OF STATE LEOTUIRERS AND TIME OI iOACT PROGRAM.





What number of lecturers should the State

Director furnish for each institute and how much

of the day's program should these lecturers supply?





This topio has been assigned me by our worthy


secretary, Prof. Hamilton. I am glad to have an op-

portunity to present this subject today. I know that

I shall be extremely out of fashion, but I want to


confess to you that I shall bo able to say all I wish

to in the period of twenty minittes allotted to me. I


wish to be still farther out of fashion by saying that I


have had ample time in which to prepare this paper, and


that I have been allotted a sufficient amount of time


to say what I think ought to be said. I make this


rather detailed explanation of the situation in order,
d *





4 -2-



that no one may be led Into believing that I am an

undiscovered prodigy, or that I would have delivered an


epoch-making address had sufficient time been allowed me for

its delivery, or had my many official duties permitted me to


apply to it the desired amount of study. I will now pro-

ceed to read to you a common everyday cort of a naper on

an everyday subject to +woh a reasonable amount of atten-

tion has been given.

Situation in Florida: To understand matters

clearly, it is necessary to call brief attention to the

situation as it occurs in Florida. It may be somewhat


similar to that found in some other States, but W oer-

tainly different from the usual condition. We have a

population of about 400,000 white people, scattered

irregularly throughout an area of fifty-four thousand

square miles. To traverse the distance, from the west-

ernmost point to the southernmost point at which insti-









tutes are held, requires a journey of over eight hundred

miles by rail. The crops vary from corn, cotton and Irish

potatoes in the west, to mango, avocado and other tropical

products in the south. we have all intermediate grades of

olimat:.. v. ...:-o.I through the short-staple cotton region,

the long-staple cotton region, the region of hardy winter

vegetables and citrus fruits, and finally to the region

of tropical fruits which produces the tender vegetables

during mid-winter. The lecturer on short-staple cotton

and corn is not likely to be especially well versed on

tropical fruits and the art of producing tender vege-

tables for midwinter delivery. So also the man who is

informed on citrus diseases is not likely to be able to

lecture convincingly on cotton-growing and rotation of

temperate-region crops.

The variation in the educational, temperamental

and social condition I quite as wide as that of the


physion.a In a large oie of "Old Florida" we still have





-4-


the plantation tenancy in vogue. Large tracts of land


are held by individuals who see the land only occasionally,

and who for the most part rent it out to negro tenants. The


negro as a rule -anaeMap careless and migratory INEre

Under such a condition it is rather discouraging to hold

institutes at all. The plantation owner is about as


helpless as anyone could be to remedy the matter as long

as he continues to rent to one-year tenants. There is

very little incentive to make a better tenant of the negro.


The next year he is likely to be running a dray in town, or

he may be employed in one of the numerous saw-mills or


turpentine camps. In such employment his special agricul-

tural knowledge is of no service to anyone. Fortunately the

larger portion of farming is done by whites coming largely


From other southern States. Reheir opportunities f

for mental advancement have been meager. Tempermentally

they are active and progressive. They employ considerable


negro labor. In the southern portion of the sea-island
0.t4e IA (4X4" ort htAw.beMB' ''>555





-$5-


The:-e include cabbage, onuliflower, lettuce, etc.

This same region produces much of the tender vegetables

which find their way to the markets during late spring.

The trucker is temperamentally the sene man whether you

meet him in New York State, in Central Florida, or South

Florida. He is alort, active and wants results iiriodiatoly.

:' Be is up to date as to fertilizer for diae, vegetable dic-

eases, and spraying solutions. I!any of the contrivances

gotten up by him are copied and oven patented. The citrus

and tropical fruit growers 9m a class by thensolves.

tany of them are college graduates They have the latest

agricultural literature in their libraries, They know

personally the scientists who are working on soils, fertio

liners and tropical fruit problems. Their ascoolationo,

either local or state, wield a powerful influence in the

commercial, technical and political nelfarn of the State.

soo be unto the young scientist, or old one for that matter,

who comes before then with half-proven facts or glittering





-6-


generalities; or to the man who comes before them con-


oealing his ignorance under a multiplicity of words,


This is the agricultural situation that is

confronting the 4 erintendent of Farmers' Institutes


in Florida. Under these conditions he must work out


the complex problems, They would be sufficiently dif-


ficult if there were only the physical conditions to


take into consideration; but when in addition to these


you consider the complicated social and mental condi-
,*

tiois, you have a problem that is worse than working out

4 sum in which you find a compound number in both the


,iumerator and denominator. The problem will work out all


right but it takes time and much labor,


There are agencies in the South, not met

with in all the other'States, that help materially in the


Farmers' Institute Vlork : the Farm Demonstration Work,


and the Farmers' Union. The latter in its workings and





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principles of action corresponds very closely to the

Grange of the North and West. The Far* Demonstration


Work as inaugurated and carried out by the late Dr. S. A.


Knapp, will stand as a mmors monument to his labor and

zeal. In Florida the work is now carried on by the U. S.


Department of Agriculture. There is one special agent


appointed who has charge of the State. The State Agent


in turn appoint one agent for sas county. The county


agent is usually paid $75 a month and employed for six


or eight months in the year. He is appointed from among


the active farmers of the county. It is the county agent's


duty to travel over the county and to secure the co-opera-


tion in demonstration work on his own promises of as many


farmers as possible. These demonstrations lay special stress

on the points in which the community is moot defi4ent.

OTROP TFGIONS IN FLORIDA.
~ra~ -~a~7~d~cnz----------- a-lb





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I can safely say that nowhere else in the United

States are the conditions more complicated. The rules


deduced in those States that have a simple crop production


and a comparatively homogeneous population are as useless

to us as are the rmlqs in a gracnar school 4ithmetic to one


wishing to solve problems in higher .alegr-bra, I have nade


the survey as brief as pos;iblo and yet in sufficient


detail to give the rather condensed statements that follow-


some meaning.


In the western portion of the short-staple

cott n region it is best to have at least two State speakers

for a one-day institute, and three speakers for a two-day


institute. These State lecturers are ass a rule supple-


mented with local speakers, preferably from an adjoining

county, I ind unier the conditions as they occur in our


short staple cotton belt, that a speaker from an adjoining


county is more likely to receive careful attention than a

speaker with whom the audience have been more intimately





--9I


-a4ssooiateda during the entire year, No audience will care to

have the same information presented repeatedly in exactly the

ar me way. Then, too, the region is sparsely settled, making

the attendance on our institutes small enough for it to be

.possible for the speaker to meet nearly all persons present

after the lecture period, The attendance usually runs from

twenty-fi ..-o seventy-five persons. Toward the eastern


portion of-the short-staple region where the plantation

ideas prevail the progress is slow and the work laborious.


Throughout the long-staple cotton region which

lies to the east of the short-staple region, the white farmer

predominates, and mnch progressive work can be accomplished*


Qne or two speakers for a one-day institute give good


results. A'e we oan get local speakers to help in making

out a program.


Among our vegetable growers we rarely send out


more than onp speaker. His lecture must be wn'ione very

definite problem, and he has to be posted on the most recent




f -10-


discoveries and remedies. The lecturer does more good

by acting in the capacity of individual adviser than by -u

public b-jagto lco/dLtbLvsJ


The citrus-grower is a person of a more re-

fleotive turn of mind. He is not in such feverish haste

to get results as the vegetable grower. He has more in-

formation on his line of work than is possessed by people


in other lines of agriculture in the State.


The lecturers supplied to these people must

know their subject from the literary as IT as practical


standpoint, and if they are not informed in other lines of

agriculture it does not invalidate then on citrus subjects.

Before the citrus growers, age an appearance count for loss


than anywhere else. Here we usually supply one speaker to

the local institute.


Our best success with the citrus growers has

been in bringing them to the University and giving them a





-11-




week-long course of lectures in the laboratories. These


lectures ar0 of a highly technical nature and form a


sort of "round up" institute.


LOCAL TZLP


Local help i: used by us to the fullest possible


extent, It is, however, "f an extremely virliable


quality and cannot be depended upon with certainty. 7e have


a few local speakers who are ihe equal of our State speakers,


but they have businesses of their own that they are un-


willin;T to neglect.


The Farmers' Union is developing some good speakers


and the Farm Demonstration ;',ork is developing good workers.


The Citrus Exchange and the vegetable growers' associa-


tions are doing progressive work. All of these organizations


promote a high degree of local development along agricultural


educational lines.


.ith us, therefore, it is a very difficult task


AV 1





9 -12-


to assign just the right speakers and also to get the

right local help. To train up the local speakers is

probety the most trying and difficult task.

CON LUSION4

1. The conditions that have to be met by the

superintendents of Farmers' Institutes are not exactly alike

in any two States and in some States they are radically

different from those in other States.

2. The methods of conducting farmers' institutes

must be varied according to the needs of the particular

State in question, and frequently must be varied in

different institutes of the same State.

3. It is sometimes advisable to hold three separate

institutes in the same county; one for citrus growers;

one for the vegetable growers; and one for the growers of

general farm crops.




-13-


4. Local talent should be e1oyed whenever

pos.ble, and should be developed as rapidly as practicable.
d .
O 5. The number of speakers that can be judiciously

supplied by the Superintendent at any particular insti-

tute in R.nr' -,1 be determined by local conditions.










eLV 1 + 'i 1 .











.^-~? ^ll~ ^/ /i
JQ".^-*^ p^^~ /^ -- -~ Q niAJL.^ 'S ly ^rI








S Hulbbcr o loolturers aL1d iiL- l...... .- Ti-. ..eI on Each Pro ram. 4

..3


i : T!is toic ,has been as-C -ned ;e b ou.' worthy

secretary, Prof. Hamilton. I am gnad to L.-ve an ornortunity to


present this -ubject today. I )]:nov', thcit I shnll be c::tre!.ely

out of fasl-ior but I want to confess to ;-oui that I sha.ll .be


EtaLble to s.ay r.11 I islh to in the period of tvwnt minutes s allot-

ted to ree. I wish to be still' further out of fashion by saying


that I have hadC arrmle tine in which h to prepare thick paper ,nd


that I have ~iven-t a sufficient aaour.t of time to sey what
A

I thin: ou,-ht to be said. 1 mak!:e this rath-er detailed e::-


planation of the situation in order lth..t no one ma:- lbe .le d


into believing that I am an undiscovered prodigy or that I

wouldl hr.ve delivered an epoch-ri~imtkint address had sufficient time 4


boon allowed me for its delivery or had Li imany official


L.utio:. nereitted I.;r to 'e- to it the desired ar,,ount of

study-. I will now proceed to read to you a coor ion everyday


sort of a paper on an everyday subject to which a reasonble


amount of attention ]ias Leen given.









I. Situation in Florida: To understand h-c situation clearly,
A
it is necessary to call brief attention to the situation as

AJI-
it occurs in Florid:a. It may bd q44e similar to that found

in som-e other States, buttcertainly different fromi-' the usual

condition. '7e have a population of about 400,000 white people,


scattered irregularly throughout -n area of fifty-four thousand

square miles. To traverse the distance froii the westernprost

point to the southernAmost point at which institutes are held

requires journey of over eight hundred miles by rail. The


crops vwry from corn, cotton and Irish potatoes in the west

to %ango, Avocado and other tropical products. in the south. ',e


have all intermediate grades of hyc 'onii the short-

staple cotton region, the long-staple cotton region, the region


of hardy winter vegetables a d citrus fruits, and finally the
A

region of tropical fruits which produces the tender vegetables

during mid-Winter. qN"tn i.,1-bt. h gh Jhe lecturer on short-


staple cotton and corn is not likely to be especially well

versed on tropical fruits and the art of producing tender vege-


tables for midwinter delivery. So muh for-v.riatie--i

ottw A4 A a t"7





*I
-4i-
-5-










die -urso8 f^ ^tg- r.nd rotation L CtLJ -reion crp.

The variation in social conditions is quite as
A

aA.ZO- it
ride as that of the physical. In a large n-r-n of Old Florida


we still have tie plantation tenancy in vo'rue. Large tracts


of land are held by individuals ]who see the land only occasionally,


and who for the most part rent it out to negro tenrnts. The


negro as a rule inches a careles:: and migratory tenant. under


such a condition it is rather discouraging to hold institutes


at all. The plantation owner is about Fs hel-lesc as anyone


could be to rlme3 e the matter ar ln ':, L L ,, 2i 'll i,:. There is -1-


little incentive to make a better tenant of the negro. The


next year he is likely to be running a dray in town or he may


be employed in one of the numerous saw-mills or tur-entine camps.


In such employment his special agricultural knowledge is of no


service to anyone.. Fortunately the larger portion of farming is


done by whites corning largely from other southern States. Iraturally

ties
their opnortuniXt for mental advancement have been meager.


Ilrt Il~n~





' -4-



Tempe mentally they areAstudy and progressive. They employ


considerable negro labor. In the southern portion of the

sea-island cotton region, hardy winter vegetables are produced.


Thtse includes cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, etc. This same

region produces mi]ch of the tender vegotrbles which find their

way to the markets during late spring. The trucker is temper-


mentally the same man whether you uert hi~ in new York State,

in Central Florida or South Florida. He is alert, active and

wants results immediately. He is up to date as to fertilizer


formulae, vegetc.ble diseases, Encl spraying solutions. TThny of


the contrivances gotten up by him are copied and even patented.

The citrus and tropical ) fruit growers form a class by them-

^/L^.r-4' a{t -
selves. T9heazF- e -rin-s college graduates. They have rrti

ay s-'t the latest ifoar:Ttnt in their libraries. They know


personally the scientists who are working on soils, ferti lizers

and tropical fruit problems. Their associations, either x local


or state, wield a powerful influence in the commercial, technical


and \~e political welfare of the Strte. noe unto the young


scientist, or old one for that matter, who comes before them

with half-proven truths or glittering generalities; or to









the man who corime before them concealing his ignorance under a


multiplicity of wor,.ds.


ad es andI -WtlenenSthis is the agricultural situa-

tion as is confronting the Superintendent of Farmers' Institutes


in Florida. Under these conditions he must work out t'e con-


plex problems. ik would be sufficiently difficult

if there were only the physical conditions to :;n.eV4 JF, but


when -A Aao to these the complicated social nmd central condi-


tions) you 'ave n problem that is worse than working out ~e a-A -et

in which you find a compound number in tboth the numerator


and denominator. The problem will work out all right but it


takes time and 1~sa -C labor.












There are two agencies in the South that d- not eceur
A

in all the other States that help materially in the Farmers'


Institute iworka: ; the Farm Demonstration '7ork and the Farmers!


Union. The latter in its workings and principles of action


corresponds very closely to the range of the North and West.


The Farm Demonstration nork out by the late Dr.


I.A. Knapp aed will stand as a grand monument to his labor and


zeal. In Florida the work is now carried on by the U, S. Dept.


of Agriculture. There is one special agent appointed who has


charge of the State. The State Agent in turn appoints one


agent for a county. The county agent is usually paid .:75 a


month and employed for six or eight months in the 1year. He is


appointed from anon7 the active farmers of the county. ,t is


the county agents duty to travel over the county ,.nd to


secure the coperation- of as rany fari'ers as possible, lsn


special stress on the points in nhich the connunity is most


deficient.


Take map and indicate regions as given in


-~Oi~-~iF
















I can safely say that -the"e-ds nowhere else in


the United States w3er- the conditions as more complicated. The

rules deduced in those States that have a simple crop produc-


tion and a comparatively homogeneous population are as useless


to us as are the rules in a grammar school arithmetic to one

wishing to solve problems in higher algebra. I have made the

survey as brief% as possible and still -gi e _- in sufficient


detail to give the rather Iaiaf statements that follow some litte
A





-7-


In the^short-staple cotton region it is best to have at


least twoAspeakers for a one-day institute and three speakers


for a two-day institute. These Statr lecturers are as a


rule supplemented ~7ith local speakers preferably from an ad-


joining county* I find under the conditions as they occur


in our short staple cotton belt that a speaker from an ad-


joining county is more likely to receive careful attention


than a speaker with whom the Eudience have been associated the


entire yerr. I11 audience will c.rc to have the same informa-


tion presented in exactly the samrre way. Then too, ottcrst-

.aA I*_ .-.^ poslbe for the


speaker to meet all persons present after the lecture period.


The attendance usually runs from twenty-five to seventy:-five


persons. -


;z te-a-- ^Se where the plantation ideas prevail


rn w"er the la .nd. aer-ra.tL to ro t..ant... the progress Zs


slow and laborious' Throughout the long-stople cotton region
n^ L Si and much pL r^-qC ,_A work can
ihe white farmer predominates and much progreoFive work can


be accomplished. One or two speakers for a one-da:y institute


give -ood results. Here we can .et at local speakers to
l ,





-8-




help in making out a program.

Among our vegetable growers we rarely send out more


than one speaker,.t-ck on vseget as. His lecture must be

on some very definite and he has to be posted on th- most


recent discoveries and remedies. zL/c tE 4 -0
C. y -oy 7- A

/ The citrus-grower is a person of a nrore reflective

turn of r.ind. ho is not in such feverish haste to get results as


the vegetable grower. ne has I r~bae more information on his

line of work than is possessed by people in other lines of


agriculture in the itate.

The lecturers supplied to these people must know


their subject ar1 fteni nd if thy are not informed in ts
4
other lines of agriculture it does not invalidate them on

citrus subjects. Before the citrus growers, age and appearance

countS for less than an"wvhere else. Jflf- 0~- r -46, c i- 4-

uur best success with the citrus growers has been in


$ bringing them to the university anL givin- then a week-long


course of lectures in the laboratories. us- ly cupp- n
-ti^/u^lS ttLI ctCt<^_ CtJL ^o-CMI-^ L- 0Y-ot-^~f ,






-9-


LOCAL H!'tLP


Local help is used b:- s to the fullest extent possible.


It is, however of an extemel' variable quality and cannot


be depended upon with certainty. ive have a few local


speakers who are the equal of our State speakersTl they have


business of their own that they are unwilling to neglect.
A

The Farmers' Union is developing some good speakers and


the Farm demonstration work is developing good workers.


The Citrus Exchange and the vegetable growers associations are


sa doing progressive work. All of these organizations pro-


mote a high degree of local development along educational lines.


.lith us, therefor'-, it is a very difficult tasi: to


assign just the right speakers and also to get the right local


help. To train up the local speakers is probably tjhe most


trying and difficult task.


Conclusions/


1. The conditions that hav, to he met by the supVOei&1d*i


of farmers' Institutes are not exactly ali:e in any


two States and in some States they are radically differ-


ent front those in other States.





-A-


2. The methods of conducting farmers' institi.tes must

be varied according to the needs of the particular

state in questionland frequently must be varied in

different pBrx prlttis of the same state.


ly q Local talent should be eranloyed whenever possible

and developed as rapidly as practicable.


S /. The number of sneakers that can be judiciously

ounplied by the -uperintendent to any particular

institute in tir sewiMe wnll be determined by

local conditions.












f J -s 'C te.. t1 I i- *t /1S
/ 1
I LW- C- f .- .- .







N