484 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



colleges. These specialists have also been able to learn, from the 

 field standpoint, ver}^ definite needs as to investigational problems, 

 which are transmitted by them to those in charge of such work at 

 the experiment stations. 



There has been a rapid change in the personnel of the force of ex- 

 tension specialists as well as of the county agents, but the develop- 

 ment of plans of work within the county on which both specialists 

 and county agents were working has contributed to the stability 

 and the continuity of the work in spite of the shifting of the forces. 

 Many of the State specialists are also finding that the agricultural 

 needs of the people are being indicated by well-defined groups of 

 counties or regions, and into such regions the specialist has been di- 

 recting his efforts toward the accomplishment of measurable results, 

 to the end that there is a conservation of effort and a greater num- 

 ber of people following successful practices. 



Several of the bureaus of the department have employed persons 

 whose chief interest is the extension of such information as the de- 

 partment has to transmit to the States and who, in many instances, 

 cooperate with the States Relations Service in making a study of the 

 extension subject matter organization within the State and the 

 methods of extending the teachings of both the agricultural colleges 

 and the United States Department of Agriculture. Specialists of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau 

 of Public Roads, Bureau of Entomology, Bureau of Biological 

 Survey, and Bureau of Markets cooperated in this work. 



Weekly conferences of the department extension specialists were 

 held during the year for the purpose of bringing about a clear under- 

 standing as to the problems needing attention, for the discussion of 

 extension methods, and for consideration of ways and means of 

 carrying the results of the investigational work of the department 

 to the extension specialists in the States and to the county agents in 

 the development of their plans of work. These conferences have 

 done much to bring about a better understanding and to develop 

 efficient cooperation. 



FARM-MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATIONS. 



There was normal development of the farm-management demon- 

 stration work during the j^ear. Twenty-seven of the 33 Northern 

 and Western States had farm-management demonstrators. 



Special stress was laid during the year upon the promotion of ac- 

 counting schools, since larger numbers of farmers can be reached by 

 this method. Special farm account books have been devised for the 

 purpose of aiding the farmer in studying his farm business, and 

 227,875 have been distributed by the agents, by bankers, or by other 

 means. The county agents report 30,255 farmers who kept accounts 

 throughout the year. The farm-management demonstrators report 

 aiding 9,134 farmers in summarizing their accounts, while the 

 county agents in 451 counties report aiding 13,872 in summarizing 

 such accounts. The accounts are made the basis for studying the 

 strong and weak features of the farm business. In many cases 

 farmers have indicated a desire to study particular enterprises on 

 their farms, such as the cost of growing sugar beets or producing 

 milk. In 1919, 737 farmers were aided in keeping records of this 



