1919] EDITORIAL. 107 



Of the special forms of instruction developed by the educational 

 forces particular mention should be made of the " farmers' institutes." 

 These, as the name implies, represented an adaptation of the well 

 known farmers' institutes of this country. This form of instruction 

 was found to be peculiarly well suited to the conditions and was one 

 of the first means to be employed. 



Early in January farmers' institute teams were organized at sev- 

 eral embarkation points, notably Bordeaux and Brest, and the cam- 

 paign was subsequently extended throughout the forces. By April a 

 corps of twenty-six specialists was at work from the American Edu- 

 cational Commission, supplemented by scores of speakers drawn from 

 the Army. In the Bordeaux region alone a staff of thirty-five work- 

 ers was recruited. The number of men reached was correspondingly 

 large. For the month of May it is estimated that four hundred insti- 

 tutes were held of from one to three days each, with an aggregate 

 attendance of at least one hundred and fifty thousand. Some of these 

 were doubtless attracted to the sessions by way of diversion, but it is 

 reported that many even of this class became greatly interested. Eor 

 thousands it was their first contact with educational work in agri- 

 culture. 



The special advantage of the institutes was of course their adapta- 

 bility to a wide variety of conditions. Meetings were held at all 

 hours of the day, even the mess hour. The aim was to deal with all 

 phases of agriculture, but special emphasis was put on the relations 

 of the returning farmer-soldier to his work and to the rural com- 

 munity, and these discussions like the other instruction in rural 

 economics and sociology are reported to have made particular appeal. 



Scarcely less noteworthy were the " farmers' clubs." More than five 

 hundred of these clubs were organized throughout the forces, includ- 

 ing units at the college and school of agriculture and with an esti- 

 mated aggregate enrollment of fully twenty thousand men. In a 

 single division a membership of one thousand three hundred is re- 

 ported. These clubs provided convenient units for group study and 

 for arranging institutes and observation trips, in addition to their 

 marked educational and social value in drawing together men of 

 greatly varied experience for this common purpose. In some cases 

 these clubs were even continued on shipboard and in demobilization 

 camps in this country. 



Under the auspices of the farmers' club of the college of agricul- 

 ture, a permanent organization has also been perfected called the 

 American E. F. Farmers' Club, including a Committee on Interna- 

 tional Agriculture. Among other activities it is planned to establish 

 this fall a periodical, to be known as World Agriculture and to be of 

 interest to professional agricultural workers, farmers, and the gen- 

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