Excerpt from An Address on Normal Schools of Agriculture for Farmers' Institute Workers: Delivered by Prof. John Hamilton, Before the Meeting of the Pennsylvania Farmers' Normal Institute Held at Bellefonte, Pa;, Oct; 11-14, 1904 Even when this became evident, and our fathers undertook to provide relief it did not occur to them that at least partial remedy might have been found in readjusting and improving the curricula of the rural schools, but they left these schools in their old condition and proceeded to establish colleges for the higher education of the sons and daughters of farmers, into which comparatively few could ever hope to enter. Farmers' Institutes. The great mass of farmers were unprovided with means of instruction until the farmers' institute was organized about 20 years ago. That it meets a need in agriculture, is shown by the attendance at these meetings last year of about one million farmers, and by the demand that is general in all of the states for a larger number of institutes, and for more and better equipped teachers. All of the states, excepting three, have now adopted a system of farmers' institutes, and in most of them support from the public funds is given in recognition of their educational character and of their great practical value to agriculture. Like every other educational institution, the institute can progress no faster than as teachers are supplied to give instruction, and can rise no higher than as these teachers are qualified for their work. The farmers' institute is an educational institution, and is dependent directly for its efficiency upon two classes of officers: The managers, who have charge of the organization, and the lecturers, who give instruction. The Institute Manager. Unless the managers have, in marked degree, the power of organizing the work upon broad and progressive lines, it will not succeed, and unless they have ideals in agricultural education that are high and far reaching they will be content with inferior teachers and minstrel show entertainments. The need for men of superior qualifications for managers is just now specially important. The institute movement is in its formative stage, where it needs the most careful planning and direction in order that its organization and scheme of instruction may be perfected. Unless these foundation matters are in capable hands the work will not only not progress but it is sure to rapidly decline. Improvement can only come from careful study of the questions involved in rural education, and by painstaking effort to carry into operation high ideals. Hitherto, there has been but slight opportunity for conference among local managers for determining what are the most efficient methods in institute development, and for settling upon ideals in institute instruction. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.