REVIEW OF THE YEAR. 57 



"\Miile these means of popular demonstration "vvork have reached 

 their liei^ht in the AVestern States, they have also been very success- 

 ful in the East, where the steamboat has been pressed into service to 

 reach farmers not located on the railroads, and in several instances^ 

 special electric cars have been equipped to run over a network of 

 electric lines reaching into the rural districts. The railroads have 

 continued to run excursions to carry farmers and their families to the 

 institution. An illustration of this was an excursion run in Xew 

 Hampshire in the summer of 1909 through the agency of the station, 

 which brought about 3.000 people to the institution in a single day. 

 This is stated to be the largest agricultural gathering ever held in 

 that State. 



In ^Minnesota the legislature has appropriated $50,000 for the 

 biennium for extension work, which is to embrace, among other 

 things, popular bulletins giving the results of work at the station and 

 its branch stations. A novel form of extending information to dairy- 

 men has been put into effect by the Wisconsin University and Station 

 under the name of the '* postal dairy library." A topical list of 

 bulletins and articles on dairying has been made up, which is circu- 

 lated amonir dairvmen, who mav make selections from it to be loaned 

 for reading. 



" Farmers' week " has become an established feature at several 

 institutions, and is increasingly popular and largely attended. This 

 is partly educational, but from its nature the station has quite a 

 prominent part in it, and the farmers, young and old, are brought 

 into direct contact with its work. Through this means thev come to 

 know the station better, to aj^preciate its objects and methods, and 

 have an interest aroused which makes its work and its publications 

 far more valuable to them. The attendance on " farmers' week " 

 has reached up into the thousands in several cases. 



SUBSTATIONS AND LOCAL TEST FARMS. 



Increased activity is shown in the States in making provision for 

 permanent substations, or for temporary branches to serve in the 

 investigation of special problems. The last legislature in California 

 provided $0,000 for the biennium for a substation in the Imperial 

 Valley, which has been located at El Centro. It will study especially 

 the problems of irrigation in that region. In Colorado the substation 

 at Clieyenne Wells has been revived with a state apj^ropriation. In 

 Idaho the State has jirovided for three substations, one for dry farm- 

 ing, another for irrigation, and a third for the cut-over regions. A 

 special station for rice culture has been started in Louisiana through 

 cooperation of the central station and the United States Department, 

 of Agriculture with local agencies. 



