272 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



ought at all times to be brought out and made known to the public. 

 Lei everybody know just what it costs; what he gets and where the 

 money goes. 



MR. OLIVER, Crawford County: Mr. Chairman, we try to make 

 the institutes in Crawford county practical. One of the first things 

 that I do is to call my committee together at the county-seat, for I 

 think that is the proper place. I try to invest them with at least as 

 much enthusiasm as I have. I try to make them think that the suc- 

 cess of the institute depends as much upon their activity and the 

 effort they put forth, as it does upon my own. We try to make the 

 institute practical from the beginning to the end; and I may say that 

 our rooms in which our institutes are held, sometimes in a church 

 and sometimes in a hall, are filled and often more than filled. Of 

 course some of our institutes are better than others. 



I think that the chairman should get in touch with the people 

 so as to know what are the things they most desire to have dis- 

 cussed at the institute. The housewife, if she has company, and 

 only knows the dishes her company most delight in, can easily pre- 

 pare a feast for them; so I think if the committee, an active com- 

 mittee, comes so close in touch with the people there as to know 

 what are the subjects in which they are interested, they will know 

 how to prepare an interesting program and know what subjects 

 should be discussed. 



REV. T. J. FERGUSON, Cumberland County: Mr. Chairman, I 

 have just a word to justify my presence here as a county manager. 

 There were two things yesterday that made me feel very comfortable, 

 sitting among you as a manager of farmers' institutes. One was the 

 splendid address we had last night on the importance of farmers' 

 institutes in public education, touching the lives of the whole rural 

 community, and as a minister I have always been interested in more 

 things than simply the affairs of my congregation. I have been in- 

 terested in good schools, good roads, good health, and everything 

 that touches the rural communities has been an object of my in- 

 terest, and that is one of the things that made me feel very com- 

 fortable among you. The other was in connection with that splendid 

 entertainment that Mr. Kates gave us yesterday. 



It was a matter of great interest to me to see this body of insti- 

 tute managers and lecturers sitting at the feet, or standing at the 

 feet of a brother minister, learning the lessons of soil fertilization. 

 We heard in the morning that the chemist, a very high authority, 

 could tell us absolutely nothing about available and unavailable 

 plant food, and so Mr. Kates took us back to the country and in 

 that delightful ride and entertainment, gave us an object lesson, 

 and so we sat at the feet of a brother minister and learned about 

 soil fertility; therefore T feel that T am justified in being here. 



