174 BACKGROUND AND MEANS OF SERVICE 



EXTENT OF CLUB WORK 



The figures which follow will give some idea of the ex- 

 tent and development of the work with boys and girls in 

 the South up to the beginning of the war period in 1917. 

 The records do not show separate figures for the boys in 

 clubs until 1909, and for girls' club enrolments until 1911. 

 Nor is the number of special agents for boys' and girls' 

 work differentiated from those doing adult work until 1914 : 



GROWTH OF BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUB WORK 



(1) Agents for "boys' and girls' clubs." 



(2) Agents for "girls' clubs"; 842 other agents listed as working 

 with "adult and boys' clubs," in 1915. 



(3) Agents for "women and girls' work"; 886 other agents listed 

 as working with "adult and boys' clubs," in 1916. 



CLUB WORK IN THE NORTH AND WEST 



Boys' and girls' club work really had its inception in the 

 Middle Western States where a few district school super- 

 intendents undertook to develop the idea as early as 1900. 

 It was then primarily a contest in the growing of crops 

 and poultry. The state colleges of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana 

 and Ohio took it up a few years later and corn growing, 

 home gardening, poultry raising and milk testing by boys 

 and girls became a popular form of extension work in these 

 states. After a time, however, interest in the work waned. 



