THE DEMONSTRATION WORK 



through occasional visits and correspondence, the loss would 

 be immense. Many states have more than fifty counties each 

 and quite a large number have more than a hundred. In all 

 such states county agents might be doing very poor work and 

 the state supervising staff not get on to it until much damage 

 had been done. 



As drill masters and orderly sergeants the district 

 agents are indispensable. They multiply the usefulness of 

 the county agents and all co-operating folks. They are the 

 universal joints which connect up the different vital parts 

 and make the machinery operate smoothly and effectively. 

 They are the governors on the engine which regulate the 

 speed and prevent lost motion. 



It has been said many times that the county agent should 

 be an optimist in order to dispense good cheer and brighten 

 the hopes of people who may be prone to complain and 

 grouch. Some farmers form the habit of nursing the blues. 

 Certainly no man or woman, who is a pessimist, should ever 

 be appointed, or retained, as a district agent. Such a person 

 can spread gloom over too many square miles in that posi- 

 tion. By the same token, a radiant, hopeful district agent 

 can send out all the county agents in his territory on mis- 

 sions of persistent, hopeful service every month. 



The state agent is next in line in the scheme of admin- 

 istration and supervision. There may be assistant state 

 agents, who share the duties and work of the state agent. 

 In some states, too, the director takes the place of the state 

 agent in the men's division, but usually he is the general 

 supervisor, for the college, of all the extension activities of 

 the institution. He is the dean of the field activities and 

 looks after faculty and college relationships. As a rule, he 

 is an active field captain himself and is the exponent of the 



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