STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 477 



easily forecast. Instead of delegates who may not know each other 

 coming together from all over the county to work out a program, a 

 few chosen representatives come together in the community to con- 

 sider things from a community standpoint. These local leaders coun- 

 sel together to determine what the local factors are that may limit 

 profitable and progressive farming and satisfactory home and com- 

 munity life. When they determine these, they settle upon the out- 

 standing problems and set a goal or standard of accomplishment for 

 the community to be reached during the 3'ear and select from among 

 themselves leaders to carr}' out the program. In the selection of these 

 community programs the county agent and the other county extension 

 agents who may be employed sit as advisors in considering the techni- 

 cal phases of the work and help work out a division of labor. They 

 present to the community group information as to what help can be 

 secured from the agricultural college, the Department of Agriculture, 

 or other public institutions as well as the part they may play. Natur- 

 ally such real counsel, such close planning, such sharing of responsi- 

 bility must and does assure much better planned and directed effort 

 and greater accomplishment. 



DEMONSTRATIONS. 



County-agent work is based on successful demonstration. This 

 work was seriously interrupted during the war period and particu- 

 larly so during 1918. The work then partook more of the nature of 

 campaigns, such as those for increased wheat production, home 

 gardens, corn production, hog raising, and the like. It is significant, 

 however, that the year just closed witnessed a return of demonstration 

 methods with perhaps increased emphasis. This is borne out by the 

 following figures, which cover the crop years 1918 and 1919, re- 

 spectively : 



Demonstrations, 1918 and 1919. 



Item. 1918 



1919 



Number of demonstrations 78, 868 ] 90, 660 



Number of demonstration meetings 33, 001 55, 465 



Total attendance at meetings < 677,653 832,681 



These demonstrations involved almost eveiy phase of crop and 

 live-stock production. Worthy of special note are seed corn selection ; 

 seed corn testing; control of oat and wheat smut; disease of potatoes; 

 standaj'dization of cereal varieties; introduction of alfalfa, sweet 

 clover, and soy beans; orchard spraying, pruning, and cultivating; 

 cow testing for production: building of silos and feeding of silage; 

 effects of fertilizer and limestone; extermination of rodent and insect 

 pests; control of weeds; blackleg and hog-cholera vaccinations; poul- 

 try culling; and introduction of purebred live stock. 



The results of tht' '-ounty-airt'iit Mork show a strong tendenc}' to 

 return to normal, sound agricultural practices, with strong emphasis 

 on what might be termed the economic aspects. Nearly 1()(),()()0 farmers 

 were assisted in startinj; farm accounts and 1^^,872 received assistance 



