THE FARM DEMONSTRATION WORK 



conducted demonstrations on that farm for the benefit of his 

 neighbors every year since. His farming has constantly im- 

 proved and he has prospered greatly. He was a leader during 

 the world war in all of the patriotic and beneficent move- 

 ments for the benefit of his county, state and nation. Some 

 time ago he said to a Demonstration Agent : 



"I thank God that Dr. Seaman A. Knapp put the principles 

 of the demonstration into my life and work." 



It is good that this man, who was literally the first de- 

 monstrator of the great movement as now constituted through- 

 out the country, should have realized that he was furnishing 

 object lessons not solely for the benefit of himself and family, 

 but also for his neighbors. Thousands have followed in his 

 footsteps and have been actuated and inspired by the same 

 motive. It is almost superfluous to say that the bankers 

 and business men did not have to indemnify him for failure. 

 They turned that money over to Dr. Knapp to be used to 

 employ an agent to get other men to do just what he had done. 

 Other towns in east Texas were ready in 1904 to take up the 

 program which had been inaugurated in Kaufman County. 



The plan adopted by the committee at Terrell involved 

 keeping in touch with the work on the part of the large 

 number of business men and farmers who had subscribed to 

 the guarantee fund, and who accordingly made frequent 

 inspections of the farm in order to see how the work was pro- 

 gressing, a personal interest being taken in learning for them- 

 selves that the methods followed were in accordance with the 

 best agricultural practices. Mr. Porter announced, after the 

 final settlement of the operations, that he had cleared $700 

 more than he would have made under the ordinary methods 

 of farming employed in that section. It was officially re- 

 ported that there were 70 acres in the demonstrations. 



[5] 



