314 REPOKT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



difficulty. The committee recommended and the association passed 

 the following resolutions expressive of the sense of the members upon 

 this subject: 



Resolved, That this association, appreciating the importance of providing more sys- 

 tematic and extensive instruction in agriculture in the farmers' institutes, hereby 

 expresses its approval of the use of the movable school of agriculture as an instrument 

 for this purpose. Second, that it commends the form of organization outlined and 

 courses of study prepared by the National Department of Agriculture for the estab- 

 lishing of such schools, and hereby earnestly requests the Committee of Agriculture 

 in Congress to recommend and the Congress to pass an appropriation sufficient to 

 enable the Department to perfect plans and courses of study and to organize, equip, 

 and place in operation, in charge of competent experts, a number of these schools 

 as demonstrations of their value and practicability. 



The committee on boys' and girls' institutes addressed six queries 

 to the State directors of institutes respecting the number of boys' 

 and girls' institutes held in their several States, their special features, 

 the attendance and interest, the character of programme best adapted 

 to these meetings, and the kind of publications most helpful in inter- 

 esting farmers' boys and girls in agricultural subjects. 



The committee concluded its report by saying — 



That there is certainly very great interest in the subject of boys' and girls' institutes 

 is indicated by this correspondence. This interest may be viewed as part of the 

 general movement for more extensive instruction in agriculture among rural young 

 people, which has manifested itself in recent years not only by greatly swelling the 

 attendance in the agricultural courses in our agricultural colleges, but also by intro- 

 ducing instniction in agriculture into the rural schools. 



There are various agencies at work along these lines. In some States there seems 

 to be no need for the farmers' institute taking it up; in others, the farmers' institute 

 appears to be about the only organization through which we can hope that the possi- 

 bilities and advantages of agricultural education can be brought to the attention of 

 the American people. 



The proceedings of the convention published for distribution by 

 this Department are accessible to those who are interested in the 

 details of its deliberations. 



EDUCATION EXTENSION IN AGRICULTURE. 



In addition to rendering assistance to the farmers' institutes, the 

 duties of the institute specialist were enlarged during the year to 

 include investigations into the other forms of agricultural education 

 extension work. In these investigations the Department is cooper- 

 ating with the standing committee of the Association of American 

 Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations on extension w^ork of 

 which the institute specialist was made secretary.'* 



In conducting this cooperative investigation the secretary sent out 

 about 5,000 circular letters to educational institutions and to social 



« For report of the committee see U. S. Dept. Agr., Office of Experiment Stations 

 Cir. 72. 



