x BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



able or out-of-the-way hall or room, is to defeat the good 

 intent of the Board in insisting on the holding of these 

 meetings. The next duty of the societies is to draw out to 

 these institutes a large attendance of practical farmers, with 

 their wives, sons and daughters, to listen to and question 

 the speaker, and carry home the lesson from the ideal stand- 

 point of practical utility. 



Farmers' Institutes. 



The institute work of the past year has been in excess of 

 any previous year, only bounded by the amount of money 

 at our disposal. The secretary has been importuned for 

 speakers in all parts of the State where large attendance 

 was assured and great good would doubtless have resulted, 

 but was obliged to refuse because the appropriation would 

 not allow of the expenditure. The following report is pre- 

 sented by Mr. Legate, who is largely in charge of this 

 department : — 



During the year 1901, 128 farmers' institutes were held 

 under the auspices of the Board of Agriculture. All of the 

 societies represented on the Board, with the exception of 

 the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, held 

 the 3 institutes required by rule of the Board, and 9 of them 

 held 4 or more institutes. There have also been 10 insti- 

 tutes held in sections where there was no incorporated agri- 

 cultural society to take charge of the meetings, and where 

 the other circumstances seemed to warrant. The average 

 attendance of the institutes of the year, returns having been 

 received from all, shows a most gratifying increase, being 

 107 this year, against 91 a year ago and 91 for the year 

 1899. At (> of the institutes the attendance was 300 or 

 over; at 19 from 200 to 300; at 33, from 100 to 200; at 

 33, from 50 to 100 ; and at 36, less than 50. Gratifying as 

 these figures may be, it is to be regretted that there are still 

 some half dozen societies where the interest in these meet- 

 ings is slight and the attendance perfunctory, and which 

 operate to greatly reduce the average of attendance, and do 

 much to nullify the good work of the Board and the other 

 societies. This office supplied 109 lecturers during the year, 

 ;it ;i total cost of $1,713.82, or $15.72 per lecture. 



