35 



TENNESSEE. 

 By J. B. KiLLEBREW. Xaslirillc. 



I am not authorized to represent Tennessee on this occasion, but Mr. Ogilvie, 

 the present commissioner of af;criculture for Tennessee, is absent, having met 

 with a severe liereavement, and I would lilce to respond for Tennessee, in order 

 that the State may not be unrepresented. 



The biennial aiiiirojiriation for farmers' institutes in Tennessee is .$.^.000. 

 The institutes are held in about ten counties of each of the three natural 

 divisions of the State. 



Generally there is a large attendance, and that attendance is due ti,s much 

 to the interest felt by the farmers of the State as to another thing that I hope 

 every single institute will be able to get, and that is the cooperation of the 

 railroads. Two of the railroads of the State during the past year and the year 

 before gave free transportation to every institute held in the State on their 

 lines, and this, of course, has resulted in a very large attendance, and has 

 brought the railroads and the farmers into better relation.s. 



In reference to the teaching of agriculture, I maj' say that as early as 1S78 

 the legislature of Tennessee authorized agriculture to be taught in the i)ul)lic 

 schools there; also elementary geology, supposing that the study of that lies 

 at the foundation of a knowledge of the soil. The subjects embraced in the 

 programmes of the institutes are very extensive, embracing almost everything, 

 from fertilization to the public roads. The public roads especially have claimed 

 a great deal of attention, although the State has probably as many good public 

 roads as any other State in the South. The subject of fertilizers is always 

 on the pi-ogramme. I suppose that results from the fact that within the last 

 eight or ten years great beds of phosphates have been discovered in the State, 

 and a gi-eat deal of fertilizer is used. For this reason the advantages of the 

 use of fertilizers always forms one of the .subjects treated in the institutes. 



The feeding and care of live stock during the winter and summer and the 

 raising of forage plants for this purpose also receive attention. 



WEST VIRGINIA. 



By J. B. Garvin, Charleston. 



Since the last meeting of this association, which includes the greater part of 

 two seasons' work, 1.52 institutes have been held. Of these, .37 were one-day 

 meetings, usually of two sessions each, and 11;"» two-day meetings of three to 

 four sessions each. The estimated attendance reported was 18,729. 



These institutes were conducted by 21 instructors, part of them being selected 

 from among the most intelligent practical farmers and by members of the board. 

 We also employ young men who have either attended or are graduates of the 

 agricultural college. The aim is to encourage and help develop such young 

 farmers, and those who show aptitude for the work are retained on the force. 

 We also receive valuable assistance from the college of agriculture and some 

 from the experiment station. Two sp«'nkers and one assistant are assigned to 

 each section, which usually extends for a period of from two to three weeks. 



For the period embraced in this report, $,~),779.69 was expended for institutes 

 in the way of printing progrannnes. posters, secretaries of local institutes, and 

 per diem and exjjenses of instructors. The instrui-tors are paid .$4 per day and 

 expen.ses, and the assistants receive $2 to ,$.3 per day and expenses. Two speakers 

 were employed from outside the State to assist in the institrite work for the sea- 

 son just closed, for which we paid $") per day and exi)enses. 



