77 



From the l)eginning farmers' institutes in this State have ])een popular. It is incom- 

 prehenBil)le, liowever, wliy an effort has not l)een made to invoke Static aid for the 

 extension of the work, a work wliieli has l)een recognized on every hand to be of excep- 

 tional value to the agricullural interests of the State. 



The institutes conducted in this State have largely l)een of the intensely practical 

 type, altho they have been favored with the presentation of many scientific facts from 

 very able men. A helpful feature of the institute has been stereoptically-illustrated 

 lectures on breeds and types of live stock, fungus, and insect pests of fruit, garden and 

 field crops. These illustrated lectures have })een practically the ecjuivalent of natural 

 object lessons. 



Farmers' institutes have been twofold in their beneficial effect upon the agricultural 

 conditions of the State. In addition to their immediate benefit to the active fanner, 

 they have been a potent factor in bringing the farmers in close touch with exi^eriment 

 station workers, hence have been exceedingly helpful to the experiment station in 

 bringing to its attention the principal evils besetting the agriculturists. 



About twenty farmers' institutes have been held in this State each year for the past 

 fourteen years. All of these institutes have been conducted under the auspices of the 

 agricultural college. Their influence upon the agricultural practises of the State has 

 been very marked. Improved and up-to-date methods of agriculture in all of its 

 various ramifications are evident on every hand and are directly traceable to the far- 

 reaching effect of the institute. The press of th(! State has also been a valua])le sup- 

 plement in promulgating agricultural information. It has generously donated its 

 space in publishing the discus.sions at these institutes, tlius bringing the work directly 

 within the reach of nearly every farmer in the State. 



^\'hile the comparatively few institutes which have been held thruout the State 

 within the past sixteen years have been of great value to agriculture, there is at present 

 urgent need for a wider extension of this work. Agriculture is constantly changing in 

 its various aspects. Large farms are being subdivided into smaller farms, which means 

 a more intensified system of farming. Thus a great many new problems are constantly 

 arising to confront the farmer. Then, again, a large influx of farmers is steadily poiu-- 

 ing into the State who, in the main, have been accustomed to different conditions of 

 farming. Hence they are desirous of securing practical information on many subjects, 

 just the information that is usually obtained at institutes. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



If the early history of the farmers' societies organized in Pennsylvania for the 

 advancement of agriculture could be written, it would be a proper introduction to the 

 discussion of the origin of farmers' institutes in that State. As early as 1785 there was 

 organized in Philadelphia an agricultural .society known as the "Philadelphia Society 

 for the Promotion of Agriculture." This was, perhaps, the oldest organization of the 

 kind in this country. 



The first farmers' institute held in Pennsylvania by State authority ^as on May 22, 

 1877, when the board of agriculture, which had been created by act of assembly of 

 May 8, 1876, called a meeting of its members at Harrisburg for the consideration of the 

 agricultural interests of the State. This board was composed of representatives elected 

 by the several county agricultural societies, one representative from each of the 67 

 counties, together with 3 persons ap})ointed by the governor and 6 members ex-officio, 

 who were connected with the several departments of the State administration. These 

 76 representatives had sole charge of the organization and management of farmers' 

 institutes for about eighteen years, until the creation of the department of agri-culture, 

 when the institutes were transferred to this department. Until 1885 the board of agri- 

 culture had no specific appropriation from the State from which to l^ear the expenses 

 of the institutes. The service of its members was altogether gratuitous. The expenses 

 were met by the several localities in which the institutes were held, altho a small 



