STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 475 



that the withdrawal of a hirge portion of Federal financial support 

 did not seriously affect the work, the farmers and county govern- 

 ments meeting the situation with locally contributed funds. There 

 are still approximatel}^ 400 counties needing agents to complete the 

 system throughout the North and West. 



The home-deinonstration work has undergone extensive adjustment 

 and stabilizing. In practically all of the States this is now being put 

 on a definite county basis with local financial support and well-organ- 

 ized groups of women within the counties supporting the work. The 

 year closed with about 220 counties thus organized with a home-dem- 

 onstration agent in each county. AVith the experience gained in 

 handling the work it should go forward now systematically until all 

 the rural counties have such an agent. 



The hoys" and girls'' club work is one of the -most popular features 

 of the extension work. It is being carried on by practically all the 

 county agents and home-demonstration agents as an important aid 

 in the work, while in more than 270 counties the work has so devel- 

 oped that it has been found desirable to employ count}' club agents 

 who give their full time to it. 



The fariii-incunujeinent demonstration work, which is in part 

 financed by this office, had one of the best years since the work began 

 in 1914 in the way of numbers of farmers reached and development, 

 of methods of doing the work. 



Local cooperation and supjyort. — The plan of conducting extension 

 work in intimate contact with the people concerned was continued 

 with the most substantial kind of cooperation and support. Under 

 this plan the agents of the P'ederal Government and the State and 

 the local people concerned counsel together to consider the needs of 

 the community, to agree upon programs of work, and to select the 

 local men and women who will conduct the demonstrations, the agents 

 of the Government lending their support, but the people themselves 

 doing the work, reporting upon results, and explaining the work to 

 interested neighbors. There is thus being put into operation on a 

 large scale one of the most satisfactory and ps^'chologically sound 

 SA'stems of adult teaching for rural people ever put into effect in any 

 country. 



Finances. — The total funds available for extension work in 1919"20 

 in the Xorthern and Western States was $8,901,800. Of this amount, 

 the Federal Government contributed $3,097,100, including $480,800 

 appropriated directly to the States Relations Service for farm- 

 (U'monstration work. $127,200 from appropriations to other bureaus 

 of the Department of Agriculture, $1,736,100 under the provisions of 

 the Smith-Lever Act. and $744,000 from funds appropriated to sup- 

 ))lement the regular Smith-Lever funds. As an offset to the latter 

 two amounts the States contributed $2,150,100. In addition, there 

 was availal)le from the States and colleges $913,000, from county 

 funds ?^2.27r),3()0, and from other miscelhincous sduiti-s s4(',i;.l*()(). 

 Those funds were used as follows: For administration. $580,400; 

 printing and distribution of publications, $109,300: county-agent 

 work, $4,888,000; extension work with women, $1,161,700; boys' and 

 girls' club work, $661,800: nnd extension specialists, $1,500,600. 



