36 



The plan of having requests by petition from the different localities was 

 adoi)ted a year ago, which requires that a petition be signed l)y at least ten 

 farmers who will agree to take an active interest in helping to work up the 

 meetings. This petition is filed with the superintendent to be used in making 

 up the schedule. 



The schedule is arranged l)y a connnittee ajipointed by the board, consisting 

 of two of its niemljers and the su])erintendent. At the regular semiannual 

 meeting of the board in April the coumiittee arranges the schedule of institutes 

 and assigns the speakers. 



So far we have never held an annual round-up meeting, but last winter or- 

 ganized a State Farmers' Normal Institute Society, lor tlie purpose of Ijringing 

 together farmers' institute workers and those who might be interested and hold 

 a regular school of instruction and methods for a week or ten days. 



The next meeting will be held in Charleston, beginning January 23, 1905. 



WISCONSIN. 



By Geo. McKerrow, Madison. 



One hundred and one meetings and eleven cooking schools were held in Wis- 

 consin, with an aggregate attendance of 51,000. Sixty thousand coines of 

 Farmers' Institute Bulletin No. 17, 320 pages, were issued and di;strilinted to 

 the farmers and libraries of the State. The interest in institute work was 

 never better, and we believe the work done was fully uit to or even ahead of 

 that of previous years. Short talks and long discussions \\ere the rule and 

 j^eemed to bring out the points of excellence upon each subject much better than 

 longer talks and shorter discussions. 



The subjects discussed at these meetings covered the whole range of Wis- 

 consin agriculture. Dairying in all of its phases, horse, cattle, sheep, and swine 

 husbandry, poidtry, horticulture, grass and grain growing, general management 

 of farms, farm laiildings, good roads, and lumsehold economy have all been 

 treated under different headings so as to cover the whole range of our agri- 

 culture. 



REPORT BY THE FARMERS' INSTITUTE SPECIALIST OF THE UNITED 

 STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



By John Hamilton, Washington, D. C. 



The work of the farmers' institute specialist of the United States during the 

 past year has for the most part been in tiie direction of securing information as 

 to the condition of the institutes in the several States and Territories. A com- 

 plete list of the names and post-office addresses of the farmers' institute lec- 

 turers of the I'liited States in the emploj- of the State directors has been obtained 

 and published. They number over !)()(», and of tliese the personal history of 

 about 700 has been obtained, which shows that they are men thoroughly qual- 

 ified by education and ex])erience for the work that they have assumed. 



Lists of the names of the lecturers were furnished to all of the experiment 

 station directors of the United States, accompanied with the request that they 

 send to each lecturer copies of their lists of bulletins. They were also requested 

 to supply the lecturers, upon application, with copies of such Inilletins as they 

 might desire. An arrangement was also made with the Division of Publications 

 of the National Department of Agriculture by which the monthly list of publi- 

 cations would be regularly sent to these State lecturers, from which they would 



