EDITORIAL. 703 



work of the college and superintendent of the farmers' institutes of 

 the State. 



Thus under one head are coordinated the cooperative demonstration 

 work of the Department of Agi-iculture and the demonstration and 

 extension work of the college and the farmers' institute forces of the 

 State. The organization is so logical and so full of possibilities that 

 its ultimate success is thought to be assured. Under this system the 

 local agent will not only conduct demonstration work but he will also 

 have back of him the extension force of experts and the entire agri- 

 cultural faculty at the institution, as well as that of the Department 

 at Washington. The advantages of the system in promoting a wider 

 influence, and in spreading information as to the short courses and 

 other activities of the college, are believed to be manifold. 



In a paper on the Organization and Administration of Extension 

 Teaching in Agriculture, the Director of this Office summarized the 

 present status of extension work in agriculture as conducted by the 

 agricultural colleges and experiment stations, and emphasized the 

 urgent need of the more sj^stematic and thorough organization of 

 this work under the supervision of the colleges. 



Considered as an essential feature of the American system of agri- 

 cultural education, it was held to be primarily the business of the 

 State to create and maintain the -institutions through which exten- 

 sion teaching in agi'iculture shall be conducted. Since it is an 

 educational enterprise it will naturally be carried on by educational 

 institutions rather than by administrative departments. The na- 

 tional and state departments of agriculture may very properly aid in 

 this work, but the chief burden of responsibilitj^ for it in the several 

 States will naturally fall on the agricultural colleges. 



These institutions are now awakening to their responsibilities in 

 this line. Already some form of organization for extension teach- 

 ing in agi'iculture has been created in forty-three of our agricul- 

 tural colleges. In all these institutions extension directors have 

 been appointed. Eight of these are also directors of experiment 

 stations, leaving thirty-five institutions with extension directors 

 giving their time in whole or in part to this feature. In twenty- 

 seven States there were in 1911 one hundred and nine men devoting 

 all of their time to extension work. In twenty-nine States two hun- 

 dred and fifty-six are reported as giving part of their time to exten- 

 sion teaching and to other forms of extension activity. In ten other 

 States the members of the college and station stafi's give part of 

 their time to extension work, but the number so employed is not 

 designated. 



In twenty-eight States 160,073 persons were registered last year 

 as regular students in extension classes, and in twenty-one States 



