366 ANNUAL REPORTS OP DEPAETMENT OF AGKICULTUKE. 



to the department who wish to know about these matters. There was an aver- 

 age of five visitors per day during tlie year. 



(5) For 30 days during the year the demonstration kitchen was used by the 

 Eed Cross committee of the department in the conservation of products from 

 Arlington Farm. Tliese canned and preserved products were sent directly from 

 the kitchen to the Walter Reed Army Hospital. 



FARM-MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATIONS. 



The primary purpose of farm-management demonstrations is to 

 teach farmers business methods in organizing and administering their 

 farm business. This work has been led in the different States by one 

 or more extension specialists, called farm-management demonstrators. 

 This demonstration service helps farmers to make their farms more 

 efficient in the production of food by means of accurate analysis of 

 the business of individual farmers and comparison with that of more 

 efficient farmers in the neighborhood. The farmers are thus stimu- 

 lated to greater production of food per acre, per animal, and what is 

 more important, per man. 



Up to June 30, 1918. farm-management demonstrations have been 

 conducted in 493 counties, in 27 States — an increase of 210 counties 

 within the year. The farm-management demonstration service has 

 come in touch with more than 30,000 farmers who started simple 

 farm accounts during the year. More than 2,500 of these have kept 

 records for one year or more. The farm-management demonstration 

 service account books have been in demand also to serve as a basis for 

 the farmer in working out his income tax, 



EXTENSION WORK WITH WOMEN. 



The extension work with women in the North and West, Miss 

 Florence E, Ward in charge, had a rapid growth during tha year. 

 At the end of June, 1917, 150 State-wide home-economics workers 

 were employed and 17 home-demonstration agents were permanently 

 located in counties in 10 States. These were employed chiefly on 

 Smith-Lever and regular department funds. The passage ®f the 

 food-production act in August, 1917, as a war measure, and the 

 imperative necessity for producing and conserving foods and cer- 

 tain household commodities required by the war program resulted 

 in increasing the number of home-economics workers employed on 

 Smith-Lever, regular, and emergency funds to more than 1,000 women 

 by the close of the fiscal year June 30, 1918. Of this number 811 

 were engaged in home-demonstration-agent work, 96 of whom were 

 employed in cities and 361 in single counties as home-demonstration 

 agents. 



Emergency program. — For the first six months the principal work 

 conducted under the direction of these workers was the conservation 

 of surplus food products. This work was carried on in every State by 

 means of demonstrations, exhibits at fairs and in local stores, food 

 shows, and liberty bread kitchens where war breads were made and 

 sold. The method of instruction by which the message of conserva- 

 tion was taken to the people in many States included the training of 

 volunteer workers. This plan of procedure has proved one of the 

 most valuable features in home-demonstration work. In one State an 

 extension force of three home-economics workers gave instruction in 

 food conservation to 2,200 local leaders. These local leaders reached 

 33,000 women during the canning season, and as a result 8,250,000 

 quarts of fresh products were canned. 



