43 



iiicipicncy to become an important factor in bringing about a change I'roni the old imr- 

 crop method tliat had prevaih'd to lliat of diveraiiied agriculture. 



The second year of the farmers' institutes was equally encouraging. Twenty-eight 

 were held, and every institute was well attended. In many places where the insti- 

 tutes had planned for but a single day they were continued for two days at the urgent 

 solicitation of the people of the community in which they were held. The legisla- 

 ture from the first responded with considerable generosity by making an appropria- 

 tion of §1,500 per annum in support of the work, and as it developed in interest and 

 value increased the amount to §2,000 per annum. Bulletins containing the pro- 

 ceedings of the various institutes are annually published and distributed. These 

 pul)lications have been found to be valuable aids in educating the farmers as well as 

 in encouraging them to adopt better methods in cultivation and in increasing thcnr 

 appreciation of the institute work. 



That the institute is not a passing fad or mere temporary excitement is evidenced 

 not only by the steady annual increase in attendance, and the frequent calls that come 

 from all ])arts of the State for the appointment of more meetings, but also by the 

 practical demonstrations which the farmers themselves furnish, exhibited in the 

 numerous instances of the successful growing of a variety of crops thru systematic 

 rotation, in the employment of better methods of culture, and in the planting and 

 growing of more "food" crops for home use. 



The outlook for the continued success of the work is very encouraging. The legis- 

 lature at its next session will in all prol)ability increase the appropriation for insti- 

 tute purposes sufficiently to enable the State director to broaden and extend his 

 institutes so as to carry meetings into all of the parishes of the State. 



MAINE. 



The first movement looking toward concerted action for the improvement of agri- 

 culture in Maine was in 1787, but it was not until 1832 that the industry was recog- 

 nized by act of assembly framed specially to encourage farm life and work. The act 

 referred to provided for the payment of premiums to the various agricultural societies 

 "for the introducing or improvement of any breed of cattle useful to the State or any 

 tools or implements of husbandry or manufacture, introducing or preserving any 

 valuable trees, shrubs, or plants, or in any way encouraging or advancing any of the 

 departments of agriculture, horticulture, or manufacture." 



The leaders of that early period realized not only that agriculture was an important 

 industry, l)ut they also were convinced that the best way of developing it was by 

 encouraging the individual farmers, and thus premiums for superiority in production 

 were awarded by' the State. The payment of the premiums, however, were condi- 

 tioned upon the exhibitor first delivering to the society a statement in writing specify- 

 ing in detail "the kind and quality of dressing used upon the land, the course pursued 

 in using same, the kind of soil cultivated, with such other facts as may be deemed 

 useful." 



These reports by exhibitors were gathered and preserved, and many of them were 

 published in the columns of the Maine Farmer, the agricultural and home paper of 

 the State, founded in 1833 by Ezekiel Holmes, of Winthrop, the first secretary of the 

 board of agriculture and a man of rare insight and profound learning, who devoted his 

 life to arousing love for the farm and a desire for education in agriculture. 



Thruout the State these statements were taken up by farmers' clubs, then quite 

 common, and discust by men trained to think for themselves in the hard school of 

 daily experience. The enthusiasm for agriculture then kindled has never been 

 extinguished . 



In 1852, chiefly thru the influence of Doctor Holmes, then a member of the legisla- 

 ture, the State board of agriculture was established, but it was not until 1880 that the 



