974 Rural School Leaflet 



some kind of crop for his contest. In the South as well as in the West, 

 corn has been thought well adapted for contest work and is the principal 

 crop used. In New York State corn is not such an important crop, and 

 it is probable that potatoes would be of more general interest than corn. 

 Oats might well be used in some localities. 



Up to the present time various organizations have undertaken contests 

 in different parts of the State. In some cases the district superintendent 

 has been the leader ; occasionally the county secretary of the Young Men's 

 Christian Association has directed the work; or some public-spirited 

 citizens or a group of business men have organized the contests. 



The general interest in these contests seems to indicate that the time 

 is at hand when there should be a uniform system throughout the State. 

 The state school system is an organization which is admirably adapted 

 for the work of conducting crop-growing contests. In the Western States 

 this has been found very successful, the county superintendent in each 

 county usually acting as the leader in organization. In New York State 

 it would seem that the rural school supervisory district already organized 

 would be the logical unit, and the district superintendent the person to 

 act as leader. 



As soon as the movement develops in several supervisory districts in 

 one county, it may be desirable for the district superintendents to unite 

 and make the whole county a unit. Then, if the interest grows, there 

 should be in time a state contest, in which all the prize-winning material 

 from the county contests could be entered. It would add much 

 interest to local contests if it were known that the best material would 

 be forwarded to a state contest. In order to make this possible, the crop 

 contests should be standardized so that the prize-winners could meet 

 on common ground in a county or state contest. 



The work of organization should begin several weeks before planting 

 time, so that all the contestants who wish to enter can make their entries 

 and arrangements for growing the crop. After the district superintendent 

 has worked out his plans, he should call together his teachers and have 

 them present the matter to the boys in their districts and encourage 

 them to enter the contest. The event should be advertised in local 

 papers and discussed at grange meetings. 



When all the entries have been made, some active interest on the part 

 of the leader will be needed until harvest time. For this work there 

 should be a fund for correspondence and like expenses. Would not the 

 local granges help in this? The interest and support of grangers will 

 be most helpful to the leader. It will be well to consult them as to the 

 time and place for the exhibition, program, prizes, and other matters 

 relating to the contest. 



