398 TwENTY-FiKST Biennial Report 



garded by our substantial citizenship as men "broken 

 down" in their particular lines. We are trying to grow 

 into an organization, instead of going into one. 



E. S. Kegley, 

 County Agent. 



LAUEEL COUNTY. 



On the morning of March 24, 1915, I began the work 

 as official County Agent of Laurel county, Kentucky. 

 The county was fortunate in getting an agent who had 

 never been spoiled in the work, and the agent was for- 

 tunate in getting a county who knew nothing of the rubs 

 of the county agent's harness. Here a stranger, among 

 strangers, a man in a new work, beginning a new work 

 to the county, I took up my duties as county agent. To 

 begin with, I was kept rather busy answering all kinds 

 of questions, some, I think, for the sake of curiosity, 

 and a little test of my farm knowledge ; others I noticed 

 were actually followed up, proving that they were asked 

 for the information. The Superintendent of Public 

 Schools, Mr. J. M. Peltner, had advised the farmers to 

 use clover and acid phosphate, which, in answer to in- 

 quiries, was heartily endorsed by me, and as a result 

 within a few weeks' time four carloads of acid phos- 

 phate, and three of ground limestone (as a starter of 

 clover) were distributed among the fanners. The cost 

 of acid phosphate was reduced from $21 to $15 per ton, 

 the limestone cost us $1.60 delivered. 



I found that fruit tree pruning was not a common 

 practice, and that spraying was a lesson yet to be learned ; 

 so I started over the county giving pruning demonstra- 

 tions, telling of the value of spraying, and the possi- 

 bilities of fruit grown under such conditions as nature 

 had blessed us with. As a result of my talks six men 

 were persuaded to spray their trees. At the county fair 

 I overheard the remark by .different people concerning 

 a certain display of apples : ' ' Those apples never grew 

 in Laurel county." I went to the clerk and asked who, 

 the apples belonged to, and I found that they were 

 grown by Chas, Pierce, one of the men who had sprayed 

 his trees in the spring. A few weeks ago I visited an- 

 other one of the men, and he said to me : "Morgan, the 



