352 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



staff also attended and addressed many other meetings of importance 

 in the development of agriculture and home economics in the South 

 during the year. Representatives of the office made special trips into 

 all the States during the year to advise with the extension forces and 

 to visit field demonstrations with the agents. 



A large number of circulars were prepared and distributed and 

 special campaigns were conducted for the purpose of emphasizing 

 the need of greater production of food and feed stuffs in the South 

 and the necessity of conserving the surplus by canning, drying, and 

 storage. 



COUNTY AGENTS. 



The appropriations made from State and county funds for the 

 support of county-agent work have been more liberal during the 

 fiscal year just closed than in any previous year. The total amount of 

 money from all sources devoted to countv-agent work in the 15 

 Southern States in 1917-18 was $1,444,099.75. The total county 

 appropriation for the year over and above the Smith-Lever offset in 

 the Southern States amounted to $656,714.57. 



Great difficulty was experienced during the year in finding 

 men with practical training and experience for county agents. A 

 large number of agents of draft age have voluntarily given up 

 county-agent work to enter the Army. The loss to the Army of 

 trained workers from the county-agent force has in a measure handi- 

 capped the efficiency of the work, as it is practically impossible to 

 find a sufficient number of well-trained men to take their places. 



Organization .^The progress of the organization of county-agent 

 work in the South has been very rapid. Great advantage was taken 

 of the war spirit, which has stimulated a desire upon the part of the 

 people to organize for all purposes. Under this stimulus practically 

 every county where there is a county agent has an organization 

 through which he carries out the agricultural program and assists 

 generally in campaigns and in other war work. 



In one State — namely, West Virginia — these organizations are 

 known as farm bureaus, but in that State the farm bureau is supple- 

 mented and supported by a very fine system of community organiza- 

 tions, and the officers of these community organizations really consti- 

 tute the county organization. The general plan of organization in 

 all Southern States consists of, first, community organization, and, 

 second, the federation of these into a county organization. Where 

 the system is working perfectly the members of the county organiza- 

 tion are either the officers of community organizations or elected 

 delegates from them. Where the system has not been put into perfect 

 shape the place of a community organization may be occupied by a 

 committee pending the perfecting of a community organization. 

 Since the great growth of the councils of defense fostered by the 

 Council of National Defense, in many counties of the South the 

 organizations have all been consolidated, and the community and 

 county councils of defense constitute the working organizations of 

 the county agent. In two of the States an added part of the organ- 

 ization was the appointment of special representatives or collabo- 

 rators to act as committeemen to carry out campaigns. In one State 

 several were appointed for each county; in another the number ap- 



