FARMEKS' 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, winch 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. 
Regular institutes. 
Special in- 
stitutes, at- 
tendance. 
Year. 
Number 
of 
half-day 
sessions. 
Number 
of States 
and Ter- 
ritories 
reporting. 
Attend- 
ance. 
Average 
attend- 
ance per 
session. 
Appropri- 
ation. 
Aggregate 
for all 
forms of 
institutes. 
1903 
9,570 
10,622 
10,555 
11,409 
11,514 
14, 934 
15, 535 
16,586 
16,741 
19, 430 
20,640 
41 
44 
46 
46 
45 
44 
47 
46 
45 
45 
41 
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 
$187, 226 
212,611 
225,738 
269,671 
284,450 
325.569 
1904 
1905 
1906 
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 
1907 
1908 
1909 
144.00 345,666 
144.00 432.374 
1910 
1911 
138. 00 
131. 00 
141.00 
432,693 
533,972 
510, 784 
1912 
1913 
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 
