FARMERS' INSTITUTE WORK 387 



ONE-DAY MEETINGS. 



The experience of last season convinced us that the chief fault of our 

 Institute system is the simple fact that it does not reach as many people 

 as it should; it oftentimes does not reach the very people who most need 

 its influence. This can be trul}^ stated without in the least reflecting 

 on the management of any one Institute. The very fact that but one 

 Institute is held in a county each year, the added fact that every Insti- 

 tute draws the bulk of its attendance from a distance not to exceed five 

 miles, makes it simply impossible for us to cover a county under the pres- 

 ent plan. How to obviate this weakness without enormously increasing 

 the cost is the problem. It occurred to us that the solution might lie 

 along the line of supplementing the regular county meeting with a series 

 of one-day meetings, scattered about the county, chiefly in localities 

 unlikely to obtain the regular county meeting for at least some years. 

 To demonstrate either the value or worthlessness of such a plan, we 

 determined upon an experiment in two counties. We chose Ionia and 

 Sanilac counties, securing without difficulty the hearty cooperation of 

 the oflQcers of the Institute societies in both counties. Five one-day 

 meetings were held in each county, as follows: 



In Ionia county — Portland, Monday, January 18; North Plains, Tues- 

 day, January 19; Belding, Wednesday, January 20; Clarksville, Thurs- 

 day, January 21; Lake Odessa, Friday, January 22. 



The county meeting followed the next week at Ionia, 



In Sanilac county the meetings were — Brown City, Tuesday, February 

 1; Sanilac Center, Wednesday, February 2; Argyle, Thursday, February 

 3; Minden City, Friday, February 4; Port Sanilac, Saturday, February 5. 



The county meeting was held at Croswell the week following. 



But one State speaker was sent, in each case Hon. Wm. Ball being the 

 lecturer requested. The programs were like the usual Institute pro- 

 gram. In Ionia county the secretary personally made local arrange- 

 ments at each point, with the aid of vice presidents and committees. At 

 the time of holding the Institutes both the president and secretary 

 attended each meeting. In Sanilac county the local arrangements were 

 made through a sub-society at each point. The table below will give an 

 idea of the value of the experiment. 



SYNOPSIS OF INSTITUTE WORK IN IONIA COUNTY, 1896 AND 1897. 



1896. 

 One-day meeting at Ionia; average attendance per session, 435. 



1897. 



There was held one three-day "County Roimd-up" at Ionia, with 332 averago per 

 sosfion ; 



