300 ANNUAL KEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



farmers' cooperative demonstration work, Messrs. Bradford Knapp 

 and C. B. Smith. A memorandum of agreement between the Secre- 

 tary of Agriculture and the presidents or deans of the agricultural 

 colleges was drawn up and adopted by practically all the States. 

 The assent of all the States to the provisions of the agricultural ex- 

 tension act was obtained and an organization for the administration 

 of funds granted to the agricultural colleges under this act, as well 

 as of the other funds intrusted to those institutions for extension 

 work, was formed in all the State colleges. These organizations 

 practically establish divisions of agricultural extension in the col- 

 leges, which resemble and are coordinate with the agricultural ex- 

 periment stations and have at their head directors of extension 

 work corresponding to the directors of the experiment stations. 

 Through the extension divisions of the colleges a large number of 

 projects for cooperative extension work in a great variety of lines 

 have been formulated and agreed upon under the general memo- 

 randum of agreement. Whenever these projects involved the ex- 

 penditure of Smith-Lever funds they have been submitted to and 

 passed upon by the committee. The appropriation act of March 4, 

 1915, provided that in the reorganization of the work of the de- 

 partment, on July 1, 1915, the farmers' cooperative demonstration 

 work should become a part of the States Relations Service, and that 

 the Director of this service should have general charge of all co- 

 operative agricultural extension relations. 



Pending this reorganization the Secretary gave to the States Rela- 

 tions Committee the administrative control of the demonstration 

 work and funds, subject to the limitations of the appropriation act 

 for the fiscal year 1915. In this way a large amount of work relating 

 to the demonstrations was conducted by the committee during the last 

 quarter of the year, including arrangements for the transfer of the 

 demonstration force to the States Relations Service on July 1, 1915. 



Much time was spent during the past year in determining more 

 exactly the fields which may properly be occupied by the demonstra- 

 tion and extension work under Federal and State legislation and 

 the relations of such work to the county and local organizations. 

 Conferences were held with officers of the State agricultural colleges 

 and representatives of the county governments and local organiza- 

 tions with a view to establishing more complete and cordial coopera- 

 tive relations. The field forces of the department and the colleges 

 engaged in extension work have been brought into more definite and 

 satisfactory relations. In general the development of the organiza- 

 tion of a great unified system of practical instruction for farming 

 people along the various branches of agriculture and home economics 

 under State and National auspices to cover the entire country has 

 been greatly advanced. The way has thus been prepared for the 

 successful operation of the permanent agency which is to conduct 

 the Federal business connected with the cooperative agricultural 

 extension system. 



INSULAR STATIONS. 



The work of the several insular stations proceeded along about the 

 same lines as formerly, crop diversification being the central idea of 

 all the investigations. 



