742 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mork in haml will be carrii'd on, but there will not be sutficient funds 

 for the investigation of specific problems in agricultural education, 

 nor for the preparation of several much-needed pul)lications requir- 

 ing the accumulation of original data. This will be a serious liandi- 

 cap to the usel'idne.ss of the .^ei'\ice, because just at this tinie of rapid 

 develoiiment a relatively large amount of field work among educa- 

 tional institutions is desirable and necessary, if the Office is to per- 

 form its logical function as a clearing house for agricultural educa- 

 tion in the United States. 



Numerous state conferences of college and normal school men, 

 superintendents of education, representatives of agricultural associa- 

 tions, and others influential in public affairs are being held, and many 

 more are likely to be held in the near future, to discuss and decide 

 upon a rational policy for the promotion and organization of agri- 

 cultural instruction in the colleges, normal schools, and public schools, 

 and in nearly every case this Office is asked to send some one to the 

 conference in an advisory capacity, some one who can give the dele- 

 gates a broader view of the situation than that bounded by state lines, 

 who can give them advice based on the experience of other States in 

 similar lines. It Avould seem to be a legitimate and important func- 

 tion of the agricultural education service of this Office to perform 

 such services; but if the Office is to give sound advice in these matters 

 it must have information based upon a careful and minute study of 

 methods and facilities used and results attained in agricultural col- 

 leges and schools all over the United States and in other countries 

 where conditions are comparable with our own. 



Neither attendance at these important conferences nor a compre- 

 hensive study of agricultural education can be made with existing 

 available funds. There should be additional specialists in agricul- 

 tural education to make the necessary investigations and additional 

 clerical assistance to help in preparing the results of these and other 

 investigations for publication, in order that each new project in the 

 teaching of agriculture may have the accumulated experience grow- 

 ing out of the development of other like projects. 



farmers' institutes and extension work. 



Forty-two States and Territories have reported upon their farmers' 

 institute work for the past year. One State had no institutes owing 

 to the failure of its legislature to make appropriation for the purpose. 

 The other 41 give the entire number of institutes held at 4,870. This 

 is a gain of 281 over the number held in these States the previous year. 



Of the 4,879 institutes held, 3,002 were one-da}'- institutes, 1,713 

 t^o-day, and 104 three or more days. The year before the same 

 States reported 4,748 institutes, of which 2,892 were one-day, 1,716 

 two-day, and 140 three or more days, showing that the tendency 

 is to increase the number of one-day institutes, due, no doubt, to an 

 effort by the state directors to accommodate a larger number of 

 localities with institute service. 



The most reliable method for determining the progress of the 

 work is through the number of sessions and the average attendance 

 at these sessions. Estimated by this method, the institutes for 

 1909-10 are considerably in advance of those of any previous year. 

 Forty States report 14,964 sessions, an increase of 4,743 over the 



