17 



upon each speakor the absolute necessity of dcvotinj; liis tiiiie entirely to the 

 work of the i)ast year. We even foun<l that tiiat did not eiitirely accomplish 

 the desired result, so we had to outline what he should say, as you will see in 

 the progrannne of the meeting. 



Mr. Hamilton. May I say. in this connection, that the Department of Agricul- 

 ture has i>repared a set of reports from the several States, giving a history of the 

 organization of the institutes in those States and the condition of work in the 

 different States, so that persons who are interested in knowing the exact condi- 

 tion of things in the several States can have their curiosity satisfied by looking 

 at these reports. 



On call of the president, the following eight-minute reports from the various 

 States, Territories, and Provinces were submitted : 



EIGHT-MINUTE REPORTS FROM STATES, TERRITORIES, AND 



PROVINCES. 



ALABAMA. 



By C. A. Caby, Auburn. 



From .Tuly 1. 1003. to July 1. 1004. 24 farmers' institutes were held in 2P, coun- 

 ties of Alabama. The total attendance was 3.030, and the average for each 

 institute was 151. 



A ten-day round-up institute was held at the college in Auburn. August 10-14, 

 with an attendance of 130 farmers from a large numlier of counties cf the State. 



About $800 was used in paying the expenses of the 24 institutes and the one 

 round-up institute. 



A majority of the institutes were held in August— the time most available for 

 the farmers to attend the meetings. 



Eleven speakers were employed, and all but two of them were taken from the 

 station force of workers. 



We have adopted no especially new features, but our attendance has increased 

 as well as the interest manifested and the greater number of calls for institutes. 



ARKANSAS. 



By W. G. ViNCENHELLER, FayettevHle. 



Number of meetings held, 5. Amount of money spent, about $50. Two 

 speakers employed. These meetings have been held in response to urgent requests 

 and have usually resulted in the organization of fruit and vegetable growers' 

 associations. The demand for speakers or lecturers for these meetings has been 

 greater than we have been able to fill. The information most generally sought 

 is along the lines of improved agriculture and horticulture. The agriculturist 

 and horticulturist are required to do both station and college work, which pre- 

 vents us to a large extent from filling the demands made upon us. We hope to 

 have assistants in these departments another year, when we will be able to give 

 more attention to this work. I now have 25 appointments in connection with the 

 horticultural department of the Iron Mountain Railroad. Either myself or a 

 member of the staff will be in attendance upon all these meetings. 



