Evening star., 1915-09-19

A$IlCulCuT0l Lever act Tor co-Opera-
Ex+.,.;.. tive agricultural extern
sion work by the fed
eral government and the states than
| even many of its far-seeing citizens at
| first realized.
On July 1 the s48O.000 that had
been divided equally among the forty
eight states the previous year to start
the work was Increased to $1,o8o,oo0
for the second years installment The
additional 100000, however. was dis
| tributed in proportion to the rural pop
| ulations Of the various states, and any
states portion was made available to
1t only on condition that it provided
| an equal amount. There was some
| question when the legislation was en-
acted in 1914 whether all Of the states
would contribute their shares when
this first became necessary in July,
1915, but the necessary amounts were
not only equaled but greatly exceed
ed. Whereas under the Smith-Lever
act it was necessary for S1.6s0.O00 to
be available for the year 1915-1916, as
a matter of fact there is nearly $5.ooo,-
600 on hand.
OF this the federal government con-
tributed the $1,080.O0 of Smith-Lever
appropriations and 100000 in Depart
ment of Agriculture appropriations ap-
| states provided the necessary s6O0,oOO
and 100000 additional. Counties do
mated 100000, colleges $360,000 and
other agencies 100000.
The fact that there was made up out
side Of the federal appropriations over
two and half million dollars more
than necessary to meet the federal
funds leads officials to believe that the
successful expansion Of the work IS
assured. This expansion is marked out
by the act to take place by 1923. after
which time the annual federal appro-
priations will he s4,5s0.000 and the
annual contributions from other sources
must be $4,100.o0o. Agricultural ON
already made that the available fund
then will be much greater than SS.6SO.-
900. the sum of these two items.
The great Importance of the large
scale extension activities mas peen EN-. I'm.
phasized by economists throughout the
country, and Secretary Houston OF tne
Agricultural Department has referred
to 1t as in the aggregate the largest
and "in many respects the most slenln-
tcant piece of educational work that any
nation has ever undertaken.
BY legislative enactment the work
must be restricted to instruction and
demonstration in agriculture and nome
economics to persons not attending col
leges. To carry out this intent prac-
tically all of the money expended has
gone for the employment of men to
demonstrate improved farm methods IN
the field, and to a less extent for Wom-
demonstrations in home economics.
which will include such vital matters
as child welfare. the handling OF food.
water supply. sewage disposal, santa
tion and hygiene, household equipment
and management and the use of labor
| saving devices. This is one Of the
phases of the work that it has been
found possible to extend since the re-
cent augmentation of funds Another
line of work that is being developed re-
lates to the instruction of farmers not
only in crop production. but also in
farm management and accounting. mar
keting and the purchasing of Supplies.
County agents. the chief factors in the
are now employed in slightly more than
half of the approximately 1000 agri-
cultural counties of the United States.
while woman county agents number
only few hundred. With each addi-
tional annual installment of $4,000
however, other men and women will be
placed in this work, the aim being to
have at least man agent and perhaps
man and a woman engaged in the ex-
| tension work in every agricultural
county. When this point is reached,
| statesmen and agricultural experts be-
lieve, the country will have progressed
| a long way toward the solution of the
many stubborn problems of rural life
1
ton Will be placed on a basis that will
| compare favorab1y with that of the
highly organized agricultural countries
| Of Europe.
The bureau of standards of the Depa rt-
ment Of Commerce has recently assumed
new function-that of
"M0laSSeS ''rnolasses umpire" This
yr., action has paved the way.
oMpiie' it is believed, for the
| much freer entrance into this country of
so-cal1ed Cuban molasses. the use of which
for such varied purposes as road making,
distlling and cattle feeding is growing
| rapidly.
| The necessity for the services of
referee arises from the fact that the ac-
cepted basis of payment for the substance
is not. the weight or volume of molasses,
but the percentage of sugar contained
Heretofore it has been difficult for i'm
porter and purchaser to agree as to sugar
determination, but since the bureau of
standards made it's recent pioneer molasses
analysis on application of distiiling
company, several other applications have
come to 1t, and have been acted upon to
the satisfaction of all parties The action
| Of the bureau of standards is pleasing
to the customs service, since the molasses
pays an ad valorem rate of 20 per cent,
| and the only drawback to its becoming
a paying item among imports has been the
unsatisfactory method Of determining its
richness in sugar by commercial chemists
| The Cuban molasses is a coarse by
product from the manufacture of sugar.
and though now coming to be recognized
as Of increasing value, it was dumped
| into the sea a few years ago to get 1t
out OF the way. More and more Of the
| molasses is finding it's way into manufac-
| tured stock foods. and Is found to be an
excellent fat producer In road making
the heavy molasses residue is used as
| binder for crushed stone and gravel, and
under some conditions has proved salts
| factory substitute for oils.
Nearly every year. before the atten-
ton of the world became centered on
war. saw the appearance of
potato several articles and books
from the pens of European
"aste. observers. depicting in Ian
euage varying from solicitude to scorn
| the tremendous wastefulness of Amer
| leans. While in most European coun-
| tries, 1t was pointed out, high degree
| of efficiency had been attained. In this
country billions of dollars in the ag-
aresate were thrown away yearly In
practically all activities from agricul-
ture to government.