2 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



living'. As long as tho farmer looks upon liis calling as a round of 

 drudgvry and is unal)lo to derive stimulation and pleasure from that 

 contaet and sympathy with nature whicli e(hic:ition makes possible, 

 the prospect will 1>c one fiom whicli his sons will naturally shrink. 

 Contentment is on(^ of the iirst recpiisites to success; and, as Professor 

 Baile}' has said, "the compensation in farming is (piite as much the 

 pleasure of farming and the joy of being in the country and the sat- 

 isfaction of being independent, as the mere money that is macle." 



This is one of the things which secondary agricultural education 

 and the farmers' institute work are seeking to inculcate into the 

 farmer's children especialh\ Education is the best possible means of 

 elevating agriculture as a calling in the minds of the public and of 

 the farmer himself. And the increased resourcefulness which comes 

 from it will not only bring greater contentment, but will reflect itself 

 in the improvement of farm methods. 



A special feature of the institute w'ork in a number of States has to 

 do directh' with the farm boys. Special sessions are held for them, 

 and they are encouraged to conduct trials or experiments to add an 

 interest to their work. In Illinois a corn-growing contest is going on 

 this vear, which is limited to boj^s under 18 years of age. Mr. F. H. 

 Rankin, of that State, described his work among the boys and the 

 means he is taking to interest them in farm life and in agricultural edu- 

 cation. Every year an excursion is run at a very low rate to bring 

 bo^^s to the agricultural college at Urbana, in order that they ma}" see 

 what is offered there, and have their horizon broadened, their respect 

 for agriculture increased, and their enthusiasm for agricultural edu- 

 cation aroused. The results are already apparent. 



The need for the farmers' institute springs i:)rimaril3' from the 

 remarkable progress w hich agriculture has made in the past ten or 

 fifteen years. Much of this is attributable to the work of the experi- 

 ment stations. There is something new for the farmer to learn every 

 year, which concerns his business as vitally as the latest improvement 

 in labor-saving devices does the manufacturer. He not onh^ should, 

 but must learn these things, if he is to continue to be a good farmer. 

 And this is the mission of his institutes, which bring to him the prog- 

 ress in science as applied to his art, presented in clear and concise 

 form in which he can make use of it. 



The success of the undertaking will depend, of course, primaril}^ 

 upon the institute worker, and as he is so important a factor it is not 

 strange that much attention is now being given to the consideration of 

 his qualifications. This matter was freely discussed at the Toronto 

 meeting, and there was a ver}' evident abandoning of some old ideas. 

 "If the work of the institute is confined to telling of what the speakers 

 themselves practice, the institute itself will soon be at an end. What 



