81 



If too much is not atteip.ptod :uul the workers :ire only hold rosponsihlo for the 

 suhjocts they are expected to tench, you so'm have a corj>s of trained institute 

 worlcers. We now have sixty workers in the Province of Ontario, whereas ten 

 \ears ago there were none. The Mrst and second years we had the professors 

 of the college, the third year we had one professor and two farmers, and now 

 the professors have all dropiied out and we use thorn i)i an advisory capacity 

 only. We now depend ui>on the profe.ssor to he a final judge with reference to 

 varieties and fertilizers and such things as he has made a specialty of during 

 the year. 



With all of this I l)elieve the farmers' institute work of the Province of On- 

 tario can take credit, in conjunction with Mr. Zavitz and the agricultural college, 

 for having done what he has mentioned. We have doul)led the output of the 

 Ontario farms in ten years without any appreciahle increase in population or 

 acreage. 



H. A. Huston, of St. Louis. One thing that specially interested me in Mr. 

 Clinton's remarks was the statement that no man would think of discussing 

 the ([uestion of soils without ho was familiar with the work of the foremost 

 soil investigators. This should he the case generally, hut unfortunately there 

 are a great many who discuss soils who know little ahout the suhject. It is 

 along that line that I helieve you need to exercise great care, because the soil 

 is the fundamental thing in agriculture. Large numbers of men are specializing 

 in fruit, in live stock, and in all soi-ts of lines, and trying to inform themselves 

 thoroughly on those subjects, but the men who undertake to make themselves 

 really masters of the soil question are exceedingly few and far between. The 

 most of our institute workers are what might be called local farm specialists, 

 n)en who have done good, successfi.il work in certain lines, but oftentimes they 

 have been successful because of local conditions which do not apply generally. 

 'J'hey do not alw.nys realize this fact, however, and they go into other regions 

 and give advice which the conditions do not warrant. 



Whatever may be the merits or demerits of the case, I helieve the subject 

 requires attention. If you can teach some of the specialists along lines which 

 are remote from soil study to keep quiet about the rpi'^stion of soils, or jiersuade 

 them to refer in(iuiries to sources where they can get reliable information, I 

 think you will have accomplished a good deal in the training of institute 

 workers. 



NEW PROBLEMS AND METHODS IN INSTITUTE WORK. 



PROBLEMS IN THE EAST. 



Mr. Franklin Dye, of New Jersey. The tirst problem I name is the insti- 

 tute itself. Who will prophesy as to its permanency and its usefulness".'' The 

 former will be determined l)y the latter. Will it outlive its missionV The 

 answer to this question will depend somewhat upon our conception of the work 

 of the institute its an educator in its relations to other agricultural educa- 

 tional forces. 



The teaching methods of the institute are, in some respects, original and pe- 

 culiar to it. They cond>ine the lecture of the practical teacher, whether from 

 the laboratory or the field, with the (luestions of the held workers and the an- 

 swers of the teachers thereto, making a method of instruction (luite unique. In 

 most other schools of instruction the pu])ils have had little if any practical ex- 

 perience in the application of the theories and principles they are studying; 

 this comes after graduation. 



