444 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Live-stack demcmstrations. 



Kind. 



Dairy cattle 



Beef cattle 



Blackleg control 



Sheep 



Swine 



Hog cholera 



Number. 



4,712 

 2,497 

 5,782 

 635 

 6,362 

 18,224 



Kind. 



Poultry 



Horses and mules 



Silos 



Unclassified live stock 



Total 



Number. 



31,212 



882 



161 



6,695 



77, 162 



AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS. 



The county agents have continued to devote a hirge amount of 

 time to assisting farmers with problems connected with the market- 

 ing of their crops and live stock. During the year the county agents 

 gave such assistance in connection with 7,078 cooperative-market- 

 ing associations, w^hicli did $349,807,153 worth of business with an 

 estimated saving to farmers of $23,791,869. In addition, 62,927 ac- 

 count books were placed in the hands of farmers and 35,472 farmers 

 were influenced to adopt better cropping, live-stock, or complete 

 farming systems. Buildings other than homes were constructed or 

 remodeled on 19,035 farms according to plans furnished through the 

 agents. 



FARM HOME. 



Water systems were planned and installed in 3,419 homes, sewage- 

 disposal systems in 2,894 homes, and lighting systems in 4,861 homes. 

 Houses were constructed or remodeled on 10,239 farms. Home 

 grounds were improved on 16,061 farms, and practices relative to 

 gardening changed on 106,719 farms. 



GENERAL ACTIVITIES. 



In the prosecution of their work during the year the agents made 

 1,456,860 farm visits, handled 3,110,647 office consultations, and held 

 465,752 meetings with a total attendance of 14,125,514 persons. They 

 prepared 157,565 newspaper articles relating to their work, wrote 

 2,806,769 individual letters, and prepared 212,296 circular letters with 

 a circulation of 15,972,626. 



OUTLOOK. 



Having passed through the periods of early growth and rapid 

 expansion, county-agent work is now emerging from the period of 

 agricultural depression and is well started on a period of consolida- 

 tion. More thought than ever before is being given to more effective 

 use of the county extension organization in forwarding extension 

 programs, to determining the more efficient methods and eliminating 

 the less efficient methods, and to the general adoption of better busi- 

 ness methods of handling the work. The next few years will, no 

 doubt, witness marked progress in the standardization of the work 

 and the development of a technique of the profession of extension 

 work. 



