18 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



EXTENSION TEACHING. 



We find that the college has more and more emphasized the importance of carrying 

 directly to the farmers the results of important and practical investigations made by the 

 Experiment Station. A brief statement regarding these outside activities is indicated in 

 the following paragraphs: 



Branch Short Courses in Aoricullure. — Since the report of the Agricultural College Com- 

 mittee one year ago, the College of Agriculture has conducted eleven branch short courses, 

 each one five days in length. The total attendance in these short courses was 862, and the 

 average daily attendance at each short course was 47. 



Farmers' Institutes. — The college has for many years co-operated with the Secretary of 

 the Board of Agriculture in Farmers' Institute work in Missouri. During the past year 

 teachers from the College of Agriculture have attended, forty Farmers' Institutes located in 

 thirty-three counties: 6,i:30 people were in attendance at these Farmers' Institute meetings. 

 In addition to the foregoing, men from the College of Agriculture have attended forty-nine 

 local farmers' meetings in twenty-four other counties of the State. There were 4,495 people 

 in attendance upon these meetings. 



Special Dcmonalralion Trains. — The College of Agriculture co-operated in conducting 

 three special demonstration trains running through twenty Missouri counties, and thus 

 reached directly 15,350 people. 



Correspondence. — The demands upon the College of Agriculture for special information 

 upon all phases of agriculture and horticulture are increasing at a rapid rate. The number 

 of letters received by the college has more than doubled in the past three years. In 1913, 

 52,407 inquiries for special information were received by the various departments of the Col- 

 lege of Agriculture. Assistance was given to each of these inquiries either by personal 

 replies or by sending publications of the college. 



Judging Live Stock at County Fairs. — During the past year the college furnished experi- 

 enced judges to fifty-three county fairs located in forty-two Missouri counties. There were 

 384,977 people in attendance at these live stock shows. 



Judging Corn Shoics. — Calls for judges at corn shows have increased. During the past 

 year judges were furnished to thirty-six local corn shows located in thirty-one counties. 

 There were 75,500 people attending these corn shows. 



Boys' Corn Growing Contests. — The Boys' Corn Growing Contests have now been defi- 

 nitely organized in 113 Missouri coimties, and there are enrolled in these contests 3,500 boys. 

 More than 600 samples of corn were exhibited by boys during the year. The value of this 

 work cannot l)e overestimated, as an abiding interest in agriculture has been created on the 

 part of many young men. 



County Farm Advisers. — In accordance with provisions of the farm adviser law enacted 

 by the Forty-seventh General Assembly, the College of Agriculture has organized twelve 

 counties and has actually employed ten county farm advisers, who are now actively at work 

 for the agricultural betterment of the counties in which they are located. The principle of 

 this project is not new in the policy of the College of Agriculture. The college has been 

 doing extension work for many years. The present plan attempts to make this extension 

 work more efficient by locating a representative of the college m each county where the 

 application of the practical investigations made by the Experiment Station can be made 

 directly to the farmer himself. On an average, the farm advisers have been located in the 

 various counties less than one year. During that time the farm advisers have visited 765 

 farms, attended 252 farmers' meetings, spoken to 19,674 people, and given personal advice 

 to 2,749 farmers. Numerous other activities have been promoted and directed by the farm 

 advisers. This project has accomplished very great service to the farmers of Missouri. 



WORK IN THE EXPERIMENT STATION. 



The Experiment Station continues to concern itself with many practical investigations 

 of the problems of the farmer. Some of these investigations which seem to your com- 

 mittee to be of immediate benefit to farmers are the following: 



1. The improvement of unimproved western ewes through use of pure bred rams. 



2. Economic production of pork with forage crops. 



3. Comparison of warm feed and water to cooked and uncooked feed and cold water 



for hogs. 



4. Best methods of preparing corn for fattening steers. 



5. Comparison of corn and oats as feed for working mules. 



6. Most profitable crop rotations for Missouri. 



7. Experiments with alfalfa, cowpeas, soy beans, sweet clover and other economic 



plants. 



8. Nutrition of heifers. 



9. A study of the life histories and methods of eradication of tarnished plant bug, 



apple-leaf hopper, hickory twig girdler, peach-tree borer and other injurious 

 insects. 



10. Experiment to determine the durability of fence posts, -variously treated to resist 



decay. 



11. Best methods of storing seeds. 



12. Farm cost accounting. 



