71 



present time living on the farms learn to do things, not by reading or listening to 

 talks, but by seeing them done, and then doing them themselves. In the early days, 

 when the institutes started, anybody was employed that could be gotten hold of, 

 anybody that could talk well, theoretically or about i)ractioal things. That condi- 

 tion has passed away. Then came the man with the chart.*, and, as Mr. Kydd says, 

 he pointed to the different parts of the horse, and «iid this and that ought to be thus 

 and so. That phase of instruction passed away, and now we have the horse himself 

 used in demonstrations. Now we have come to the point where we have to demon- 

 strate things practically. As I say, you can call this work anything you please. But 

 the time has come when we have to quit this pioneer work that has been done and 

 get things in shape at the meetings to demonstrate the work. 

 F. H. Rankin, of Illinois, presented the following paper: 



BOYS' AND GIBLS' INSTITUTES. 



Every department of human endeavor is pulsating with progressive activity. There 

 is a smaller sphere for the uneducated man of every decade and a diminishing possi- 

 bility of success for the man who does not read and think. The reading man is in 

 the saddle; the thinkng man is guiding the nation's destinies. 



At no period of history has the intellectual thought of the agricultural classes been 

 stirred as it is to-day, and therefore we see springing up on every side these agencies 

 which are at work to stir the farmer out of his intellectual apathy. The farmers' insti- 

 tute has won for ib^elf a leading place among the several educational iniluences that 

 are working for the benefit of the farmer. It stands in close touch with the people 

 of the agricultural colleges and experiment .stations on the one hand, and seeks to 

 bring the fanner to a better acquaintance with them on the other. In short, the 

 spirit w'hich it imparts to this work is to make agriculture not only the support of 

 man's body, but also an inspiration to his intellect. The key to improving agri- 

 culture in any place in the world is its intellectualization. 



The farmers' institute work is an effective agency for disseminating knowledge 

 of u.se to agriculture which scientific men are discovering, and it gives the oppor- 

 tunity for the dissemination and exchange of ideas amontr the farmers them- 

 selves for information in regard to tlieir occupation. The farmers' institute is a 

 distributing agent ; this is its mission. The most successful and acceptable men 

 upon the lecture force are those persons who have themselves had the experience 

 and know the value of the truths that they teach. The information which they 

 bring, to be of service to those to whom it is given, must have been tested and 

 used and applied until its value and practical character have been clearly shown. 

 No common or ill-ecjuipped instructor should have a place in this work. The 

 speaker at the institute should be a man who knows at least one thing well and 

 can vouch for its truth; who has seen it tested and is willing to stake his reputation 

 upon the accuracy and reliability of the statement which he presents. I believe that 

 every institute superintendent will bear me out in the statement that the greatest 

 difficulty which confronts him is to find a sufficient number of men of the character 

 described with which to provide material for the institute lecture force. 



At meetings of this character we hear a great deal about the selection of speakers 

 for institute work. But there is another question beyond that. After we have 

 gotten the speakers how shall they be trained and developed? 



It seems to me that our agricultural colleges are not yet working up to their limit, 

 so to speak, along this line. There is yet a work which but few of them have ever 

 attempted. I do not believe that our colleges will do their full duty toward institute 

 work until they have provided some special training for the young men enrolled in 

 their schools to fit them for this institute work. I do not refer simply to the train- 

 ing of them in agriculture and the varied sciences connected therewith. I mean 

 giving them something of the practical teachers' training, so that they can take the 

 knowledge they have and stand up before their fellow-men and present it in a clear, 

 attractive, and convincing manner. 



There is something along this line in which our agricultural training needs a little 

 more developing in the way of assisting these young men in qualifying themselves 

 not simply as speakers at meetings, but as teachers and leaders in our institute work. 

 In the speaker's opinion this should not be left to the somewhat uncertain help or 

 assistance obtained at the literary society or debating club. 



Recognizing the importance of this work, the Illinois College of Agriculture, two 

 years ago, introduced a regular course of study which is termed "farmers' institute 

 management." This course is the study of the farmers' institute as a factor of our 



