176 



DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



total output of a community. In the case of one county in Virginia where 

 particularly the rough records have been kept, this output was more than 

 doubled. The farmers found that with a market always and readily acces- 

 sible to them, it paid to work the land to its maximum production. 



This explains the very remarkable rise in farm land values which 

 nearly always accompanies road improvement. The rise is not fictitious, 

 or of no benefit to the man who wishes to farm and not to sell. The land 

 is more valuable because it can profitably be made to produce more. In 

 other words, the money that goes into the road comes back with interest 

 from the land. 



There is no phase of the road problem more important than that of 

 maintenance. The general impression that there are certain types of roads 

 that are permanent is erroneous. No permanent road has ever been con- 

 structed or ever will be, according to the road specialists of the United 

 States Department o f Agriculture. The only things about a road that may 

 be considered permanent are the grading, culverts, and bridges. Roads 

 constructed by the most skillful highway engineers will soon be destroyed 

 by the traffic, frost, rain, and wind, unless they are properly maintained. 

 But the life of these roads may be prolonged by systematic maintenance. 

 A poor road will not only be improved by proper maintenance, but may 

 become better in time than a good road without it. 



CHAIRMAN WALKER: 



We have one more address on our program, and this will be an illus- 

 trated lecture by Edward C. Johnson, Superintendent of Institutes and 

 Demonstrations, of the Kansas Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas. 



Address of Mr. Johnson 

 THE AGRICULTURAL DEMONSTRATION MOVEMENT 



The demonstration movement is the most' recent development in the 

 field of agricultural education. 



It has been preceded by the oldtime farmers meetings and farmers 

 institutes where agricultural subjects were discussed in lectures and ex- 

 hortation in public meetings. The modern farmers institute organizations 

 where communities band themselves together in permanent associations 

 for educational purposes, these associations being addressed not only by 

 representatives of agricultural colleges, but by local speakers drawing 

 upon the results of practical farm experience, early training, or home 

 study, and so-called "movable schools," or "short courses," have been its 

 more immediate predecessors. Lectures and addresses about agriculture 

 have been and are powerful agencies for the promotion of sound agriculture, 

 but the need for illustration and demonstration has become more and more 

 evident. 



The demonstration movement, therefore, where the field, farm, and 

 home serve as the laboratory is the natural result. Its advent was fore- 

 shadowed in the earlier institute work where the man with the greatest 



