BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 313 



The methods employed by the department in this work have been 

 adopted by various railway managers in the South, who are under- 

 taking a similar work along their lines in thorough harmony with 

 the efforts of the department, resulting in extending the work into 

 some counties where the department has not been able to employ an 

 agent. 



Boys' and girls' demonstration work. — A part of the problem of 

 meeting the boll weevil has been the production of home supplies. 

 The ordinary farmer in the cotton States in the past has depended 

 upon cotton alone, and has failed to raise his own supplies. As a 

 part of the plan of so changing the method that the home supplies 

 would be produced the boys' corn clubs and girls' canning and poul- 

 try clubs have been introduced. During the season of 1910 the boys' 

 corn clubs made a wonderful record. Many extraordinary yields 

 were reported, largely due to the fact that the boys devoted their 

 time and energy to a single acre. The 100 boys making the highest 

 yields averaged 133.7 bushels of corn per acre on the 100 acres. In 

 one county in Mississippi 48 boys averaged 92 bushels per acre. In 

 a South Carolina county 142 boys averaged 62 bushels per acre. 

 Prizes were donated by local people and obtained by general popular 

 subscriptions. The leading prize in every State was a trip to Wash- 

 ington, given to the boy making the best record. A great deal of 

 interest was aroused by the visit of these State prize winners to the 

 city of Washington. They were presented with diplomas of merit by 

 the Secretary of Agriculture, and much attention was paid to them 

 by public officials and the people in general. 



The effect of the boys' corn club work has been threefold: (1) It 

 has materially assisted the department in bringing home to the south- 

 ern farmer the fact that he can raise corn; (2) it has helped to break 

 down prejudice in many communities against what is sometimes 

 called "scientific farming" ; and (3) it has also helped to gi^^e the 

 boys an interest in farming and at the same time from its close con- 

 nection with educational forces has been a powerful means of mold- 

 ing public sentiment regarding the teaching of agriculture in the 

 schools, and especially in emphasizing tlie necessity for better rural 

 education. 



The work among girls has been started for the purpose of interest- 

 ing them in the home life upon the farm. It seelvs to show them how 

 to raise a garden of vegetables, how to can the vegetables for market 

 and for home use, and how to raise poultry at a profit. The ex- 

 penses of this work are paid entirely from the funds of the General 

 Education Board, but the work itself relates directly to the problem 

 of raising home supplies instead of purchasing them out of the cotton 

 crop. This year more than 3,000 girls are engaged in this work and 

 it is expected that next year there will be many more. Prizes similar 

 to those offered in the boys' corn clubs have been subscribed by vari- 

 ous public-spirited citizens. The enthusiasm with which the work 

 has been taken up indicates a rapid growth and a large extension of 

 interest in home gardening and the raising of poultry. 



Cooperation with other bureaus. — The large force of agents in 

 the field, made possible by the cooperation of the southern people 

 through State and county organizations and local associations, has 



