PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF PLANT-BREEDING 143 



The organization of a club for the purpose of studying lessons for the 

 farm can easily be effected even if at first only a few persons desire to 

 form a group. A meeting of those interested in Reading-Course lessons 

 should be called at some convenient time and place, a president and 

 secretary should be chosen, and the dates for meetings decided on. The 

 president should be responsible for the success of the meetings and 

 should act as presiding officer. The duties of the secretary will be to 

 correspond regularly with the Supervisor of the Reading-Course for the 

 Farm and to obtain lessons for distribution at meetings of the club. 

 The lessons should be distributed one week in advance and the members 

 urged to come to the meetings prepared to discuss the lessons. Speakers 

 should be chosen who will present the subjects taken up in the lessons. 

 Arrangements should be made far enough in advance of meetings to 

 enable the speakers to obtain information on their subjects from as 

 many sources as possible. On request special references for reading will 

 be given by the Supervisor of the Reading-Course for the Farm. The 

 meetings of a club should be held frequently enough to maintain an 

 active interest in them; regularly every two weeks during the fall and 

 winter is usually considered sufficiently often. If it is not advisable to 

 meet every fortnight in spring and summer, monthly meetings are sug- 

 gested. The meetings should proceed under a definite order of business. 



The interest shown in a study of Reading-Course lessons for the farm 

 will depend largely on whether the lessons are related to local agricultural 

 conditions and whether they deal with operations in progress at the time 

 of year in which they are being discussed. It would be well for each 

 club to choose its own lessons for study. Before the first meeting a list 

 of available lessons should be obtained. If appropriate lessons are not 

 available, the Supervisor of the Reading-Course for the Farm will help 

 the secretary of the study club to obtain suitable bulletins as far as 

 possible. 



Whenever desired, study clubs may be conducted in connection with 

 the educational work of granges, churches, schools, and local agricultural 

 societies. The following three ways are suggested in which Reading- 

 Course lessons may prove valuable to a study club or to any other 

 organization : 



1 . For study by the entire membership previous to a general discussion 

 at a regular meeting. 



2. To aid speakers in preparing for a program at a regular meeting. 



3. For reference. A set of available lessons may be obtained for use 

 by a study club or for the library of any church, school, grange, or recog- 

 nized agricultural organization. 



