THE DEMONSTRATION WORK 



tinely, as a boy sometimes slips an orange into his pocket when 

 leaving a grand dinner. Such pastures make good cattle." 



Many leaders in education failed to grasp the full signifi- 

 cance and power of the demonstration method of instruction, 

 at first, because of its simplicity. 



More than 3,000 educators were in attendance at the meet- 

 ing in Lexington, Kentucky, on that bright May day in 1906, 

 when Dr. Knapp outlined the principles and procedure gov- 

 erning the work which he had inaugurated in Texas three 

 years before, and which had then spread to Louisiana, Missis- 

 sippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma, but not all of them realized its 

 meaning. He said : 



"There is only one effective way to reach and influence the 

 farming classes, and that is by object lessons." 



"The demonstration must be simple, and, at first, confined to 

 a small area. Two or three acres will give just as good a test as a 

 larger tract, and at the commencement the farmer is more likely to 

 successfully carry out a demonstration on a few acres than on his 

 entire farm. When he sees the advantage of the better methods he 

 will increase the area as rapidly as possible. Generally the farmer 

 has neither machinery nor teams to inaugurate the plan on a larger 

 scale at first." 



"The men who act as field agents must be practical farmers, 

 no use in sending a carpenter to tell a tailor how to make a coat, 

 even if he is pretty well read up on coats. The tailor won't follow. 

 The farmer must be a recognized leader, progressive, influential and 

 able to carry public opinion with him. Public opinion is brought 

 into harmony and made forceful by the support of the press and 

 the cooperation of the best farmers and the leading merchants and 

 bankers." 



"Sometimes farmers have peculiar views about agriculture. 

 They farm by the moon. Never try to disillusion them. Let them 

 believe in farming by the moon or the stars, if they will faithfully 

 try our methods. It does not pay to waste good breath on such 

 matters. Avoid discussing politics or churches. Never put on airs. 

 Be a plain man, with an abundance of good practical sense. Put 



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