161 



sent some samples of corn to be entered in this contest. They had in that 

 northern county two classes of com. This com won one first prize and one 

 second prize. That shows some of the things that it is possible to do. 

 The College has had some little part in the organization of boys' com 

 contests in Pennsylvania. We have not been able to accomplish as much 

 as Ohio but if all the boys engaged in such work were organized and gotten 

 together there probably would be close to 1,000 of them. The county agent 

 in Lancaster County was in touch during the year with 700 boys; Mercer 

 County had 200. So while we do not equal Ohio we are doing something 

 along that line. 



There is a great demand for speakers at agricultural meetings and 

 conferences and for judges at fairs and similar meetings. All these demands 

 are met so far as possible. 



The correspondence that goes through the Extension Department is 

 very heavy. Thousands of letters are answered yearly in reply to inquiries. 

 In a general way this covers what is being done in the Extension Depart- 

 ment. As to what may be done we have found by experience that the most 

 satisfactory way of accomplishing results is by direct contact and concen- 

 tration upon the chief problems of a community. We found that we were 

 reaching the farmers in eastern Pennsylvania to a greater extent than the 

 farmers in western Pennsylvania. In order to get around that we decided 

 to hold a Farmers' Week in western Pennsylvania. For four or five years 

 we have been holding those meetings in western Pennsylvania. Some of 

 the main problems have been persistently emphasized and practical results 

 can be seen from these meetings. There is no reason why the same thing 

 could not be accomplished in every county and in every district in the state. 



Probably the thing that offers the greatest field for development is 

 the development of the county agent work to which reference has been 

 made. Nine counties have been organized and there is a demand from 

 several additional coimties to have county agents placed there. There 

 are no funds available at the present time unless raised entirely by local 

 people. This will mean eventually that Pennsylvania will be organized 

 with agents in every county or district. It will mean that in addition 

 to the present state leader there must be district leaders who will have 

 charge of certain counties in order that the work may be properly super- 

 vised. 



All of this work involves an immense amount of labor and patience, 

 and I say the latter advisedly. I would like to strike this note here. There 

 is a great demand all over the country today for county agents. This 

 movement is not limited entirely by the lack of funds but just as much by 

 the lack of men prepared to do the work. It is easy to get men but it is 

 not easy to get men who will fit into the situation. It is unwise to put a 

 man as a county agent into a county unless he is capable of carrying that 

 work to a successful conclusion. They must be prepared to do it and it can 

 grow only as the men are prepared to do it. All this is going to require a 



