No. 4.] BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUB WORK. 185 



helpers. Perhaps the most noteworthy case of this type of 

 helpfulness is the Plymouth County Trust Company of Brock- 

 ton. The board of directors of that institution authorized the 

 employment of an agricultural adviser whose work is entirely 

 among farmers and farm boys. This man works in close 

 relationship with the school superintendent of the city of 

 Brockton and other influential members of the community. 

 The boys are organized into a corporation having adults as 

 official members, with the boys as junior members. Under 

 certain regulations the boys that are in need of financial help 

 are assisted by small loans for the purchase of seed, imple- 

 ments, etc. This project savors of sound educational practice 

 as well as far-sighted business wisdom on the part of the 

 banking institution. 



Methods of conducting the Work. 

 The chief function of the college is promotion, organization 

 and correlating the efforts of field workers. This is accom- 

 plished by means of public lectures, conferences, circular letters, 

 instruction leaflets, the sending of seed packets to children and 

 personal interviews. These activities on the part of the 

 college have their counterpart in the State in the form of 

 reports from individuals, the holding of exhibits and awarding 

 prizes. These exhibits of agricultural and home economics 

 products are held under various auspices. They are nearly 

 always conducted by some responsible organization. Some- 

 times it is the local grange, sometimes the local schools. 



Lines of Work carried on. 

 The Potato Club was the original and simple enterprise of 

 the Boys' and Girls' Clubs. That was in 1908. The club was 

 limited to Hampshire County. It consisted of about 600 

 members. The first exhibit was held at Amherst under the 

 auspices of the Hampshire Agricultural Society. About $15 

 were awarded to the exhibitors in prizes. It is a far call from 

 that small beginning to the State-wide enterprise now in 

 operation. In 1909 there were 13 towns co-operating with the 

 college in the club work. In 1915 there were 315 such towns. 



