208 BACKGROUND AND MEANS OF SERVICE 



in each state. Under both federal and state laws the gen- 

 eral supervision of the work of the county agents is vested 

 in the colleges. This in turn is now delegated to the county 

 agent leaders, who report to the state director of extension 

 and through him to the Department of Agriculture. 



Further, by agreement with the county associations co- 

 operating written or implied the supervision of all the 

 field and the office work of the agents, including means 

 and methods of carrying out policies and programs mu- 

 tually agreed upon, and the correlation and systematization 

 of projects and reports, together with the general conduct 

 of the work in the counties, is placed in the charge of these 

 county agent leaders in each state. They meet county 

 executive and advisory committees to determine upon plans 

 of work and to advise with them on problems that may 

 come up inspect county offices and field work and receive 

 monthly or quarterly reports from the agents. There are 

 usually separate state leaders for home demonstration 

 agents and for boys* and girls' club or junior extension 

 agents, as these three fields are somewhat differentiated in 

 activities. Their work is correlated by the state extension 

 director to whom all report. 



THE PRESENT STATUS 



With the passage of the Smith-Lever Extension Act, the 

 number of county agricultural agents increased rapidly. 

 On July 1, 1914, there were nine hundred and twenty-eight 

 counties with agricultural agents; on July 1, 1921, eight 

 years later, the number had increased to two thousand and 

 forty-six counties. This means an agent in more than two- 

 thirds of the three thousand and eleven counties, not all of 

 which are agricultural, in the United States. 



The home demonstration work which began later has 



