can be obtained at a nominal price from the State forester; the 

 planting of these lands need not prove burdensome to the farmers, 

 and the returns will justify the efforts. 



Accordingly a plan was worked out both psychologically and 

 chronologically, to the end that local leaders might first be 

 selected from among the farmers to help carry the program forward. 

 In June a big county-wide meeting was held, which with the accom- 

 panying publicity brought the situation and its solution before 

 the people. This has been followed with fair exhibits, guessing 

 contests, essay contests, all of news value and therefore all 

 receiving attention in the press. Meanwhile the efforts of the 

 farmers who are project leaders are gathering momentum to the end 

 that many farmers may sign orders for trees and agree to plant. 

 The trees will be furnished at the regular price by the State 

 forester. Instructions in planting will be given at meetings dur- 

 ing the winter, bulletins will be distributed, and at the begin- 

 ning of the planting season a few planting demonstrations will 

 be held. Thereafter, the farmers will do their own planting. 



As soon as the planting season of 1327 is completed, work 

 will be started looking toward effective action in the spring of 

 1928. These efforts may continue for several years, or until the 

 county agent and the forester are convinced that forest planting 

 is an established practice, so that they may turn their atten- 

 tion to other more pressing problems. 



A conspicuous feature of this plan is the leadership which 

 is developed among local people, the responsibility which rests 

 upon the county agent, and the apparently inconspicuous part play- 

 ed by the extension forester. As a matter of fact, he is there 

 in the important capacity of thinker, planner, campaign manager, 

 and subject-matter specialist. Without him the plan could never 

 proceed, but he is there as a catalyzer rather than a crutch. In 

 this way the extension forester is taking himself out of the realm 

 of an agent, or one who performs a service for some one else, and 

 assuming more and more the role of a teacher. 



I have touched a few of the high spots of extension work 

 as it is developing in the several States. It would have been 

 equally pertinent had I described the plan by which a county in 

 Iowa is getting farmers to plant windbreaks and shelter belts, or 

 the one in Maine where instruction in timber estimating is being 

 given to help farmers to be more nearly "woods-minded." But they 

 all follow along the principle of our desire to get the landowners 

 to follow the practices which we as foresters feel justified in 

 recommending. 



The way of the extension forester is not smooth, and all 

 of his carefully laid plans do not work out. The success of any 

 extension program is dependent upon the concerted action of many 

 minds, but I am sure that the results cited in this paper justify 

 the efforts. Forestry extension has already had a decided in- 

 fluence upon the practice of forestry on. private lands, and as the 

 technique of working through the extension organization develops 

 the influence will be increasingly more satisfactory. 



2766 _4- 



