10 Junk, 1918.] American AgricuUnre. 339 



AMERICAN AGRICULTUllE. 



Report to the Director of Agriculture on Agricultural Education 

 Methods and Agricultural Research Work in the State of 

 California, by A. E. V. Richardson, M.A., B.Sc, Agricultural 

 Superintendent. 



(Continued from page 275.) 



COUNTY FAEM BUREAUX. 



Farmers' institutes are not held in counties where there is a farm 

 adviser. Here the meetings of the County Farm Bureaux take their 

 place. 



The farm adviser county agent movement is one of the most recent 

 developments of American extension work. Judging from the brief 

 experience I have had of it, and from what I have observed in farming 

 districts, I should say that it is one of the most promising agricultural 

 movements of the time, and is destined to play a big part in developing 

 better systems of farming throughout the country. The Federal Go- 

 vernment now works in co-operation with the States, and provides half 

 the money required to pay the salaries of the farm advisers. In Cali- 

 fornia', the practice of appointing farm advisers is rather different 

 from that of the States. California requires that one-fifth of the 

 farmers of a county must join an organization known as the Farm 

 Bureau before a county adviser will be assigned to that county. 



The farmers must request that a farm adviser be stationed in the 

 county, and the Board of Supervisors (or the Local Government Board) 

 must make an appropriation of $2,000 per year to cover the office and 

 travelling expenses of the farm adviser. When these preliminaries are 

 arranged, the University appoints the adviser, and the Federal Govern- 

 ment and the University pays the adviser's salary, which usually ranges 

 from $1,500 to $2,000 per annum, and provides a motor car for travel- 

 ling. 



In each county the people who join the Farm Bureau are divided 

 into ten or twelve groups, called Farta Bureau Centres. Each of these 

 centres receives a visit from the farm adviser once a month. The local 

 groups of farmers elect a chairman, who acts as director for that 

 centre. 



The farm adviser responds to any individual calls for consultation, 

 help, or advice, the desire for which may have arisen during the month, 

 and of which the director of that particular centre has been notified. 



In the evening, the farm adviser holds a meeting. Thus there are 

 each month ten meetings in each county having a farm adviser, where 

 previously, under the system of farmers' institutes, one or two meetings 

 were held during the year. 



The directors of each farm centre meet once a month at the farm 

 adviser's office, to transact business and shape a policy for the Farm 

 Bureau. These meetings usually last two hours. Each farmer who is 

 a member of the Farm Bureau pays $1 per annum toward the organiza- 

 tion. 



I inspected the work of farm advisers in three counties — Keren, Los 

 Angeles, and San Joaquin. 



There is no doubt that the organization is doing splendid work. 



