408 Twenty-First Biennial, Eepoet 



MUHLENBEEa COUNTY. 



Possibly the first thing that I did after my appoiat- 

 ment as County Agent, was to get the farmers in a cer- 

 tain community together, where there was no postoffice 

 within 8 miles, and ask through petition the Post Office 

 Department at Washington to establish a rural delivery, 

 or start a route through this section (some of the men 

 at this meeting said that they had to go ten miles to 

 get their mail). Within a very short time, possibly four 

 months, these same men had their mail delivered at 

 their door daily, where before they got mail twice a 

 month, and occasionally once a week. 



At this time there was only one mail route out of 

 Greenville, today there are five. I have assisted the 

 farmers in securing all of them, and one hundred and 

 twenty to one hundred and fifty-three farmers are served 

 with mail daily on each of these routes. 



I had last year five farmers who grew, under my 

 direction, more than one hundred bushels of com per 

 acre. 



We established three fields of sweet clover, the first 

 ever sewn in this county. There has been purchased 

 through my influence twenty-three registered cattle, six- 

 teen bulls and seven heifers ; twelve registered hogs have 

 been bought at the same time, through my influence. 



I have organized or assisted in organizing two farm- 

 ers' telephone companies, and one hundred and sixty-one 

 farmers are now getting telephone seiTdce because of 

 these organizations. 



There have been many fields cleared of stumps by 

 use of dynamite, through my influence (136 big stumps 

 in one field). Built 9 silos, four in 1914 and five in 1915. 

 Dug one public ditch, three and one-sixth miles long; 

 drew plans for and helped locate five stock bams for 

 farmers. I have organized six Farmers' Clubs in vari- 

 ous parts of the county, the members of which now buy 

 their fertilizers in car lots (co-operatively) ; one club 

 bought one car of field fence at something like 75% of 

 retail price. 



I helped three farmers this year repair their old 

 grain binders (which had been set aside as no good) ; 



