to put over a proposition, such as purchasing better 

 seed, treating seed for smut, the more efficient com- 

 bating of hog cholera, selling Liberty Bonds, or any 

 other important matter, I call up these twenty men 

 on the telephone. Each of these in turn gets in touch 

 with a few of his neighbors and we put over our pro- 

 position." This is typical of the experience of county 

 agents in all parts of the United States. The agricul- 

 tural expert reaches a few farmers, and through these 

 few influences the many. 



A merchant in a middle western city says: "For 

 several years I have owned a farm. I hired an expert 

 from the agricultural college to put in the first field 

 of alfalfa in the neighborhood. Other farmers and 

 their sons looked on and said sarcastically, 'College 

 alfalfa.' Within three years most of my neighbors 

 had put in alfalfa, and all were exceedingly careful to 

 put it in in the same way. I was the first farmer in 

 the neighborhood to paint my fences white. Within 

 a short time most of the fences in the neighborhood 

 were painted white. I bought the first gasoline engine 

 to pump water. Within a short time gasoline engines 

 were in use on most of the farms in the neighborhood." 



The same principle of leadership applies* in mer- 

 chandising to farm as well as city families. In the 

 words of an Ohio merchant: "In normal times, when 

 I have sold a $6 hat or a $35 overcoat or a $2 tie to 

 the right farmer in a locality, I have assured the sale 

 of several more in the same neighborhood." Every 

 live retail merchant effectively uses this principle of 

 leadership. The problem of selling to six million farm 

 families is a problem of selling to the comparatively 

 small proportion of those families who are the leaders 

 in the various communities. 



Almost invariably agricultural experts and others 

 who are in direct touch with farmers estimate the 



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