402 AGRICULTURE 



and fitted to advise .and direct the girls and women in all 

 matters relating to the making of better homes. Several hun- 

 dred women agents are now at work in as many counties. 



Organization of the county work. The county agents 

 live in the county and are supplied with an office where 

 they may be consulted. They usually are furnished with 

 some means of transportation so that they may travel about 

 the county, from farm to farm and from school to school. 

 In this way the county agents carry to the very door of the 

 farm home and the public school the services of specialists. 

 They are able to bring to those who can not go to college 

 the help, advice and leadership of the best scientific inves- 

 tigators, and really make the farms a part of the campus, 

 class rooms and laboratories of the agricultural college and 

 demonstration centers of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Character of help rendered. The work of the county 

 agents is calculated to increase the profits of farming, and' 

 the comforts and efficiency of the farm home ; to aid in con- 

 serving and building up the soil ; and to encourage the ad- 

 vancement of community education and social interests. 

 Like the physician or surgeon, the county agents are to be 

 called when advice, treatment or preventative measures are 

 needed. They plan for a system of demonstrations to show 

 the best methods of managing the soil, preparing the seed 

 bed, selecting and caring for seed, management and care 

 of farm animals, organization and care of gardens and 

 orchards, and the handling and conservation of farm build- 

 ings and machinery. 



If a herd is stricken with tuberculosis, the hogs with 

 cholera, or the corn-field with cutworms, the county agent 

 should be notified and his help secured. If he is not able 

 directly to give information and aid he will know where 

 to secure assistance on short notice. In like manner the 



