure in agri- 

 culture. They have become extensive in their work, and their 

 numbers have largely multiplied. The agricultural report of 1903, 

 shows very clearly that they are held in nearly every part of the 

 United States. Out of the 52 States and Territories, there are only 

 three states and three territories in which they are not held. The 

 attendance has increased during the past year, over that of the 

 previous year, 820,000. The interest manifested in the farmers in- 

 stitutes is seen in the action of the legislatures of the several 

 states, and of the officers having control of the work, in making ap- 

 propriations for their support. They vary from |35 dollars in the 

 Territory of Hawaii, to |20,000 dollars in the State of New York. 

 Pennsylvania, our home state, held last year 327 farmers' insti- 

 tutes; and these institutes had 831 sessions constituting the regular 

 arrangement. Beside these, about 75 independent institutes were 

 held by farmers' clubs, granges and county agricultural societies. 



