The Grit-advocate., 1907-10-11
Summer Farmers Institute.

The summer institute season closed
September 25th with an institute at
Julesburg The Colorado Agriculture
al College has held sevcnty-three of
the Farmers Institutes during the
summer and they have been attended
by l6,77 different people-an average
attendance of 232 per institute.
The interest has been good at
places. The reports at these meetings
show that Colorado farmers are max
ing very much more money, per
farmer. than in most other sections
of the United States, yet they are
eager for information in any line that
will help them increase their profits
Institutes have been held in most
of the coug ties of the state and the
travelling necessary to attend them
has impressed the college force with
the enormous area of tillable land in
Colorado.
Nine institutes were held in the ter
ritory covered by Grand. Routt and
Rio Blanco counties. To attend these
nine meetings, each speaker had to
travel 63G miles by railroad and 1926
miles by stage. The extreme length
of the area covered by these three
counties is 175 miles, and the extreme
width so miles. In two or three years
this section of the state will be well
provided with railroad facilities and
when it is fully developed, agricultur-
ally, will market a greater value OF
farm products than is now being mar
keted by the whole state.
The object in holding the institutes
in this section was to stimulate the
farmers to demonstration now that
wonderful results may be obtained,
using the best methods of farming,
and then when the railroads furnish
an outlet to market, the settlement OF
this great territory can be rapid.
At one institute in the northwestern
part of the state, every family within
radius of % miles was represented,
and vet the attendance was only lOo'
This shows how much room Colorado
has yet for good farmers.
On the trip through the south
western part of the state, to arrange
for holding institutes, the director Of
institutes travelled | .533 miles by rail
lO5 by stage and used the long
distance telephone to save 2lO miles
of stage travel Colorado is a large
state.
There has been several special feat
ures in our institute work this summer
At the institute held along the line
of the Rock Island railroad. the rail
road had Il special car filled with eX
hibts of all the crops grown alons
the line. The institutes were held, a
usual. in halls. and between sessions
the car was opened and all those at
tending the meeting were invited tt
see the exhibits. This feature addeC
both to the interest and to the valu,
of the institute worker and we shoult
like to see all the railroads in TIN
state adopt the same plan.
At the Autonito institute the audi
ence was chiefly made up of Mexican
farmers. many of them owners o
large tracts of land and thousands o
cattle and sheep. All the lecture
were given through Spanish inter
prefer, as few in the audience under
stood English.
At Ignacio three-fourths of tn
audience were Indians. Two famou
chiefs gave talks in Ute and all tn
lectures were translated into Ute b.
an interpreter.
At Fruita the Beet Sugar compan
offered good prizes for the best suga
beets. and the competition was keen.
At Holyoke, prizes were offered 70
the best bread, cake and pie made b
bows and girls under sixteen. Their
was strong competition between tn
boys and the girls, and good eS
hibit.
At Carbondale the institute wa
held in the fields. one-half day bein
spent in potato fields and one-ha
dav in sugar beet fields.
A special train was run from Der
YER to Bennett to accommodate I'll
Denver business men who wanted t
attend the institute.
Mr.. Morgan, of the governmeI
drainage investigation force, helpe
Ms with the institutes in the San Lui
Valley, and Mr., Brown, of the sam
r., ,,,,i a. tn institutes in tn