52 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



into the farthest corners of the state. Great are the blessings and 

 the prosperity/ that have come to us. They carry with them commen- 

 surate responsibilities. Let us learn to appreciate as fully as possible 

 these blessings and we will then be better fitted to deal with the 

 responsibilities that accompany them. Let us have better institute 

 work that we may all be better farmers, and better prepared to occupy 

 the place that is expected of citizens of this splendid commonwealth. 



Mr. Wing: Are your institutes organized under the laws 

 of the state? 



Mr. Steen : Yes, sir. 



Mr. Wing : Does the state give you some funds ? 



Mr. Steen : Yes, sir. 



Mr. Wing: And yet you are independent? 



Mr. Steen : Yes sir ; they do their work entirely independ- 

 ent ; but they have to make some sort of a report. 



Mr. Wing: I can readily see that you are in great difficulty 

 in arranging a circuit. The reason I am interested in this, I 

 have a great many requests to come to Institutes in Iowa. Now, 

 it would give me a good deal of pleasure, sometime to make a 

 little circuit in Iowa, just because I like your people. It seems 

 to me you must have this circuit you are asking for before you 

 can ever have your work arranged. It occurs to me they should 

 run along lines of railways. Why couldn't you have a conven- 

 tion of institute managers and arrange a series like the fair cir- 

 cuits ? 



A Member : I have attended institutes in Iowa, ever since they 

 were organized. While I am an uneducated man, I have been 

 identified very closely in Calhoun county, Iowa, for 25 years, 

 and while I am sometimes accused oi being on the contrary side 

 I am certainly contrary today. While the gentleman was reading 

 his paper, I thought of the Northwestern Iowa Horticultural 

 Society; I believe that takes in about one-fourth of the state; 

 that is carried on somewhat under this central organization. That 

 society will make its announcements sometimes two or three 

 months ahead of time. I have attended some of those meetings. 

 I have found some of the most thoroughly posted men in their 

 line of work. My disappointment has always been, at these meet- 

 ings, that I could count these men on one hand; there were 

 not to exceed 15 men from Calhoun county in the meeting. 



