farmers' institute and EXTENSION WORK, 1913. 3 



GROWTH OF THE INSTITUTES DURING THE LAST DECADE. 



The growth of the farmers' institute movement in the United States 

 during the last 10 years is noteworthy. In the season of 1902-3 there 

 were held 9,570 sessions of institutes in 41 States. In 1912-13 there 

 were held 20,640 sessions, an increase of 115 per cent. The attend- 

 ance in 1902-3 was 904,654; in 1912-13 it was 2,897,391 at the regular 

 institutes, and at the special institutes 1,002,617; an increase at the 

 regular institutes of 220 per cent and in all forms of institutes 331 per 

 cent. The average attendance at each session increased 49 per cent, 

 or from 94.53 to 141. The appropriations increased from $187,226 

 to $510,784, or 172 per cent. During this period there have developed 

 also the extension departments of the agricultural colleges, which last 

 year reached directly about three millions of people with agricultural 

 information. 



The following table shows details of the progress of farmers' insti- 

 tute work from 1903 to 1913: 



Progress of the farmers' 1 institute work from 1903 to 1913. 



Year. 



Regular institutes. 



Number 



of 

 half-day 

 sessions. 



Number 

 of States 

 and Ter- 

 ritories 

 reporting. 



Attend- 

 ance. 



Average 

 attend- 

 ance per 

 session. 



Appropri- 

 ation. 



Special in- 

 stitutes, at- 

 tendance. 



1903 

 1904 

 1905 

 1906 

 1907 

 1908 

 1909 

 1910 

 1911 

 1912 

 1913 



9,570 

 10,622 

 10,555 

 11, 409 

 11,514 

 14, 934 

 15,535 

 16,586 

 16,741 

 19,430 

 20,640 



904,654 

 841,698 

 995, 192 

 1,299,172 

 1,596,877 

 2, 098, 268 

 2,240,925 

 2,395,508 

 2,291,857 

 2,549,199 

 2, 897, 391 



94.53 

 76.41 

 94.28 

 114. 00 

 138. 80 

 140. 00 

 144.00 

 144. 00 

 138. 00 

 131.00 

 141. 00 



8187,226 

 212,611 

 225,738 

 269,671 

 284,450 

 325,569 

 345,666 

 432,374 

 432, 693 

 533,972 

 510, 784 



326, 250 



149,449 



340,414 



617, 954 



537,336 



1,323,693 



1,480,347 



1,002,617 



1,625,422 

 1,746,326 

 2,438,682 

 2,858,879 

 2,932,844 

 3,615,550 

 4,029,546 

 3,900,008 



This table indicates a steady advance in all directions during the 

 period named. The farmers' institute has shown this steady growth 

 year by year, notwithstanding the rise of many other agencies for 

 rural betterment that have appeared in the last decade. The inherent 

 quality that has enabled the institute not only to hold the interest 

 but to increase the number of its constituency until now it reaches 

 annually about four millions of rural people in the United States is 

 that it meets a need of rural men and women that no other agency 

 has yet been able to supply, viz, a public forum where the scientist 

 and the common man can meet on equal footing and discuss their 

 problems face to face. 



It should be noted also that this entire movement has been initiated 

 and conducted without national appropriation for its support and 

 with a minimum amount of departmental aid, thus exhibiting an 



