No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 275 



agers of institutes, that they get in correspondence with the State 

 Librarian. They can procure, at a nominal cost and expense, for 

 their communities and counties and townships, a supply of these 

 traveling libraries, selecting such books as directly apply to educa- 

 tion along the lines of agriculture, and the arts and sciences, history, 

 biography and all these things that will broaden out and elevate the 

 minds of the boys and girls in the families upon the farm. 



Time will not permit to speak further upon this matter. I am 

 gratified that Mr. Kates has called our attention to this, and I only 

 regret that Mr. Montgomery himself is not present to fully present 

 this matter to us upon this occasion. 



MR. KAHLER, Lycoming County: Mr. Chairman, I would just 

 like to say a word in regard to this library question, in which we 

 have had a little experience. As has already been stated by your 

 good friend, Mr. Kates, you can get them upon application by signing 

 a bond for the proper care of the library, and as he has already 

 stated, all that it will cost is the transportation, namely three dol- 

 lars, and then we can select from a number of books the kinds of 

 books wanted. And I will say further, that you will find that the 

 literature is first-class and up-to-date in every respect. The way we 

 manage the matter is this: Before we let the volumes out, we ap- 

 point a librarian, who takes the names of all persons taking out the 

 books. They are not allowed to keep them over ten days without 

 permission. At the end of that period they can return one book 

 and get another; each person taking out a book is charged with it, 

 and under obligation to return it in good condition. After the 

 library has remained in our care for three months, we are expected 

 to return it, or file an application for its retention during another 

 period, or we can exchange libraries with some neighboring com- 

 munity, and in that way save transportation, although we have to 

 pay the expense of transportation every time we make a change. 



I am very much pleased that our Director of Institutes has recom- 

 mended that the chairmen of our different counties bring this to the 

 attention of the people in their several communities, because the 

 whole thing of agriculture simply boils itself down to education, and 

 that is one of the means of obtaining it. I hope it will be taken up 

 and acted upon in every county in the State. 



MR. HERR: Mr. Chairman, just one thought in regard to that 

 syllabus; I do not believe it is practicable unless you have the syl- 

 labus in advance and have it published in the county paper. It is too 

 late when it comes to the institute. You cannot distribute them 

 at the proper time, and the only thing I see would be to get it in ad- 

 vance and publish it in the county paper; and then the other diffi- 

 culty I see is, that perhaps the speaker will not be there himself. 



