604 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



only to spend their time but also a considerable amount of money in the 

 prosecution of their Institute duties. This should not be tolerated by 

 any Institute Society. 



We also desire to express our obligations to our State workers. Some 

 one has said that the secret of Institute work is in sending out the right 

 kind of men as speakers; that all the machinery, of Institute work is 

 useless unless the men who do the work are the kind of men they should 

 be. We believe that the success of our work the past year can be at- 

 tributed in great degree to the zeal and devotion of our State speakers. 

 True, it may be said that our paid workers receive good compensation 

 and should have rendered good services. But no one who has watched 

 the work closely can fail to feel that the earnestness, character, enthu- 

 siasm, ard even sacrifice, of our Institute workers have contrib jted large- 

 ly to the successful work, and deserve especial recognition beyond that of 

 any remuneration the workers may receive. 



We wish especially to thank the members of the Faculty of the Agri- 

 cultural College and of the University of Michigan, as well as other mem- 

 bers of various State boards and institutions, for their work, which was 

 rendered gratuitously, but which was performed thoroughly and ear- 

 nestly. 



As in years gone by, the newspapers of the State have been firm allies 

 of the Institutes and one of the chief factors in making them a success. 

 Most of our Secretaries admit that newspaper notices are the best form 

 for advertising an Institute. We wish, therefore, to publicly acknowl- 

 edge our debt to the newspaper fraternity for their interest and aid. 



We wish also to acknowledge the very material help which the rail- 

 roads of Michigan have granted us in the form of half fares for our 

 Institute speakers while on Institute work. We have also usually been 

 favored with lower rates at hotels. A glance at our financial statement 

 will show that the largest item of expenditure is that for travel, which 

 includes railroad and hotel bills. Thus it will be seen at once that half 

 fare on the railroads and reduced rates at hotels mean a great saving to 

 the Institute fund. 



THE LONG INSTITUTES. 



In continuance of former plans, we offered a Long Fruit Institute and 

 also a Long Dairy Institute during the past season. The Long Fruit In- 

 stitute, of four days, was placed at Grand Rapids. The attendance here 

 was good. The interest was very good indeed, delegates coming from 

 many of the adjoining counties, and even from distant counties, to attend 

 the meeting. The following program indicates the work done: 



