112 THE COUNTY AGENT'S SERVICES 



great as if well organized and coordinated. So that even 

 personal contacts need to be made with a definite worth- 

 while purpose in view. Personal contacts so organized that 

 they contribute toward a useful end are often the best 

 investment of time and effort. 



In all public work the personal contact is a limiting fac- 

 tor. Public men too often fail to understand problems un- 

 less they are able to talk with the average man in the street 

 about them and to get his opinions and reactions. The 

 public frequently misconstrues or misinterprets what a 

 public man says because it does not know him personally 

 and therefore does not understand his normal reactions. 

 Such personal contact between leaders and individuals 

 typical of the public or mass are always desirable to the 

 degree necessary to be able to understand and interpret cor- 

 rectly. Personal contact is essential to effective leadership. 



The county agent should always keep his personal con- 

 tacts at the maximum consistent with the efficient use of 

 his time. But circumstances will in the majority of cases 

 inevitably compel the supplementing of the direct personal 

 contact method by some other method, because a sufficiently 

 large number of people cannot otherwise be reached. 

 Probably the best substitute for an individual personal con- 

 tact is the small demonstration or lecture in which there is 

 opportunity for questions. This is an approximation of 

 the ideal personal contact. Correspondence through the 

 personal letter may make a very good substitute, but this 

 depends to a great extent on the writer. As a rule cir- 

 cular letters necessarily lack personality. 



CONTACTS IN THE OFFICE 



Nine hundred and seven farmers called at a county 

 agent's office in the North and West yearly on the average 



