692 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



PLANS FOR 1912-13. 



The demands upon the agricultural education service for expert 

 assistance, for attendance at important State conferences to discuss 

 plans for the promotion and organization of agricultural instruction 

 in the colleges, normal schools, and high schools will almost surely 

 increase. These demands grow out of a need on the part of State 

 officials for information that can be gathered and properly inter- 

 preted better and more economically by some central Federal agency 

 than by any local organization. It will therefore be incumbent upon 

 this office not only to maintain its present organization for agricul- 

 tural education, but also to employ additional specialists to make 

 broader and more thorough investigations concerning the teaching of 

 agriculture, the accumulation and use of agricultural illustrative 

 material, the organization of systems of agricultural education, and 

 the preparation of the data thus accumulated for publication, in order 

 that each new project in agricultural education may have the benefit 

 of the accumulated experience growing out of the development of 

 other like projects in this country and abroad. 



farmers' institutes AND EXTENSION WORK. 



Reports were received during the past year from 44 States and 

 Territories giving data respecting their institute work. In 41 of 

 these, regular institutes were held to the number of 5,582 ; 3,723 were 

 one-day meetings, 1,704 two days, and 155 three days or more. 



The total number of sessions was 15,532, with an aggregate at- 

 tendance of 1,904,676. If the States and Territories not reporting 

 equal the sessions and attendance of last year, the aggregate nimiber 

 of sessions for the entire country will amount to 16,545 and the at- 

 tendance to 2,074,099, as against 16,586 sessions in the previous year 

 ^ and 2,395,808 attendance, a falling off in sessions of 41 and in at- 

 ' tendance of 321,709. This loss in attendance at the regular institutes 

 was more than made up by the increased attendance upon special in- 

 stitutes, such as movable schools, railroad specials, independent insti- 

 tutes, etc. The special institutes aggregated an attendance of 1,252,- 

 933, making the entire attendance at institute meetings of all kinds 

 8,327,092, or 383,848 more than in 1910. 



The special institutes are rapidly growing in importance and in- 

 terest. One hundred and forty-nine movable schools were held with 

 an attendance of 39,965; 62 railroad instruction trains were run, 

 covering 35,705 miles, accompanied by 740 lecturers and attended 

 by 939,120 persons. Four hundred and fifty-nine independent insti- 

 tutes were held, with an attendance of 130,9i7, and 15 round-up insti- 

 tutes, continuing through 153 sessions, attended by 22,730 persons. 

 There were 303 picnics and conventions, consisting of 269 sessions, 

 attended by 120,161 persons. 



Of the total number of regular institutes held, 366 days were for 

 women with an attendance of 47,962, and 199 days were for young 

 people with an attendance of 25,737. Of the movable schools held, 

 208 days were devoted to institutes for women with an attendance in 

 four States of 1,516, and 75 were young people's meetings with an 

 attendance not registered except in one State, where it was 244. 



