EDITORIAL. 408 



opment of our agricultural sysfcm. Tliosc who have given the matter 

 careful study believe that in view of the i)resent feeling toward agri- 

 cultural ex})eriuientati()n and education, the time is ripe for this 

 step, and they point to indications that we are on the eve of a great 

 extension movement in comiection witli the agricultural colleges. 



The jjresent status of extension work in the United States was 

 brought out in the report of the committee on extension work at the 

 Baton Ivouge convention of agricultural colleges and experiment sta- 

 tions. This standing conuuittee was appointed a year ago, at the 

 time of the reorganization of the conmiittees, and was an expression 

 of the necessity and importance of this phase of work. 



The committee defined extension teaching in agriculture to embrace 

 " those forms of instruction in subjects having to do with imj^roved 

 methods of agricultural i^roduction. and with the general welfare of 

 the rural poi)ulation, that are offered to people not enrolled as resi- 

 dent pupils in educational institutions." It grouped the various 

 forms of extension work under six headings, as follows : (a) Farmers' 

 institutes; (b) itinerant lectures other than farmers' institutes, includ- 

 ing traveling schools of various types, special railroad trains, etc.; 

 (c) literature, including correspondence and reading courses, travel- 

 ing libraries, etc.; (d) field demonstrations, educational exhibits at 

 fairs, and the like; (e) educational features in charge of rural socie- 

 ties; and (f) formation of leagues or federations of rural societies, 

 establishment of social centers, and similar undertakings. The classi- 

 fication is based primarily upon the kinds of work to be done, and 

 secondarily upon types of institutions doing the work. The first four 

 groups are intended to embrace all forms which belong primarily to 

 universities, colleges, and other agencies whose work is distinctively 

 educational. 



In the conunittee's preliminary survey of extension work inquiries 

 were sent to a wide range of institutions and organizations, agricul- 

 tui'al and otherwise, to which a thousand replies w^ere received. 

 These show that there are already established over three hundred 

 active centers of extension teaching in agriculture, and doubtless 

 othei's for which no re})orts were received. " Nearly all the agricul- 

 tural colleges and experiment stations in the land are doing extension 

 teaching to a greater or less degree, and ])ractically all of the granges 

 and thousands of agricultural societies of various sorts do work that 

 could be called extension teaching in agriculture." 



Aside from these, it is interesting to note that the normal schools 

 are not only giving courses in agriculture for teachers, but in several 

 instances are sending out lecturers to teachers' and farmers' insti- 

 tutes, giving demonstrations, issuing pamphlets and school bulletins 

 on agricultural subjects, and in other ways i)uttiiig themselves in 



