122 THE COUNTY AGENT'S SERVICES 



its producing capacity and the efficient marketing of its 

 products. To help those whose vision is limited to see the 

 larger things and generally to enlarge outlooks, is to achieve 

 real gains which are certain to yield rich accomplishments 

 in later years. It is a great art to be able correctly to 

 evaluate things; not to be overwhelmed with details which 

 only clutter up one's time, but to emphasize really impor- 

 tant things; to leave undone the unnecessary or unimpor- 

 tant, and to devote one's energies to the things that really 

 count. 



Optimism is a great asset to any public worker. He 

 must be able to see the good in things and in men. With- 

 out being blind to disagreeable facts or underestimating 

 adverse circumstances, a county agent should have the abil- 

 ity to bring out the good and the worthwhile in the folks 

 with whom he works. 



Loyalty to his work and to his employers and his asso- 

 ciates is vital. No agent should say to any one 's back that 

 which he would not say to his face. Injury to others 

 through misrepresentation or unfair or cutting remarks 

 does them a wrong and usually reacts upon the speaker. 



THE PLAY SPIRIT 



No county agent or community leader can carry on his 

 work successfully unless he is able to develop a spirit of 

 working together in the community, neighborhood and 

 county, and nothing develops such a spirit like group play. 

 Real play means laughter and fun. It means a feeling of 

 freedom from restraint. "It breaks the ice." It dispels 

 formality and stiffness and makes folks "feel at home." 

 To confine county agent activities to the serious is to ap- 

 peal only to one side of human nature and to miss a splen- 

 did opportunity to serve both the community and the work. 



