lOG Missouri Agricultural Report. 



work than has beeu given our State Fish Commission — a relatively 

 unimportant line of work. Subordinate clerks in many of our State 

 departments receive more salary than do the principal officers of the; 

 Boards of Agriculture and Horticulture. Farmers themselves are to 

 blame for tliis condition, and it is their duty to demand better things 

 and larger support. The loss to Missouri farmers in one year from two 

 animal diseases, both of which are preventable, if it could be saved, 

 would pay the entire expenses of the Board of Agriculture and the 

 Agricultural College for the next ten years.' It is not enough tliat we 

 create these official positions, but we must give them intelligent and 

 adequate support if we expect efficient service. What is ^100,000 ex- 

 pense for the Board of Agriculture when we compare that amount of 

 money with the increased production of crops that will result from the 

 teachings of the Board through our farmers' institute meetings. Tlu; 

 better quality of seed corn used last year by thousands of Missouri corn 

 growers, as a result of corn shows held by the Board of Agriculture and 

 the Agricultural College, increased the yield of corn enough to pay for 

 the entire equipment of the State University. The Agricultural College 

 of Missouri will be just as good and no better than the farmers want it. 

 The State of Missouri and her institutions will never rise above our 

 ideals and our support. 



THE FARMERS' INSTITUTE WORK. 



(S. M. Jordan, Farmers' Institute Director, Board of AgricuUure. ) 



I want to tell you something about the institute 

 work that lias been carried on in this State. From 

 the first of July to the middle of September we 

 planned perhaps about two-thirds of the work that 

 was called for. Since tlie middle of September the 

 requests that have come in have not been responded 

 to in more than one-half the cases. Since the first 

 of July I liave visited 66 institutes and there have 

 been 60 institutes held that I have not attended, 

 making 126 in all. At the 60 meetings I did not 



S. Mi. Jordan. 



attend there were 13,085 people, and at the 66 in- 

 stitutes where I lectured tlie attendance amounted to 27,145 i^eople. 

 Now this is an estimate of tlio actual number who attempted to listen. 

 At a great many of the picnics and gatherings of that nature perhaps a 

 few hundred or several thousand were able to hear. At Chautauqua 



