REPORT OF FARMERS' INSTITUTE WORK, 1910. 



T. B. PARKER, Director. 



During the Institute year from December 1st, 1009, to November 

 1st, 1010, there have been held 302 institutes under the direction of 

 the State Department of Agriculture. Of this number 106 were 

 regular Farmers Institutes for men, 173 were institutes for women. 

 17 orchard demonstration institutes, 5 corn institutes, and one three 

 days' liouud-up Institute or Farmers' Convention. During the year 

 institutes were held in 06 of the 08 counties in the State, Dare and 

 Carteret only not having institutes. 



The growth of institutes in the State is shown in the follow 

 ing table : 



1808 — 28 institutes in 27 counties. 



1003 — 17 institutes in 16 counties. 



1004: — 58 institutes in 58 counties. 



1905 — 70 institutes in 76 counties. 



1006 — 136 institutes in 91 counties. 



1007 — 169 institutes in 93 counties. 



1908 — 234 institutes in 95 counties. 



1909 — 247 institutes in 93 counties. 



1910 — 392 institutes in 96 counties. 



There were applications for several more institutes, but they came 

 largely from counties in which several had already been provided for. 



In addition to the above there have been two institutes held for 

 colored farmers. Interest in institute work has been more manifest 

 among the farmers this year than ever before. 



In our institute work the newspapers of the State have given to 

 us unstinted co-operation and assistance, by announcing places and 

 dates of the meetings, printing the programs in full and urging their 

 readers to attend them. At each institute for men a premium of 

 one dollar was offered for the best five ears of a pure bred corn and 

 a like sum was offered at the women's institutes for the best loaf of 

 bread baked and exhibited by a girl or woman living on the farm. 

 Many of the newspapers of the State supplemented these premiums 

 by giving a year's subscription to the man or woman exhibiting the 

 best five ears of corn and the best loaf of bread at the institutes in 

 their county. The Progressive Farmer made a special offer of a 

 year's subscription to that paper to any girl or woman exhibiting 

 the best plate of biscuits at any institute. It affords me pleasure to 

 make this public acknowledgment of the unstinted helpfulness of 

 the editors of the State press in this work. 



