40 



Another line of teaching, quite as important as the one named, is to disabuse the 

 mind of error. Errors in agricultural practice have grown not only out of miscon- 

 ceptions of natural and therefore scientitic truth, but also out of and by reason of 

 erroneous teachings, whether from the i)latform or the bulletin. Error must be 

 cleared away before the truth can become established. 



NEW YORK. 

 By F. E. Dawley, Fayetieville. 



The winter of 1904-5 was without exception the most successful season of institute 

 work that New York State has ever experienced. The season opened with a normal 

 institute lasting six days, and held in two sections. The first section of three days 

 was held at the State "experiment station, Geneva, and the second section of three 

 days at Cornell University, Ithaca. The speakers at the normal institute have now- 

 learned about what material the institute lecturers are most in need of, and have 

 been able to so arrange their lectures that the normal institute is doing far more good 

 than formerly. The value of these normal meetings is very clearly seen, and the 

 quality of the work has been greatly improved since they were inaugurated. 



The day following the close of the normal institute at Ithaca the workers began 

 their regular institute season, and were in the very best condition for a strong win- 

 ter's campaign. The first meeting was held on November 21 and the season closed 

 on March 17, 261 meetings having been held. Of these, 129 were one-day institutes, 

 128 two-dav meetings, and 4 lasted three davs or more, with a total attendance of 

 87,439. 



In addition to these a number of independent institutes were held, the total attend- 

 ance at which was 31,000, giving an attendance of 118,439. This is a very great 

 increase over the attendance of the winter before, but when taken in connection 

 with a period of years it simply shows our normal average increase for each year. 

 The winter of 1903— i was the most inclement that New York State has experienced 

 in years, and at many of the meetings the roads were impassable, so that the attend- 

 ance that year was much lower than the average. 



During the year we held institutes in every county in the State except Richmond 

 and Kings. One of the most successful meetings we hold is in New York City in con- 

 nection with the American Institute. A^'e cooperate very largely with the various 

 organizations in the State, the director of institutes, who is a director in most of the 

 agricultural associations and societies, assisting largely in arranging the programmes 

 for their meetings. The attendance at these meetings is figured in with our insti- 

 tute attendance, as they are practically our round-up meetings, but the attendance 

 at summer picnics where we furnish lecturers, which is very much larger than the 

 average attendance at the winter institutes, is not figured in. 



Our appropriation is the same that it has been for a number of years — $20,000, but 

 at the last session of the legislature a special appropriation was made to the education 

 department of the State to enable it to pay the expenses of lecturers, \, hich it furnishes 

 to the farmers' institutes, as in the past. 



Our belief in the advantages of the system of a central management, sending to each 

 meeting from two to six speakers, who will take up the greater portion of the time, 

 is strengthened each year, as the local people in New Y'urk State are far better pleased 

 to have the work mapped out for them and carried out by State help than they are to 

 make an entertainment of the meeting by the use of local help, recitations, and music. 

 We discourage the idea of exhibits of implements and products at our meetings fur- 

 ther than a rit-h and choice decoration of the halls. However, in a few instances 

 something akin to a lo(;al fair is held, as much as §300 or $400 being distributed in 

 prizes in certain sections. These matters, however, must be governed by local con- 

 ditions to a very great extent. 



Our special "boys and girls" sessions are very successful, and the number of young 

 people in attendance, as avcU as the large number who are attending our State agri- 

 cultural college, who attribute their first interest in asricnlture to enthusiasm received 

 at a farmers' institute, is an evidence of the efficiency of this line of work. 



While we have not dropped the special subjects fcr discussion which have been on 

 the programmes at each institute during the past few years, and are still talking good 

 roads, better schools, and alfalfa, during the coming year we shall pay particular 

 attention to a discussion of the newer trcatinent for milk fever, illustrated with the 

 apparatus, the advantages of soil inoculation and alfalfa growing, and the advantages 

 coming from spraying potatoes. 



The period devoted to the question box i; perhaps the distinguishing feature of 

 New York State's institutes. The questions I'mm each institute are sent to the cen- 

 tral office, and an examination of them indicates the wide range of subjects discussed. 



