Introduction 



By Hon. A. F. Lever 



In the following pages the author discusses graphically 

 one of the most interesting and unique phases of educational 

 development which has taken place in this century. The idea 

 of teaching agriculture by the itinerant demonstration method 

 in this country first attracted the attention of forward-looking 

 thinkers about two decades ago. The present system of ex- 

 tension teaching as developed under the provisions of the 

 Lever Act represents the inevitable conclusion of legislative 

 endeavor in aid of agricultural education. It is predicated 

 upon the thought that what is good for a limited few should 

 be equally valuable to all people — men and women, boys and 

 girls, either in college or university, or upon the farm. It 

 seeks and has accomplished remarkably well the democratiza- 

 tion of our system of agricultural education. 



Like most great thoughts the method developed out of 

 necessity. The inroads of the boll weevil into the cotton 

 fields of Texas threatened the cotton industry. The situation 

 presented a world problem. The best minds of the country 

 concentrated their efforts to discover a means of defense. 

 Out of all the thinking the only solution discovered was good 

 farming. Logically, the next step was easy. If good farm- 

 ing is the best defense against ravishes of the most destructive 

 of cotton pests, good farming might likewise and should solve 

 the problems of rural life in its broader aspects. This line of 



