whatever the theoretical arrangement regarding the time to be devoted to teaching, farmers' institutes, and other extraneous duties, the members of the station staff are actually hampered in the conduct of their researches by the conditions under which they are working.

We urge, therefore, that attention be given by station managers to the correction of this evil, and we believe that it may be largely remedied by a simplification of the station organization. By that we mean that in many more cases than at present the station should have the entire time of men on its staff and that in every case a definite and binding arrangement shall be made with the station worker by which he shall be compelled to make regular and orderly progress in research and shall be put under conditions which will be favorable to the seasonable accomplishment of the research work assigned him. There are now too many members of station staffs who are giving fragments of time to station work and absorbing portions of station funds, which, though individually small, in the aggregate make a considerable amount. It would be better in many cases to drop these men from the station staffs, at least until the station resources are considerably augmented. The division of the station. funds among too many departments is still a cause of general weakness in the operations of a number of our stations.

This plan also involves the separation of the organization and management of farmers' institutes, and of the preparation of compiled bulletins and other forms of college extension work from the station, and provision for the carrying on of such work in other departments of the agricultural college.

It is also very desirable that the work of the stations shall be more fully organized with reference to the permanent character of these research institutions for the benefit of agriculture. Many of the more superficial problems of our agriculture have been solved, while many of the more fundamental problems have received comparatively little attention. This is so, in part at least, because the stations have had thus far in too great measure an unstable policy and a rapidly shifting personnel. If they are ever to do satisfactory work on the larger problems they must settle down to enterprises planned to continue for long periods and to be kept as far as practicable in the hands of the same men. For example, it has been pointed out that the stations are changing from variety testing to the breeding of improved varieties of plants. While important practical results have already come from this change, there will be many cases in which it will take years to produce and fix new and better types of plants. In the feeding of animals the superficial experiments with different kinds of feeding stuffs have largely run their course, but there remain the fundamental problems relating to the laws of

animal nutrition, about which our present knowledge is very imperfect. The study of these greater problems involves expensive apparatus and the long training of experts.

The simplification of the station business in the direction of more exclusive attention to research and the employment of more men wholly or chiefly as investigators will lay a foundation for taking up the greater problems of agriculture by providing a larger body of trained and experienced investigators, so that with the coming of greater financial resources the stations will be able to do with relatively little waste of public money the greater tasks on the results of which the permanent prosperity of our agriculture will rest.

We therefore plead once more that the managers of stations should give greater attention to the human elements involved in the organization of these institutions, and see to it that efficient workers with ample time and good facilities are more largely put in charge of agricultural investigations in this country.

STATISTICS OF THE LAND-GRANT COLLEGES.

Educational institutions receiving the benefits of the acts of Congress of July 2, 1862, and August 30, 1890, are now in operation in all the States and Territories except Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico. The total number of these institutions is 65, of which 63 maintain courses of instruction in agriculture. The aggregate value of the permanent funds and equipment of the land-grant colleges and universities in 1904 is estimated to be $72,540,588.11. The income of these institutions in 1904, exclusive of the funds received from the United States for States for agricultural experiment stations, was $11,498,341.35. The value of the additions to their permanent endowment and equipment in 1904 is estimated to be $3,221,973.53. The number of persons in the faculty of the colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts was 2,740, and in other departments 1,575, making a grand total of 4,315. The number of students in 1904 was 56,226, of whom 4,436 were in four-year courses in agriculture, and 6,962 in shorter courses in agriculture, dairying, horticulture, and veterinary science. The graduates in 1904 were 4,822, and since the organization of these institutions, 57,909.

PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

A very striking illustration of the general advance of agricultural education in this country during the past decade was presented in the elaborate exhibit of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis as compared with the exhibit which the same institutions were able to make at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. It was thus made

evident that during the period between these expositions the whole programme of study at the agricultural colleges has been extensively revised and improved in accordance with the development of a real science of agriculture, based on the results of the investigations of the experiment stations and the Department of Agriculture. The appliances, apparatus, and illustrative material for the courses in the different branches of agriculture have also been so far extended and improved that it was possible to make an essentially new showing of equipment for instruction in these lines at the St. Louis Exposition. For the first time in the history of the agricultural colleges they were able to put into concrete form a systematic representation of their scheme of education which was worthy to be put alongside of the exhibits of the long-established branches of learning in the educational building of a great international exposition.

The past fiscal year has also been notable for encouraging and substantial progress in all phases of agricultural education throughout the United States. Several States which have heretofore given but little aid to their agricultural colleges have this year provided more or less liberal funds for additional buildings or for maintenance. In this way the total income of the land-grant colleges has been increased by two and a quarter million dollars, and the value of the additions to their permanent endowment and equipment by over half a million dollars. The buildings erected recently have been more substantial than those of earlier days and they are much better adapted to the peculiar needs of the agricultural practicum, which is rapidly becoming a most valuable feature of instruction in agriculture. Much attention has been given to the improvement. of college courses in agriculture and to the further adaptation of these courses to the needs of special industries. Graduate instruction in agriculture has also received a good share of attention, not only in the colleges themselves, but also in the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, which is endeavoring, through its committee on graduate study, to arrange for biennial sessions of the Graduate School of Agriculture.

Greater interest than ever before has been manifested in what may be called the extension work of the colleges-farmers' institutes; short winter courses for farmers; correspondence courses: summer schools for the preparation of teachers of elementary agriculture, nature study, and school gardening; the organization of experimental clubs among country boys and girls; the preparation of courses in agriculture for rural schools; the preparation and distribution of literature intended to promote these enterprises; the giving of itinerant lectures, and, in short, everything which makes for more wholesome rural conditions. Several of the colleges now

have definitely organized departments for carrying on extension work, while others have detailed to this service members of their staff who have other duties.

Progress has been made during the year along lines of secondary and elementary education in agriculture and in the training of teachers for this work. New schools have been established. The older schools have been better supervised and their courses of study improved. More attention than formerly has been given to providing agricultural and horticultural courses for women. Efforts to introduce agricultural instruction into the common schools have been attended with such encouraging results as to greatly stimulate discussion and experiment along this line. It is estimated from partial returns that fully 12,000 pupils received instruction in agriculture in the common schools of North Carolina last year. The programme of the last convention of the Association of American. Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations gave a prominent place to the subject of elementary instruction in agriculture, and the committee of the association on methods of teaching agriculture presented a report on this subject. The National Educational Association has a standing committee composed of educators of national repute who are studying the problem of introducing more generally nature study, school gardening, and other agricultural instruction into the public schools. School officers and legislators in a number of States and Territories are now engaged in preparing courses of study and legislation providing for agriculture in the common schools.

It is clearly apparent that the cause of agricultural education is being considered in more of its phases and by more prominent men than ever before. The outlook is therefore more hopeful for steady and wholesome progress in the direction of relating education more closely to the needs of the people.

THE FARMERS' INSTITUTES.

Statistics of the farmers' institutes in the United States, and other information regarding their organization and progress during the past year, have been collected by the farmers' institute specialist of this Office, and are included in a detailed report given on page 617. According to this report 3,306 institutes were held during the year in 46 States and Territories. The total attendance at these institutes was over 841,000. The appropriations for institute purposes amounted to $210,000, but the amount actually available for institutes was much larger than this, for the salaries of the directors in 26 States are not included in this amount, nor, except in a few States, is the cost of printing the 329,000 reports of institute proceedings which were published and distributed last year. The institutes were

addressed by 953 lecturers, employed by the State directors. Of this number 361 are members of the faculties of the agricultural colleges or of the staffs of experiment stations, who contributed during the year 2,131 days of their time to giving institute instruction. Twentyeight States reported also a total of 3,331 local speakers engaged in institute work, so that in all there were considerably more than 4,000 persons who gave instruction at the institutes during the year.

The principal needs of the institutes are for better organization, more liberal financial support, and a larger number of efficient workers. The form of organization most approved is that of a strong, permanent local organization in every institute district, with fully and clearly defined duties and powers, the whole system to be subject to the oversight and limited control of a central State authority. As regards funds, only a few of the States provide liberally for the institutes, while eight States and Territories make no appropriation whatever for this purpose. The corps of institute workers is being augmented slowly by trained men from the agricultural colleges and experiment stations, but the supply of lecturers acquainted with both the science and the art of agriculture is still far from adequate. A few of the colleges are endeavoring to improve conditions in this respect by offering short normal courses for institute workers.

The ninth annual convention of the American Association of Farmers' Institute Workers was held at St. Louis, Mo., October 18-20, 1904, and was attended by 100 delegates from 25 States and Territories, the District of Columbia, and three provinces of the Dominion of Canada. The proceedings of this convention have been published as Bulletin No. 154 of this Office, and a brief account of the meeting is given on page 618 of this report.

The work of this Office in relation to farmers' institutes has been continued. The duties of the farmers' institute specialist during the year have been those of organizing the work of the office, of securing information as to the conditions of the institute work in the United States and in foreign countries, and of rendering assistance to the several State directors and institute lecturers through correspondence, personal visits, and the sending out of agricultural literature. Complete lists of institute lecturers were published and sent to all of the directors of the agricultural experiment stations, with the request that they select from it and add to their mailing list the names of such persons as are not already receiving their publications. This request was quite generally complied with, and numerous expressions of appreciation have come from the lecturers to whom the bulletins have been sent. A similar request was made to the Division of Publications of this Department with equally satisfactory results.