2154 Farm Bureau Circular No. 6 



Judging from the attendance at these meetings the farmers of Monroe 

 County are interested in the bureau. For example, every one of the 

 pruning demonstrations except one occurred on a stormy day, but the 

 attendance averaged nearly forty, reaching as high as ninety at one 

 meeting. 



At the demonstration meetings it is not the policy of the manager to 

 do all the work, for this would not give the best results. The township 

 committeemen are depended on to advertise the meeting in their local 

 papers, announce it at their granges, and if necessary make use of their 

 telephones. This places the responsibility for the success of the meeting 

 on the committeemen and those asking for the demonstration. Not 

 only are experts made use of, but some of the best local fruit growers 

 are called on to give their opinion or to give a demonstration themselves 

 as to how the work should be done. This creates local interest. 



It is in the best interest of the farm biu-eau to cooperate with other 

 existing organizations. The New York Central Railroad cooperated 

 with the bureau in holding a potato field demonstration, an apple packing 

 train, and a " hog special." The attendance was particularly good at 

 each meeting, and although the railroad received the chief credit, as 

 it should, the fact that the farm bureau cooperated was not lost sight of. 



The drainage demonstration held at Webster in cooperation with 

 some of the largest ditching machine companies showed what could be 

 done when working through township committees, for there were 550 

 persons present. 



It has been impossible to work among the schools as much as during 

 19 13. This is to be regretted, because it is a big field and there are but 

 few rural school-teachers who are well enough acquainted with agriculture 

 to instruct the farm boys and girls in nature study or agriculture. 



The farm bureau did comparatively little work in the potato sections 

 of this county during 19 13, but sixteen potato-spraying trials, or demon- 

 strations, for the control of the late blight of potatoes were held. This 

 took considerable time, but it brought the manager in contact with many 

 of the potato growers in the southern part of the county, and, I think, 

 strengthened the farm bureau there. 



The work on the control of cabbage aphids, while not entirely successful, 

 demonstrated many facts about the difficulty of controlling this insect. 



The exhibit at the Rochester Industrial Exposition, which took two 

 weeks, accomplished good in giving infoiTnation in regard to the nature 

 of diseases, insect troubles, and the like, in the county and also in regard 

 to the apple packing laws. Many persons learned for the first time 

 that there was a farm bureau in Monroe County. 



Although not all was accomplished that was expected in January, 19 14, 

 yet there is some cause for encouragement. It was hoped to enroll at 

 least five hundred members in the bureau, and a few short of four hundred 

 were received. But the membership is made up of some of the best 

 farmers and fruit growers in the cottnty, so that the bureau is likely not 

 only to retain this membership next year but to secure many new men 

 in each township. 



It is necessary for the development of any farm bureau to depend 

 on committeemen in each township. In order to strengthen the bureau 



