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tlie^comiriirriicatioW thaVs,re being received at Washington. There is on 

 foot an effort not merely to have the men within the several districts 

 co-operate among themselves, but to assemble them into larger units of 

 co-operation. For instance, in our own state, it has iC>nly been within two 

 months that one of our county men originated the idea of our communi- 

 cating with each other, so that each would be informed of what the other 

 had to sell and what he needed in the way of agricultural suppHes. So 

 that our work will not in the future simply relate to the individual county 

 man nor to the development of the individual county, but we will work 

 together, will help each other out. This is brand new in agriculture; its 

 significance is hard to measure. 



I say that we are just beginning to find ourselves. It is suggestions 

 of this sort that satisfy me that we are, in fact, just commencing to find 

 ourselves. And this county agent plan, which Senator Gore said yester- 

 day had extended rapidly and would be extended in the future as rapidly 

 as possible until every county in the United States had its man, is going 

 to mean a tremendous agricultural development. 



But the county agent himself is only commencing to realize his 

 opportunities; and in the natural development of his county he is going 

 to find opportunities which it is impossible to measure in their ultimate 

 outcome. 



Take my own county, for instance. It normally divides itself into: 

 (1) farm units; (2) then community units; (3) then larger marketing 

 units. We have the community unit in Bedford County topographically 

 divided into valleys and coves. Each valley and cove represents a cer- 

 tain type of soil, with possibilities varjdng from the very highest to the 

 very lowest found in Pennsylvania. 



In some of the sections, because of the topography, or on account of 

 the conditions of soil, or both, the agricultural opportunity is about as 

 poor as can be found in the state. On the other hand, some sections offer 

 quite as good an opportunity as anything that can be found within the 

 state. 



The county man, working through his county and studying it, can 

 find out these conditions; and he will also find ai;i opportunity to develop 

 each particular district along normal producing lines. 



He will find that in a certain district somebody many years ago 

 attempted to follow a line of farming that is not the best line for that 

 particular district; and others followed his example. He will find com- 

 munities in a tremendously hilly district, where the water problem is 

 difficult and grass scarce, attempting to follow dairying, whereas they 

 should be producing beef, pork and sheep. He will find other sections 

 working in a regular rotation where dairying is the very best opportunity, 



As he gets, from his travels and observations, a comprehensive view, 

 he will be possessed of information which will enable him to work out a 

 synthetic plan for the organization of the units within his county. And 



