130 FARM SPIES 



if they were laughing, and Joe, paying no further 

 attention to them, started for the home of George 

 Elliott, the farm demonstration agent, and told 

 him the trouble. Joe knew that Sam and Bill did 

 not think very highly of the demonstration agent, 

 " Because," they said, "that fellow is too young to 

 tell us old farmers anything. We knew him when he 

 was a little shaver going to the old field school down 

 by the crossroads. He has lived here all the time, 

 except for a short time when he was to what people 

 call college. No, siree, Georgie has to wait a while 

 before he can teach us anything about farming." 



Joe knew that the demonstration agent did not 

 presume to know everything, but he said to himself, 

 "He always has a way of finding out when he does 

 not know." 



The farm demonstrator went to the fields and 

 examined the cotton and said, "I do not know what 

 the trouble is, Joe, but I will send some of those 

 plants to the State agent at the agricultural college, 

 who will have one of the experts examine it." 



Some of the older men who heard what the demon- 

 strator said looked at each other with a wise smile 

 and remarked, "Didn't I tell you; that demon- 

 strator does not know. He planted by the dark of 

 the moon ; that is the trouble, ahem ! " 



Mr. Elliott wrote his letter and sent the plants, and 

 a few days later he received a report that the plants 



