336 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



MINNESOTA. 

 Institute director. — O. C. Gregg, director of farmers' institutes, Lynd. 



In Minnesota a new feature in institute work was introduced last 

 year. Short courses in agricultui-e, continuing for a week, were given 

 at various points. Before arranging for such a course in any locahty 

 pledges from a considerable number of farmers were first secured 

 agreeing to attend all of the sessions. The meetings are reported to 

 have been quite successful, and it is proposed to continue and extend 

 them the coming year. 



A railroad special ''good-seed train" w^as equipped and run, reach- 

 ing about 900 persons and making twelve stops. The regular insti- 

 tutes numbered 105, composed of 238 sessions, with an aggregate 

 attendance of 51,211. The total cost of the institutes was $20,200, 

 of which $18,000 was from the State appropriation and $2,200 from 

 advertising in the institute annual. There w^ere ten State lecturers 

 employed, four being from the agricultm'al college. An institute 

 annual, containing papers and addresses delivered at farmers' insti- 

 tutes, was prepared and published by the institute board of admin- 

 istration, and 35,000 copies were distributed. 



MISSISSIPPI. 



Institute director. — E. R. Lloyd, director of farmers' institutes, Agricultural College. 



The yellow-fever epidemic which broke out in the South, and the 

 quarantine which followed in July, 1905, interfered seriously with 

 institute work in Mississippi. Notwithstanding this, 220 sessions of 

 institutes were held, with a total attendance of 10,000 persons. The 

 agricultural college and experiment station men performed about 75 

 per cent of the institute work. Eighteen of these instructors taught 

 in the institutes this year, contributing three hundred and sixty days 

 of their time. This is the highest number of days given by a land- 

 grant college to institute work in an}- State this year. 



The present appropriation of $3,000 is altogether inadequate for 

 supplying institutes in sufficient number to meet the demand. Dur- 

 ing the year as many as eight requests came in from a single county 

 for institute meetings. Most meetings in Mississi]:»pi are held din-ing 

 July, August, and September. At this season of the year most of 

 the crops have been "laid by" and farmers have more leisure time 

 for attendance upon the meetings tlian at any other season. This 

 is also the vacation ])eriod of the college and the experiment station 

 men, who compose the corps of institute lecturers. 



A round-up meeting of three days was held at the agi-icultural col- 

 lege, with an attendance of about 200. A diversified farming special 

 was run over the lines of the Illinois Central and the Yazoo and Mis- 

 sissippi Valley Kaihoad systems during the year. The train con- 



