THE DEMONSTRATION WORK 



conspicuous object lessons in the production of good crops 

 all over his county. Perhaps he was something of an excep- 

 tion in his requirements of accuracy, exactness and thor- 

 oughness. He had some training and experience as a 

 surveyor. Whenever a man agreed to take a demonstration 

 in corn, cotton, cowpeas, vetch, clover or grass, he took his 

 compass and chain and measured off the plot. There was, 

 therefore, no question about the acreage. When the crops 

 were harvested he was just as careful in the weights and 

 measurements. He never reported that a demonstrator made 

 about fourteen or fifteen hundred pounds of seed cotton to 

 the acre. He put it 1472 pounds, the exact figures. He re- 

 ported the yield of corn in bushels and pecks and yields of 

 hay in tons and pounds. The doubters had no difficulty in 

 confirming his figures from witnesses and records. This 

 established the work in the confidence of the people. 



After this faithful agent had been on the job for several 

 years, he came to the conclusion that the development of the 

 work and the increasing demands of the farmers for more 

 scientific knowledge called for a young man with agricul- 

 tural college training. Entirely of his own accord, he asked 

 the authorities to select the best young man of this kind 

 who could be found, and then accept the resignation of the 

 old county agent. He furthermore expressed his desire to 

 have the new agent as his guest for a week or two, in order 

 that he might introduce him to the people and give him the 

 full benefit of all that had been accomplished hitherto. 



This same kind of self-sacrificing magnanimity for the 

 good of the cause has been manifested by many of the 

 pioneers who aided in establishing the demonstration work. 

 They acted for what they conceived to be the best interests 

 of their people. They rolled a great responsibility upon the 



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