The Bulletin. 

 REPORT OF FARMERS' INSTITUTE WORK, 1906. 



By TAIT butler. Director. 



During 1906 the State Department of Agriculture has thus far, 

 October 1st, held 136 institutes — 115 for men and 21 for women. 

 The 115 institutes for men have been held in 91 counties — in all 

 except Alleghany, Brunswick, Carteret, Dare, Union, and Wake. 

 The 21 women's institutes have been held in 17 counties in the cen- 

 tral portions of the State. 



This is a considerable increase in the number of institutes ever 

 held during any previous year, but unfortunately no record of the 

 institute work is available except for the years 1898, 1903, 1904, 

 1905, and 1906. The number of institutes held during those years 

 is as follows : 



1898 — 28 institutes in 2Y counties. 



1903 — 17 institutes in 16 counties. 



1904 — 58 institutes in 58 counties. 



1905 — 79 institutes in 76 counties. 

 1906 — 136 institutes in 91 counties. 



An increase of 700 per cent in the number of institutes held in 

 1906 over those held in 1903 might be regarded as satisfactory 

 growth, but even the number held this year is entirely inadequate to 

 the needs of the situation. So great is the need for the extension of 

 agTicultural knowledge and so useful and important has this educa- 

 tional institution, the Farmers' Institute, become all over the country, 

 that not less than 500 institutes would be adequate to the present 

 needs of the State. In fact, in all the thickly settled parts of the 

 State two institutes, one for men and one for women, should be held 

 in each township. This would necessitate the holding of about 

 2,000 institutes, which may be taken as a fair estimate to which the 

 institute work in this State must grow during the next few years. 



WOMEN''s INSTITUTES. 



In certain sections, notably the Province of Ontario, Canada, 

 institutes similar in purpose to those for the men have also been held 

 for the women in the farm homes. 



Owing to our social ideas and customs, there is probably no place 

 which has Ijeen less influenced by modern discovery and tliQ recent 

 advance in scientific knowledge than has the Southern home, and it 

 is therefore not surprising that these institutes for the benefit of the 

 farmers' wives and daughters have received little attention in the 

 South. This State is probably the first to inaugurate the movement 



