76 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [17:2— Feb., 1921 



The county agent, the home economics agent, and the boys' and 

 girls' club agent are excellent means for carrying the wealth of 

 information of the Department of Agriculture to the farmers' entire 

 family. There are many instances in which even these agents 

 cannot impart the information they have at hand to the people 

 most needing it. As they have recourse to the child, the child in 

 such cases becomes the carrier. Instead of teaching nature-study 

 as such, they call the children together and show them a plan 

 whereby they can work together on any one of many boys' and 

 girls' club projects. 



Children have faith in teachers and other persons who appear 

 to have information, and generally are very glad to start a project. 

 The follow-up system of instruction by letters from the colleges and 

 by visits from the county agents, coupled with the wholesome spirit 

 of competition with the other boys and girls in the clubs is rewarded 

 with completion of project and of report by a third or more of the 

 enrollment and the knowledge that the instructions have favorably 

 influenced probably all the enrollment and some parents or neigh- 

 bors of each one. Where precepts fail with the elders, the children 

 are most useful in their example, the successful results of which so 

 often put to shame the indifferent results obtained by the elders. 



A case is reported from the southwest in which one of the com 

 club boys produced 45 bushels of com on one acre and showed a 

 good report on his work. His case was specially considered 

 because he had such a small yield. The father explained that he 

 knew the boy would not do any good in the project, so he let him 

 use a comer that never was any good. When asked what the 

 yield was on the better part of the farm, the father acknowledged 

 that he produced only 20 bushels per acre! 



In eastern Indiana, in 19 15, a certain small boy in knee breeches 

 piloted the writer to a tract of land reported to be infested with 

 insects, a part of which land belonged to his father. This boy was 

 in the boys' corn-growing contest and two years in succession had 

 won a week's free trip to Washington, D. C, each time with a 

 purse of $50 in cash. The lad tendered the second trip to the next 

 boy in the contest. These contests called for the growing of five 

 acres of com, one measured acre of which was chosen for the 

 judges, the whole procedure being under the observation of the 

 county agent. The first year this lad produced 119 bushels of com 

 to the acre, the second year, 1 26 bushels. The prospects were very 

 fair that he would win the third year. The father used no fertilizer 



