THE EVOLUTION OF THE MOVEMENT 187 



and club halls. But it has the frequent advantage of plenty 

 of good illustrative material readily at hand, in live plants 

 and animals. 



That so much of better farming methods, of better living 

 facilities and of better farm business and farm organiza- 

 tion, has been taught so many farmers by the itinerant 

 county agent in so short a time as a single decade is ample 

 evidence that he is functioning as a teacher. 



AS A "FARM ADVISER" 



The name "Farm Adviser " used in several of the states 

 to designate the county agent, is significant of the emphasis 

 put by these states on the advice phase of the county agent 's 

 work. It was evidently expected that a considerable part of 

 the agent's time would be consumed in advising individual 

 farmers, upon request, in the management of their farms. 1 

 This personal or individual service, if wisely and compe- 

 tently given, is of great importance and value to the man 

 who wants it, and almost invariably it necessarily occupies 

 a considerable portion of the county agent's time and effort. 

 However, the dangers and the cost of giving such individual 

 advice, the limited proportion of farmers in a territory of 

 from one to ten thousand farms who can be thus aided, to- 

 gether with the greater need for and the less cost of group 

 assistance, have all tended to minimize this personal service. 

 But the name "adviser" has stuck. 



It was Ben Franklin who said "we can give advice but 

 not conduct." Advice implies knowledge and deliberate 

 consideration if it is to be worth having. It is difficult for 

 a county agent or any other person to secure all the requi- 

 site information about a particular farm or farmer to give 

 very valuable advice. Nor can he be sure that his advice, 

 if given, will be correctly interpreted and followed. The 



