352 ANNUAL KEPOETS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUKE. 



the war-emergency projects — growing gardens, canning food prod- 

 ucts, raising poultry, making war bread, and doing other things of 

 a special character. These were enrolled from the cities and were 

 not classified as regular club members. The regular club members 

 were organized into the following clubs: Corn clubs, 945; potato 

 clubs, 1,217; home-garden clubs, 3,070; canning clubs, 2,152; garden 

 and canning clubs, 776; mother-daughter clubs, 270; poultry clubs, 

 832; pig clubs, 1,037; baby-beef clubs, 158; bread clubs, 643; sewing 

 clubs, 1,250 ; handicraft clubs, 76 ; sugar-beet clubs, 161 ; home cooking 

 clubs, 755; and other miscellaneous clubs, 448; the total number of 

 clubs of all kinds being 13,790. These clubs held regular meetings 

 and elected their own officers. 



During the period from December 1, 1916, to April 1, 1917, 3,589 

 club members attended the one or two we-eks' short courses at the 

 State agricultural colleges. One thousand ^ve hundred and twenty- 

 eight of these were champions of their respective counties in the 

 boys' and girls' club work and were sent by the local people free of 

 expense to attend the courses. Seventy club members are now at- 

 tending the regular four-year agi'icultural college courses. 



FARM-MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATIONS. 



Farm-management demonstrations, intended to teach that farm- 

 ing is a business and how farmers ma}^ apply business methods in 

 organizing and administering their farms, were carried on, usually 

 in counties where there was a county agricultural agent. The States 

 in which this work is being conducted have one or more specialists, 

 called farm-management demonstrators, who devote their entire time 

 to assisting county agents in this project. The county agent is re- 

 sponsible for the work in his county; and the demonstrator, who is. 

 in the joint employ of the State and Federal Governments, is re- 

 sponsible for all the work in the entire State. 



These demonstrations are brought to the attention of farmers by 

 the demonstrators and county agents through personal contact, and 

 by such means as news articles, posters, and circular letters. Farmers 

 who are interested and who express a desii'e to cooperate in the work 

 are assisted in starting records of their business. During the year 

 they are aided, so far as is necessary, in keeping these accounts, and 

 at the end of the year they are helped to summarize the records and 

 to use the information secured in making plans for the business of 

 the ensuing year. In some cases an estimated record is made of the 

 business of the preceding year to interest farmers in keeping accounts 

 by giving them some idea of the information an account book kept 

 for a year will contain, and of the ways in which such information 

 may be of value. 



Progress and Results. 



During the past year demonstrators and county agents gave special 

 attention to teaching farmers how to do the farm-demonstration work 

 themselves, thus putting it on a self-help basis which makes for 

 permanent results. 



Up to June 30, 1917, farm-management demonstrations had been 

 conducted in 283 counties in 27 States, an increase of 102 counties and 

 2 States within the year. A total of 16,431 farmers had started to 



