THE DEMONSTRATION WORK 



justify the agents in giving it special attention and separate 

 definition. Quotations from all annual reports along about 

 that time trace this natural and logical evolution, as will be 

 seen from the following extract from the records of 1914 : 



"The cooperative work carried on by the Office of Farm Demon- 

 stration Work and the State Colleges of Agriculture, has, from the 

 beginning, emphasized the plan of organization which provides for 

 an efficient, devoted, county woman agent, employed for as long a 

 term as possible and instructed and supervised by the state agent. 

 This plan of personal leadership and supervision is the basis of all 

 successful work. The time of employment of the county agent has 

 increased rapidly so that many are now employed from eight to 

 twelve months in the year. The idea is a well-trained, efficient 

 woman agent in every county, employed for the entire year. Now 

 that the worth of the work has been sufficiently proved, that it cannot 

 be successfully done without close supervision all the year round, it 

 is the policy of those in charge of the work to get just as many 

 counties on this basis as possible regardless of any extension of 

 territory. In those counties, as rapidly as the Girls' Work shall 

 become established and the agent's efficiency proved, demonstration 

 work for women will be developed. It is important that this be done 

 as promptly as is consistent with thorough work so that, as funds 

 become available from the Lever Act for the salaries of women 

 agents, there shall be in existence a practical well established system 

 of Home Demonstration Work with tabulated results for enough 

 counties to be convincing as to the soundness and worth of the 

 scheme. 



The Girls' Club Work has opened the doors of the homes for 

 the agents to do demonstration work among the adult women. It 

 has been a process of evolution along natural lines. Many of the 

 county women agents are using the canned products which the girls 

 have put into the pantry, and the poultry products, which have been 

 grown by the mothers, to demonstrate simple, useful lessons in cook- 

 ing. In some counties the agents have already enrolled from 75 to 

 100 women demonstrators and each one has a home-made fireless 

 cooker. Creole chicken has been the first lesson, because in preparing 

 it both garden and poultry products are needed. Some agents have 



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