farmers' institute and EXTENSION WORK, 1913. 21 



Kentucky. — Corn clubs, corn judging shows, home coming rallies, and orchard 

 demonstration meetings were held under the auspices of the farmers' institute. Among 

 the new features was the organization of women 's home economic clubs as auxiliaries 

 to the farmers' institutes. 



Louisiana. — The farmers' institute work in Louisiana is by law placed under the 

 direction of the commissioner of agriculture and immigration. Owing to the meager 

 appropriation no institutes have been held by this department, but meetings of similar 

 character have been conducted by the director of the State experiment station at 

 Baton Eouge. 



Maine. — The law in Maine requires that two institutes shall be held in each county 

 each year. Considerable attention has been given during the past year to assisting 

 at meetings held in the interest of cooperation among farmers and in assisting in organ- 

 izing associations of this character. In addition to the regular institutes lecturers 

 have been sent to 37 meetings of granges. 



Maryland. — A new feature introduced into the farmers' institutes during the year 

 was the illustrated lecture. This has been found to be a very effective method of im- 

 pressing agricultural truth. The illustrations are taken from Maryland farms and from 

 work done at the agricultural experiment station and the college. 



Massachusetts. — This year the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture voted to amend 

 the rule relating to institutes so as to require societies to hold at least one institute 

 each year instead of three as in the past. The plan is to spend more money on the one 

 meeting, have more and better speakers, and to advertise each meeting more thor- 

 oughly. The secretary of the board is to assume immediate control and give greater 

 assistance without taking the actual arrangements out of the hands of local committees. 

 A summer field meeting of the board was held continuing through one day, and also a 

 public winter meeting continuing for three days. 



Michigan. — The new feature introduced into the institute work during the year 

 was cooperation with county agricultural advisors. Calls for new work also came in 

 the form of more meetings of the women's congresses. This was insistent and the 

 institutes are beginning work in this direction by holding from two to six meetings a 

 year, the latter number where the organization is firmly established. The plan is to 

 place in the hands of each of the congresses an outline to be followed much as study 

 clubs are carried on, these to be supplemented by suggestions, questions, and helps 

 from the department, and with the traveling libraries and loan collections of pictures 

 from the State libraries, which are furnished without charge to such organizations . 

 The topics considered at these meetings will be practical ones which affect the home 

 and household, such as sanitation, cookery, scientific cleaning, canning fruits and 

 vegetables, home nursing, home gardens, and such topics as the schools, preservation 

 of trees, birds, public buildings, and grounds, and good roads. The department sends 

 also an outside lecturer or demonstrator to at least two of these meetings during the 

 year. It is planned to exchange speakers by sending members of the local congresses 

 from one county to the next, thus working cooperatively. The topics treated by 

 lecturers accompanying the institute trains were alfalfa, dairying, beekeeping, and 

 agronomy. 



Minnesota. — In Minnesota the new feature was that of granting assistance to county 

 agent work. The institute board aided nine counties in this direction, using in all 

 $1,675 for this work. 



Mississippi. — The new feature introduced into institutes in Mississippi was the 

 organization of farm clubs for production and market demonstration. The clubs are 

 organized for growing sweet and Irish potatoes, corn, cane, and hogs, and for the coop- 

 erative and systematic marketing of these products. This work is being done chiefly 

 in the section devastated by the Mexican boll weevil. It is the purpose to establish 

 county organizations and extend the work to every district in the State. The institute 

 work in the summer begins July 1, running three months. The winter period begins 

 December 1, continuing for a like period. The interim between each active season 



