10 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



has ceased to be. For a number of years our evening entertainments 

 were free, and we found that a certain element attended who did not 

 desire to listen, and intended that none within their radius should get 

 a chance to do so, no matter how much they might wish lO. To 

 overcome this we now have a small admittance fee, and if anything our 

 audiences are larger, and certainly more orderly and appreciative. 



If possible when holding our institutes we, as our ancestors would 

 say, "hold it in the moon." The young people find it very convenient 

 to drive by moonlight, and is highly gratifying to the older ones. We 

 have a number of times been called to other counties to consult witli 

 the officers of their institute, as to just why and where they fail. I 

 well remember one institute among the list of officers of which there 

 was just one farmer, and he had retired to the village several years 

 before; and not even a lady was to be thought of among the officers, or 

 committees. It would be the last blow, in fact it was all that wa.3 

 needed to kill it entirely. The first day the president arrived about 

 ten" o'clock; his wife and myself were the only persons in the audience. 

 The secretary came in about eleven o'clock,, the rest of the officers the 

 next day. A fair-sized audience for such an institute was seated at 

 about fifteen minutes of twelve. During the carrying out of the pro- 

 gram, when the election took place it was done in a haphazzard way. 

 When the proper time came I advised them as to how we carried this 

 out, and helped them to make out a list, not placing on the ballot one 

 single person's name from the village, with the exception of the county 

 superintendent, she being a lady. We organized a "Woman's Session." 

 taking prominent women from the country who v/ere proud to do this 

 work. The next year I attended the same institute again; we com- 

 menced on time, with three persons in the room, and how many regr€t>j 

 there were when they found the new president had commenced the 

 program on time, and had not w^aited for them to come. They now 

 have a lovely, flourishing institute that the county is proud of. 



You institute people who are present know that all this takes a 

 great deal of time, and labor, and oftentimes with but very little cash 

 with which to work. We trust it has never been said of Clay county 

 that all she works for is money. We know other counties have been 

 accused of this, and no doubt justly. 



All through the year we keep up the interest by having sm.all 

 interesting items printed in the local papers. We are pushing on and 

 on, far beyond the borders of our county, and we hope always to be 

 numbered among the institutes to help agriculture challenge, not only 

 a small portion of our counties, but the admiration of the whole world. 



