6 EXPEKIMENT STATION EECOED. 



plan is an evidence of weakness. Too little attention to these matters 

 has been given by station directors in some cases, but there is no 

 more important feature of the station activities than the research 

 work, and the director who is not giving it close attention, both in 

 preparation and in the following of its progress, is administering 

 only a part of the station's activity. 



As was to be expected, the various features of extension work 

 came in for much consideration, which was by no means confined to 

 the new section devoted to that subject. This new" work has hardly 

 found its place in the organization of the agricultural colleges and 

 experiment stations, and its support is not in all cases adequate to 

 carry out an ideal form of organization. iVnd these facts naturally 

 lead to the consideration of such broad questions as the relation of 

 the new enterprise to the established teaching work of the college 

 and the experimental work of the station, and the reorganization of 

 the institutions to adequately meet the new conditions. 



The present conception of the worker in this field shows the ad- 

 vance in thought in regard to this form of effort. The extension 

 worker is now regarded as a teacher in the true sense, and his work 

 as genuinely instructional in purpose, as distinguished from being 

 merely entertaining and aiming to attract large audiences. For him 

 the true spirit and sympathetic attitude are as essential as in the case 

 of the investigator or the class-room teacher; he must combine the 

 scientific regard for established facts and the means of acquiring 

 them with a thorough understanding of the people he is to work for 

 and their needs. The training and preparation of extension teachers 

 were discussed at length, and postgraduate or other courses especially 

 planned to meet the needs of this class of workers were advocated. 



The organization of extension work as a separate branch, with a 

 special force of workers and an officer at the head, was considered 

 the most approved plan. This feature has developed so rapidly and 

 reached such proportions that some such plan of organization is now 

 inevitable. Definite provision must be made for it, as the full em- 

 plojanent of the regular college and station facilities are required to 

 meet the present demands upon them. The division of the activities 

 of the agricultural college under the three coordinate heads of in- 

 vestigation, collegiate instruction, and extension is now recognized 

 as the logical plan, and organization on that basis has been found 

 advantageous for administrative purj^oses. Such an organization 

 must, however, recognize and fjreserve departmental integrity in the 

 institution as based on subject matter. 



In 32 States an organization for extension work has been provided, 

 and there are now considerably over 100 persons engaged solely for 



