446 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



thusiasm in the highest and best Icind of teaching are the qualities 

 that will develop the good in children." 



From such influence the youth goes out into the world better equipped 

 in head, heart and hand to grapple with the problems of life that seem 

 hard enough even when the best possible preparation has been made. He 

 is better fitted for a successful and happy career and has a much broader 

 outlook upon life. 



In conclusion: Since a truly successful career means much more than 

 the accumulation of dollars and the making of a life much more than 

 the making of a living, we can but feel that to him who knows the world 

 and is able in the best sense to wield the world besides experiencing the 

 infinite satisfaction of doing good in the world, to him belongs the 

 highest type of human greatness. 



AGRICULTURAL FAIR ASSOCIATIONS AND THEIR UTILIZATION 

 IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND IMPROVEMENT. 



BY JOHN HAMILTON. 



Farmers' Institute Specialist, Office of Experiment Stations. 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Now that the better utilization of organized agencies for the improve- 

 ment of agriculture is being generally considered, attention is naturally 

 directed to the county fair association as a force which, if properly di- 

 rected and developed, might be of great service, since it provides a local 

 agency in each county that is directly interested in the development of 

 the agriculture of that particular county and possesses the requisite legal 

 power to act in directions that it may deem best for accomplishing its 

 purposes. There are over 1,200 county fair associations in the United 

 States, with a registered membership of approximately 250,000. Their 

 annual gross receipts amount to about $6;fi00,000, and their expenditures 

 for premiums to almost $2,500',000. * 



PRESENT NEED FOR EFFICIENT LOCAL AGRICULTURAL 

 ASSOCIATIONS. 



That need exists for proper local associations to aid in the improve- 

 ment of rural conditions is admitted by all who have studied the country 

 problem. 



There is, first of all, the great fundamental need of increasing pro- 

 duction. This of itself is sufficient reason for the existence of organi- 

 ations in each county to give intelligent attention to soils, fertilizers, 

 animals, crops, tillage, moisture supply, drainage, seed selection, fruit 

 culture, the farm wood lot, and the many other items directly affecting 

 agricultural production. 



Then there is the need for the improvement of the highways, the 

 consolidation of rural schools, the adaptation of the courses of study in 



