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 Rouge. 
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 
