National and Educational Interests. 



139 



required to arrange and hold not less than three farmers' in- 

 stitutes each calendar year within its limits, and the board 

 will render all the assistance in its power to make such insti- 

 tutes interesting and profitable. The secretary is expected to 

 attend as many of these institutes as is compatible with the 

 other duties of his office, and he will provide lecturers for the 

 institutes as far as the appropriation for this object will war- 

 rant. And the several agricultural societies are earnestly re- 

 quested at their annual meetings to fix the dates at which they 

 will hold the several institutes required, and the subjects they 

 desire to have discussed, and at once notify the secretary of 

 the board if they desire assistance in the procuring of lectur- 

 ers. Societies may arrange and hold more than three insti- 

 tutes if they so desire, and the secretary of each society is re- 

 quired to certify to the holding of each institute, upon blanks 

 provided by this office." During the calendar year 1890 

 36 societies held 129 institutes. No regular amount has been institutes 

 or is now appropriated by the state to pay the expenses of j£jJJ|2£ s 

 these institutes. The state grants an annual bounty of $600 

 to each incorporated agricultural society complying with the 

 law and with the regulations of the Board of Agriculture. 

 Since 1863 the Board of Agriculture has held an annual three 

 days' country (preferably public winter) meeting in some sec- 

 tion of the commonwealth for lectures and discussion, which 

 have appeared annually in the Agriculture of Massachusetts. 

 March 20, 1869, the legislature approved an act which, among 

 other things, authorized the expenditure for other clerical 

 services (over and above one clerk with fixed salary) in his 

 office, and for lectures before the board of agriculture, at its 

 annual and other meetings, a sum not exceeding $400. In 

 1887 this amount was increased to $800 per annum. This 

 amount has been used each year to pay lecturers, stenograph- 

 ers' services, etc., at this meeting. 



The legal authority for the holding of institutes in Michi- 

 gan, in connection with the Agricultural College, is held to be 

 derived from the following clause in the organic law of 1861 : Michigan. 

 " The State Board of Agriculture may institute winter courses 

 of lectures, for others than students of the institution, under 

 necessary rules and regulations." 



This Michigan law possesses unusual interest, for it is 

 probably the first authority conveyed upon an educational in- 



