The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-07-12
EARN INSTITUTES
WERE A BIG
SUCCESS
In Past Year Over 10000
North Dakotans Have
Attended Meetings.

During the ear just closed the
North Dakota Farmers Institutes
have held ninety-four institutes Of
231 sessions. The attendance was
37,049. A farmers institute train was
also run by the Northern Pacific rail-
road. This made halfway stops a,
forty-one towns and was visited by
$3.50 people; $4,000 copies of the
Farmers Institute annual were also
distributed.
A year ago such a report was no,
anticipated, as the farmers institute
treasury was empty, The appropria.
ton failed to materialize. Persona
instruction such as the farmers in
stitute brings was needed. The insti'
tute board figured out that a two-daS
meeting could be held for 500 ano
a one-day institute for SIS. The towns
responded and seen there was enough
money guaranteed to start out. The
agricultural college helped by sending
speakers. The railroads furnished
free transportation. The Northern
Pacific and the 500 each gave $1,000
in cash, while the Great Northern fur.
nished a speaker most of the time
and two a part of the time.
There was money to print an in.
stitute annual so an implement firm
printed $4,000 copies of a book Of
over 400 pages and donated it to the
state. The copy was furnished by the
farmers institute.
When the Northern Pacific offered
to run a train the institute manage.
ment had to go to the agriculture
college and to the towns again. The
agricultural college equipped the trair
and furnished the lecturers (forty'
one in allan average of twenty-five
all the time). This train contained
nine exhibition cars, which were fur
nished by nine departments of the
agricultural college, as follows: Live
stock. poultry, soils, crops, chemistry
veterinary, science. dairying, horti'
culture an dhome economics.
The live stock consisted of types OF
lard and bacon hogs. and sheep. These
animals were housed in a box car anC
taken out onto a fiat car for demon
stration lectures. The poultry eXhibi'
consisted of a complete poultry plant
on a fiat car. The other exhibits
consisted of material to illustrate
some Of the main facts worked Out
by the different departments.
The towns each put up $50. This
made possible the running of the
train with the splendid success men
toned above.
One of the new features in the in
stitute work was a series of follow
up meetings. Ten towns were Sc
lected for this. The regular institute
corps hel dthe first meeting. Thi:
was followed up in WI weeks by a
special meeting, at which clover an6
alfalfa were made the main topics
Two weeks later again a dairy insti,
tute vas held, while the fourth one
was on stock. The attendance at the
dairy meeting was as good as any O
them, which may be a little surpris'
ing to some who think there is no.
much interest in dairying in this
state. 1t is also interesting to Know
that at these institutes there has beer
more questions asked on the silo thar
on any other subject. There have
been few questions on grain raising
the interest having conferred mostly
about corn growing. stock raising,
dairying, sol lculture. and tree grow
ing-in short. diversified farming.
Superintendent Hoverstad is we'll
pleased with the splendid support
that he has received from the agri-
cultural college, the railroads and the
people of the tate. The question as
to the value of farmers institutes has
been most emphatically answered.
This attendance of $1,000 certainly
shows an interest on the part of the
people as we'll as the fact that they
raised enough one of their own
free will to make this the biggest
year in the history OF farmers insti-
tutes in North Dakota.