PUBLICATIONS. 51 



their importance. This circuhir also outlines methods by v.hich such 

 institutes may be organized and successfully conducted. 



The state appropriations for farmers' institutes were about $20,000 

 greater than for 1908, making a total of $345,G00. 



For the past four years the Office has been cooperating with the 

 standing committee of the Association of American Agricultural Col- 

 leges and Experiment Stations on extension work by assigning the 

 institute specialist to act as secretary of the committee. The work 

 of this committee has been very effective and was recognized by the 

 association at its recent meeting in Portland by adopting at the sug- 

 gestion of the committee a change in the constitution of the associa- 

 tion, Avhereby a third section, to be known as the section on extension 

 work, was created. The association, therefore, now consists of three 

 sections — the college section, the experiment station section, and the 

 section on extension Avork, thus recognizing extension work in edu- 

 cation as coordinate with that of the college in its interior work, and 

 the station in its work of investigation and research. This is a most 

 important step in advance in agricultural education, and in securing 

 its recognition this Office has to some extent shared. Agricultural 

 extension now has, therefore, a recognized place in the educational 

 system of instruction by the land-grant colleges and will undoubtedly 

 offer a field for investigation along agricultural education lines that 

 can properly be undertaken by this Office. The field is new "and con- 

 sequently undeveloped. There is need, therefore, for securing and 

 disseminating infornuition in this direction. The Office can mate- 

 rially aid this movement by organizing a clearing house in agricultural 

 education extension, to which questions of ^idministration and organ- 

 ization in extension work may be referred and where researches and 

 demonstrations in agricultural education extension may be conducted. 



The detailed report of the farmers" institute specialist will be found 

 on pages 327-359. 



PUBLICATIONS. 



As in previous years, the publications of the Office during 1909 

 may be grouped under five main heads, as follows: (1) Annual re- 

 ports, including the administrative report of the Director and the 

 larger annual report of the Office. (2) Experiment Station Kecord, 

 which gives a technical review of the current literature of agricul- 

 tural investigation throughout the world, and Experiment Station 

 Work, which is published periodically in the Farmers' I>ulletin series 

 of the Dei^irtment and gives a popular summary of some of the more 

 salient practical results of the work of the experiment stations. (3) 

 Publications relating to the food and mitrition of man, consisting of 

 technical and popular bulletins, circulars, etc., reporting or based 

 upon the results of nutrition investigations conducted under the 



