STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 449 



or comnninity as determined cooperatively by the specialist, the 

 county aijent, and the county extension organization. Better fol- 

 low-up systems are being devised and more accurate records of sub- 

 ject-matter work are being kept, both at the colleges and in the 

 county agents' offices. 



There has I)een more stability as to tenure of positions among the 

 specialists than during previous years, and this has insured more 

 careful follow-up work and has helped in making observations as 

 to the influence of demonstrations. 



Specialists in other bureaus of the department, although em- 

 ployed on investigational work, have had opportunity to observe and 

 comment on the results of extension work in the States, especially in 

 those lines of work that are carried out cooperatively by the States 

 and the T'nifeed States Department of Agriculture. 



Weekly conferences of the department's extension specialists have 

 been continued tlirough their fifth year, and more attention than 

 ]ireviously has been given in them to discussion of methods of 

 carrying results of the investigational work of the department to 

 the States. The importance of a closer relationship of the specialists 

 to the organization work has been realized through the weekly meet- 

 ings. To bring about a clear understanding of organization meth- 

 ods, members of the organization staff were brought into the con- 

 ferences to explain their w^ork in the field and their methods of 

 building a machine through which department subject matter might 

 reach people on the remotest farms. 



The following is a brief summary of the outstanding features of 

 the work of extension specialists during the year : 



AGRONOSIY. 



The principal work in 1921 with soils consisted in holding demon- 

 strations to show the value of lime in securing better legume crops, 

 developing cheaper sources of lime, and of securing cheaper freight 

 rates to the farmers on agricultural limes. Demonstrations were 

 held to show the value of high-grade fertilizers in saving freight and 

 handling charges. Other general lines followed were soil-erosion 

 work and soil-survey study, using the Federal soil surveys as a 

 basis for detailed study of soils in various counties. 



Crop work was principally along the lines of seed improvement, 

 .ncluding selection and distribution of high yielding strains of 

 purebred seeds and developing the work of seed inspection and 

 certification. x\lmost every State is doing something in the way of 

 developing better seeds of high yielding varieties. A definite cam- 

 paign was put on in a number of States to increase the acreage in 

 legimies used in regular crop rotations. The principal legumes used 

 were red clover, alfalfa, sweet clover, soy beans, and cowpeas. Pas- 

 ture demonstrations have been put on in a number of States to im- 

 prove the permanent pastures, especially in the rough, hilly sections 

 where there are large tracts of land not suitable for cultivation. 



DAIRY INTKODUCTTON. 



The principal activities of dairy-introduction specialists were de- 

 veloping cow-testing associations and bull associations, utilization 

 of dairy products, Swiss-cheese manufacture, American-cheese manu- 



