Initially each participating 
State received $2,000 to aid 
in distributing seedlings to 
farmers. A number of 
Southern States were able to 
start small nurseries and 
begin distributing seedlings. 
Southern nurseries had an 
advantage over nurseries 
elsewhere in the Nation in 
that seedlings could be 
produced in 1 year, with the 
exception of white pine and 
a few other species of limited 
interest. State nurseries 
slowly increased production 
until the Civilian Conservation 
Corps moved in to help with 
the construction and 
operation of nurseries and 
tree planting (Zimmerman 
1976). 
Section 5 of Clarke-McNary 
provided for cooperation 
with the States in advising 
and assisting farmers in the 
establishment and 
management of their 
woodlots, shelterbelts, and 
other forest growth. The 
Smith —Lever Act of 1914, 
which permitted large-scale 
Federal— State cooperation 
in agricultural extension, also 
provided the means to 
encourage farm forestry. 
Several of the Southern 
States had appointed 
extension foresters and had 
educational and extension 
programs under way. In 
some States, such as South 
Carolina and Arkansas, the 
Extension Forester predated 
the State forestry organization 
and worked for the passage 
of the State forestry law. But 
Clarke-McNary was the first 
Federal boost for the 
extension forestry programs. 
The Forest Service had long 
had an interest in farm 
forestry; Wilbur R. Mattoon 
was appointed as the first 
Extension Forester by Chief 
Graves in 1912. When the 
USDA established the States 
Relations Service, Mattoon 
became its forestry extension 
specialist. Unfortunately, 
competition developed 
between the State forestry 
departments and the 
Extension Service to 
implement similar programs. 
The Secretary of Agriculture 
issued a memorandum in 
1925 dividing the 
responsibility between the 
Forest Service and the 
Extension Service at the 
national level. But the old 
jurisdictional squabble 
continued until recent years 
in some States (Robbins 
1985). 
35 
