The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1897-10-22
FARMERS, INSTITUTES.
Methods of Organizing and Conducting
These Instructive Meetings.

These Instructive Meetings.
Three thousand dollars is annually
appropriated by the Maine legislature
for the purpose of holding two OF more
institutes in each county. Forty or so
meetings are usually held each year to-
getherwith state dairy conference and
joint meeting with the State Pomo-
logical society. The work is in charge
of the secretary of the state board of
agriculture. Speakers are selected by
the secretary upon consultation with the
members. Interest in farmers institutes
is growing and much good is being done
by them Some new departures are pro-
posed for the coming year. One is to
hold an orchard field day in one of the
largest orchards of the state for the
purpose of discussing questions related
to fruit growing. Another is the hold
ing of a field day some time in August.
1t may be called farmers congress-
This will be held III connection with
the state grange.
New Hampshires board of agricul-
ture holds frequent institutes, but the
system is far from what it should be.
Vermont institute work is under the
control of the state agricultural board
This board receives So. 600 annually and
is required to hold at least one insti-
tute in each county ard as many more
as possible. Interest is increasing and
good work is being done.
In Connecticut there is no special ap-
The money given to the state board of
agriculture is expended at its discretion
in promoting agricultural interests.
Twelve or more one day institutes are
held during the year and one three days
convention. The speakers are usually
stations Besides these meetings the
dairy association holds three or four
days convention annually.
The fund for holding institutes in
New York state is direct appropria.
ton of SIS, 900 each year by the legis,
lature. The meetings are located on APP.
plication from oranges, farmers clubs,
etc., to the director, who is appointed
by the commissioner Of. agriculture to
arrange TO- meetings and employ speak
ers. The speakers are principally prac-
teal farmers who have been studying
advanced methods of agriculture. Help
is also received from the professors at
Cornell university and the New York
experiment station at Geneva. Summer
meetings are principally gatherings Of
farmers clubs, grange picnics and meet
ings of that sort. During the past sea-
son about 1870 institutes were held.
In New Jersey institute work is I'M
der the direction Of the state board of
agriculture. The secretary arranges for
meetings, engages speakers, etc. There
is no special institute law, but workers
adapt themselves to the existing eondi-
tions. There are several county boards
of agriculture auxiliary to the state
board which hold meetings of their
own. The regular institutes are extra.
The first institutes held in Pennsyl-
vania were under the control of the
state board of agriculture. The legisla-
ture at its session i'll the winter of 1895
organized a department. of agriculture
for the commonwealth and consolidated
the various divisions of the work into
single department The institute work
was placed in charge of the deputy sec
re, AIRY of agriculture, who was to be also
director of institutes.
There is no institute system at pres
ent i'll Delaware, although work of
this kind is contemplated. The forego-
ing facts are CLEANED from The New
England Homestead s reports ON farm
ers' institutes.