49 



a one-day institute, and where two-day meetings are held two or three and some- 

 times four men go. 



The most of the meetings held so far have been largely organized and advertised 

 through the efforts of the administrative otficer of the station. As a rule, the appli- 

 cation has come to the director of the station and he has corresponded directly with 

 the member of the State board interested and asked if it would be agreeable to him to 

 have meetings arranged for in his district. Meetings have been held in series to 

 cheapen the cost. An advertising agent has been sent out in advance to visit the 

 county towns where the meetings were to be Iield and interview the newspapers, 

 put in notices of the meetings, and have programmes jtrinted and distributed. The 

 county superintendent of instruction has been approached and asked to have the 

 teachers announce the meetings. Posters have also been sent to the postnuisters, to 

 the school-teachers, aud put up in all the public buildings and stores in the county 

 town and adjacent ones as well. In this way a general interest in the meetings has 

 been aroused, and the attendance has been remarkal>ly good considering the newness 

 of the work. Fully 8,000 farmers were present at the meetings held the past year. 



No new lines have been inaugurated. The plan outlineil ha-s succee<led remarka- 

 bly well, ccjnsidering that little systematic effort has been made along institute lines 

 previous to this time. Our farmers are anxious to learn and attend the meetings will- 

 ingly when they believe some information of value is to be obtained. The principal 

 subjects discussed were as follows: Soil renovation and improvement, the purchase 

 and utilization of connnercial fertilizers, live-stock disea.^es fthd their treatnient, 

 selection and improvement of corn and other cereals, and the feeding and nutrition 

 of farm live stock. As a result of the institute work a new interest is evidenced in 

 agriculture. This is shown by the large increase in the correspondence received at 

 the station. There is also a greater demand ff)r literature relating U) agricultural 

 subjects, and there is a growing interest in the introduction of agriculture in the 

 public schools of the State. 



The round-up meeting held in Roanoke last July was highly successful, more than 

 500 farmers attending from all sections of the State. An excursion was planned to 

 the experiment station at Blacksburg and practically all the delegates attended. 

 They were highlv gratified and delighted with tiie work in progress at the station 

 and indorsed all the efforts Ijeing made to oljtain information of value to the farmers 

 of the State through the researches now in progress at the station. The interest in 

 the work continues to grow and plans for this year are being undertaken on a much 

 more comprehensive scale with the belief that the results in the future will be more 

 gratifying than in the past. There are certain defects in the system which are appre- 

 ciated by those connected with the work, and in the course of time these will no 

 doubt be remedied. There is a growing interest in farmers' institutes. Our farmers 

 realize the necessitv and value of agricultural education, and are becoming insistent 

 on their rights to receive the attention along educational lines which the importance 

 of their industry makes imperative. 



WEST VIKGINIA. ' 



By J. B. Garvin, Charleston. 



About four-fifths of the institutes are held before the late fall months, in order to 

 avoid the possibility of interference by bad roads. In sections where the farmers 

 are more highly favored with macadamized roads the institutes are usually held 

 during November, December, and January. For this reason our report gives a part 

 of the work in 1904, as well as 1905. During the period mentioned 83 institutes have 

 been held. Forty-seven were one-day institutes of two sessions each, and 36 were 

 two-day institutes of six to eight sessions each. In some instances the two-day meet- 

 ings were arranged to begin at noon the first day, which accounts for the difierence 

 in the number of sessions for the two-day institutes. 



We have alwavs endeavored, in so far as possible, to secure an accurate account of 

 the number in attendance at each institute, but we have not been able to accomplish 

 this in every case. The number given as the attendance, partly estimated and partly 

 by actual count, is 13,183. This hardly measures up to the estimated attendance of 

 former years, but it is not entirely due to lack of interest, for some of the largest 

 attended and most interesting meetings have been held this season that we have 

 recorded in the history of the institute work in the State. In all, fourteen speakers 

 were employed. As a rule two speakers were assigned to each institute. The total 

 cost of institutes for the fiscal year, not including the salary of the superintendent of 

 institutes, is $2,375.35. The expenses are paid by the State board of agriculture out 

 of the funds appropriated for the use of the board. 



19983— No. 165—06 4 



