Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1914-06-17
Agricultural Extension Act Applied to
Vermont.


Vermont.
Vermont is interested in the pro-
visions of the Smith act which
provides for cooperative agricultural
extension work between the states and
the United States department of agri-
culture, and recent bulletin issued by
the department outlines the purpose of
the act and gives table showing the
amount that each would be eligible to
receive under the provisions thereof.
The following extract from the bulletin
gives good idea of the purpose of the
act: THE act makes available for
the next nine fiscal years an aggregate
sum of S23, 120, 900 of federal funds to
be expended in instruction and practi-
cal demonstrations in agriculture and
home economies. To obtain this total
the states must appropriate for like
purposes total of $18, 8OO,O 900 making
a grand total of SAL. 92O, 900 to be ex-
pended during the next nine fiscal years
on direct agricultural extension work.
Thereafter the federal government is
to appropriate 81, $50, 900 annually,
making total annual expenditure for
this purpose of $3.50, 900.
1.-THE purposes to which the federal
funds are to be applied are as follows !:
"That cooperative agricultural ex-
tension work shall consist of the CIV
ing Of instruction and practical demon
STATIONS in agriculture and home
economics to persons not attending in
or resident in said colleges in the
several communities, and imparting
to such persons information on said
subjects through field demonstrations,
publications and otherwise and this
work shall be carried on in such a
manner as may be mutually agreed
upon by the secretary of agriculture
and the state agricultural college or
colleges receiving the benefits of this
act. None of this money may be
applied to the purchase, erection, and
repair of any building, or the purchase
and rental of land, or any college
course teaching or lectures in colleges,
promoting agricultural trains, ETC.
Not more than five per cent of each
annual appropriation may be used in
printing or the distribution of publica-
tons; so that at least per cent must
be expended in direct extension &C.
tivities."
The act gives each state $4,000 for
each fiscal year beginning with 1914-15,
as basic fund. and then appropriates
additional federal moneys to be dis
tributed in the proportion of rural
population, to share in which addition
al funds each state must duplicate the
additional funds thus received.
Vermont is credited with a rural
population of .38 per cent of the total
rural population of the country. For
the fiscal year 1914-15. the state would
receive the initial sum of 100000, in
1856 S12, 275; in 1867, S14. ITO and
for each succeeding year the state
would receive 81, 1896 in addition to the
amount received the Immediately pre-,
ceding year. This would hold good
until 1929. when the amount re.
ceived would be S25, SAB, which would
be the annual allotment after the yea,
named. The allotment of this sum
among the several counties of the
state would aid materially in promot
ing the agricultural extension work
/ that has already been taken up il
several counties and which othe1
counties have only been waiting the
assistance which this act will provide
to undertake. If full advantage i.
taken thereof it should mean a decided
and noticeable advance to the state!
agricultural interests.