96 IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



perhaps Monday and Tuesday — and maybe our men have to go across to 

 the other side of the state Friday and Saturday to attend an institute, 

 taking the whole of the time to cover the distance between the two insti- 

 tutes that he has to travel. Consequently, we are not able to use our 

 men in the most intelligent and best manner. I have wondered if it 

 would not be possible to work out some sort of arrangement whereby we 

 could have our institutes in a series so we could utilize the time of these 

 men employed by the state to their fullest capacity. Start them and keep 

 them busy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and if 

 you have an institute on Saturday they will have a full week's program — 

 and keep them going until the institute season closes. It would work for 

 efficiency, work for the saving of money to the institute, save money to 

 the state, and increase the efficiency of our men. I speak of this from the 

 standpoint of efficiency only. I think we ought to strive to make our 

 work as efficient as possible, and to accomplish as much as possible we 

 should plan with a view to securing the most service for the least expendi- 

 ture of time and money, and it seems we should be able to work out some 

 arrangement that is feasible and from which we will derive the largest 

 amount of service and benefit at the least expense. 



I think that is something for the secretaries of our farmers' institutes 

 to think about and work upon. Some of them are already working upon 

 this plan. Some of our counties hold a series of institutes extending 

 throughout the county. For instance, Mr. Lefler arranged for a series 

 of colt shows down in Van Buren county, — ^six colt shows — taking a 

 whole week, and they held these colt shows at different places through- 

 out the county, one day at one place and another at the next, and so 

 on around, and in that way they had an excellent week's work at a 

 minimum expense. Some of the other counties are working along that 

 line also. Now, what I would like to see is that the counties adjoining 

 get together and arrange their institutes so that we could send our 

 Institute workmen down to help them. Have, say, live stock at one 

 place on Monday, another place the next day and so on, Tuesday, Wednes- 

 day, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and if they desired a horticultural 

 man to follow up, or a corn man, or an exclusive grain man we could 

 furnish them. In this way it seems to me we could increase the efficiency 

 of our men and make our work so much better that we could make 

 our institute work really one of the vital factors in developing the agri- 

 cultural interests of the state. 



Now, I am not going to try this morning to present any plan. Differ- 

 ent states have their different methods. Some states place the authority 

 in the state board of agriculture and the institute must comply with the 

 program which the state board of agriculture works out before the board 

 will furnish them the necessary funds. They do not have the entire 

 option in the selection of the date. In other states that feature of the 

 work — that is the arrangement of the dates — is left to the college. I am 

 not presenting or advocating any particular method of doing this; but 

 I would like to see some method worked out, and I would like to see it 

 come from the secretaries of the farmers' institutes. I would like to 

 see a plan evolved that would solve this county farmers' institute prob- 



