STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 365 



These achievements in increasing the food supply were materially 

 aided through efficient organization and leadership. 



There are 1,664 counties in the 33 Northern and Western States, 

 and of these 1,162 counties, or 69 per cent of the entire number, had 

 regularly organized club work on December 1, 1917. Of these coun- 

 ties 555 were org^anized and conducted club work on the farm-bureau 

 plan, while a total of 575 county farm bureaus supported club work 

 financially. The work w\as supervised and directed by 1,018 paid club 

 leaders, including 28 State, 115 assistant State, and 477 district 

 county, and assistant county leaders on full time, together with 5 

 assistant State, 393 district, county, and assistant county leaders on 

 part time. The local community interest in the work is shown by the 

 fact that the 22,267 club groups organized had 15,983 volunteer local 

 leaders to assist in the work. There were 348 training conferences 

 held to help club leaders in the direction and supervision of their 

 work. There were 38.847 club plats visited by leaders; 4,813 canning 

 demonstrations, and 2,316 field demonstrations were given; 1,781 

 local, county, district, and State club exhibits conducted, and 864 club 

 fairs and festivals held. There were 1,691,367 copies of club liter- 

 ature furnished by the department to club members, and about an 

 equal number of copies were furnished by the States. 



The following is a brief summary of financial returns from the club 

 work at the close of the year 1917: 



Total value of products produced by members re- 

 porting $3, 681, 329. 00 



Total production cost to all members reporting (in- 

 cluding labor of members at 10 cents per hour)__ 1, 288, 675. 00 



Total cost of supervision, all sources (Federal, 



State, and local) 329,935.00 



Average cost of supervision for 12 months per mem- 

 ber enrolled . 75 



Average cost of supervision for 12 months per club 



member reporting results 2. 00 



Average value of products per member reporting 22. 00 



During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1918, the department demon- 

 stration and training kitchen of the boys' and girls' section was the 

 center of important training and demonstration activities. Seventy- 

 three State, assistant State, county, and local leaders were trained in 

 the kitchen on methods of conducting extension demonstrations in 

 canning, drying, garment making, bread making, poultry, potato, and 

 corn. Four hundred and eighty-six complete demonstrations were 

 given during the fiscal year. Twenty-seven regular training con- 

 ferences with leaders were held. The training conferences ranged 

 from three to six days each in duration. 



The demonstration kitchen was also used for the following ac- 

 tivities : 



(1) The preparation of club exhibits to be loaned to the State leaders for 

 their special State, district, and interstate events. 



(2) A four days' training school was also conducted by the club section staff 

 for the home demonstrators of the section of extension work with women in 

 preparing them for field demonstrations and organization work in canning and 

 drying. 



(3) The preparation, in cooperation with the Office of Exhibits of the de- 

 partment, of an exhibit of 600 quarts of canned food products. 



(4) As a room for the explanation of methods of canning, drying, equip- 

 ment, devices, etc., used in extension activities with boys and girls, to visitors 



