AGRICULTURAL WORK IN ONTARIO 7 



in brief, to get the best results for the expenditure of labour, we 

 must get into close personal touch with them and give sympathetic 

 direction to their work. And so, in 1907, we were enabled to try 

 out the experiment of personal instruction on a comprehensive 

 scale. A Department of Agriculture located at the capital of the 

 province is necessary for direction. An Agricultural College at 

 some place convenient of access is all right; it must be located 

 somewhere and we must have such an institution for training the 

 men who are to do the teaching and directing. Experimental farms 

 are needed for trying out certain lines of work and for getting results 

 that will be of practical use. But, after many years of experi- 

 ence, we found that these were limited in their usefulness, they alone 

 would never regenerate the great mass of the farmers, they would 

 help those who wanted to be helped, who were seeking help and who 

 would get help because they appreciated the value of such assistance, 

 but the great majority of the farmers would be moved by none of 

 these things. The Department of Education also wished to inau- 

 gurate some plan of agricultural instruction in rural shools. Through 

 the united efforts of the two departments, we finally decided on the 

 plan of locating graduates of the Agricultural College in various 

 counties as teachers of agriculture and leaders in agricultural im- 

 provement. In other words, we established branch offices of our 

 department and moved the Agricultural College nearer to the farm- 

 er's home. We made it possible for our representative to go into the 

 farmer's field, his orchard, his dairy, and, what gave him greatest 

 confidence, right into his home. Further, he was a resident, not a 

 transient, and as soon as the formalities of becoming acquainted 

 were over, he won the farmer's confidence by his sincerity and his 

 ability to help. 



In 1907, the government started work in six counties; in 1910, 

 fifteen counties were provided with offices, teachers and assistants. 

 So great has been the success and so much appreciated the work that 

 the question now is how to meet the demands from other counties. 

 The men for the work are carefully selected. Their salaries are 

 provided through the Department of Education. The office ex- 

 penses, salaries of assistants and incidentals are paid through the 

 Department of Agriculture. By statute, the county council is re- 

 quired to make a grant of $500 each year towards expenses. Each 

 of the men is attached to a high school where he carries on each 

 winter a short course in agriculture varying in length from one month 

 to three months. In time, we hope to have permanent classes estab- 

 lished. Up to the present, the great work has been that which 

 has been planned at, and directed from, the central office; short 

 courses in live stock and seed judging, drainage demonstrations, 



