STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 603 



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their methods of dressmaking. There were 7,820 millinery demon- 

 strations, resulting in 22,200 women either making their own hats 

 or improving their methods. There were 13,500 demonstrations with 

 reference to the making and use of dress forms. The information 

 was passed on effectively to 53,200 other farm families. There were 

 also 78,600 boys and girls completing clothing club work. The 

 number of garments made or remodeled as a result of these activities 

 was reported to be 650,000. 



Home conveniences.— X total of 1,350 demonstrations were con- 

 ducted in household equipment, changing the practices of nearly 

 25,000 homes. In addition there were 14,700 demonstrations relat- 

 ing to various phases of home management, which resulted in 40,000 

 homes changing their present household methods. As a result of 

 these activities there were installed 1,766 water systems, 901 sewer 

 systems, and 584 lighting plants; 13,400 homes were screened and 

 4,300 remodeled ; and 600 homes were improved by new plans and 

 rearrangements of buildings and better care of the lawn. They 

 also influenced 25,000 farm families to improve their sanitary sur- 

 roundings, 1,900 to purchase washing machines, 4,400 to buy fireless 

 cookers, and 3,800 to secure pressure cookers and canners. 



BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUB WORK. 



In 1923, 28.200 clubs made up of 600,957 boys and girls engaged 

 in demonstration work in agriculture and home economics, an in- 

 crease of about 12 per cent over the previous year. This shows that 

 State and county extension workers have improved their methods 

 of securing the interest of young people in demonstration work. 

 The other index figure, namely, the number of boj^s and girls com- 

 pleting demonstrations, amounted to 358,090, or 59 per cent of those 

 who started enterprises. This figure is the best criterion of the 

 quality of the methods employed by extension agents and indicates 

 a decided improvement in 1923. More of the practices demonstrated 

 spread to neighboring farms and were established in the regular 

 farm practices than in any previous year. These three main lines of 

 improvement have come about through a more intensive applica- 

 tion of extension workers to the science of extension teaching. 



A large number of counties undertook for the first time during 

 the past year to make provision for boys' and girls' club work in the 

 community and county extension programs of work as a means of 

 dealing with particular problems. These community programs of 

 work were built on the basis of problems found through intensive 

 study, careful observation, and use of all available statistics. 



The demonstrations carried out by boys and girls were on the 

 whole simpler in 1923 than previously. Heretofore it has been 

 assumed that all of the practices involved in an enterprise, such as 

 the raising of a litter of pigs, were to be demonstrated, but recently 

 in a considerable number of counties boys and girls, while carrying 

 out the entire enterprise, concentrated their effort as a club on a 

 specific practice especially designed to meet a particular community 

 problem. The enterprises which boys and girls carried out in 1922 

 were larger in a number of lines than in any previous year. This is 

 particularly true in potato growing, swine raising, poultry, clothing, 

 and bread work. These larger enterprises have proved to be more 

 convincing to the community than the smaller undertakings. 



