608 ANNUAL, REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



strations, as well as in awakening interest in and focusing senti- 

 ment on a project. 



During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1922, the extension divisions 

 of the agricultural colleges in 16 States conducted 2,614 farmers' 

 institutes which lasted 3,580 days, comprised 7,791 sessions, with 

 an attendance of 1,099,308. There were employed 734 lecturers, 

 340 of whom were regular emploj^ees of the extension staff, and 

 394 were from outside sources. These institutes cost $134,306.01, 

 of which sum the States appropriated $94,575.35, while the re- 

 mainder, $39,730.66, was contributed from outside sources, mostly 

 from the farmers themselves. These figures show an increase over the 

 previous year of 1,117 sessions and 353,651 in attendance. 



Farmers' institutes were also conducted during the year by other 

 agencies in seven States. These meetings were independent of 

 extension divisions of colleges of agriculture, but in some instances 

 were in close cooperation with them, and usually considerable aid 

 was given by the colleges and experiment stations in furnishing 

 members of their staffs as lecturers or demonstrators. These seven 

 States held 910 farmers' institutes, occupjdng 1,245 days, with 2,674 

 sessions and with 479,564 persons in attendance. They used 392 

 lecturers, of whom 154 were from the colleges or experiment sta- 

 tions, and 238 were from the regular official institute force. The 

 cost of these State institutes was $35,437.05, the State appropria- 

 tion expended amounting to $35,127.25, with $309.80 additional 

 funds from other sources. Farmers' institutes as conducted by the 

 States, therefore, show a decrease both in number of sessions and 

 in attendance. This decrease is largely due to farmers' institute 

 work having been discontinued in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Massa- 

 chusetts and no institutes having been held during the year in Dela- 

 ware, Kentucky, and New Hampshire. 



In principle farmers' institutes are not declining, but on the con- 

 trary are increasing, although in many instances their work is 

 reported under other names and hence is not recorded as such in 

 the statistics of extension work. There will always be a place, 

 however, for the farmers' institute in any well worked-out exten- 

 sion program. 



NEGRO WORK. 



During the year there was an increase of 21 in the number of 

 negro men agents and of 14 in negro women agents, making a total 

 increase of 35. 



It is natural that the demonstrations should relate primarily to 

 such crops as cotton and corn. The ag .nts report that they enrolled 

 3,750 farmers as demonstrators in corn production, of which 2,800 

 completed their work in growing 25,750 acres of corn according to 

 the methods advocated by the agents. In addition, 18,500 other 

 farmers cooperated in growing 132,000 acres of corn following one 

 or more of the practices advocated by the agents. This resulted in 

 20,000 other farmers changing their methods of corn production. 



Of the 2,050 colored demonstrators enrolled in cotton work, 1,500 

 completed their activities on 15,000 acres, and 8,000 other negro 

 farmers grew 45,000 acres in which one or more of the recommended 

 practices were adopted. 



