The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1916-09-07
county 5000 per year per man
employed and Of the state agri-

% SthOds employed in doing
Is yill depend largely on the
ves ojtv Of the agent and up
on T. Operation that he re-
a eeivess = the people Of the E
The agen OF supposed to
make a persoA a canvas Of the
farmers Of the county, thrusting
unasked advice upon them or
debating the policies upon
which they shall manage their
farms. He will, however, glad
" respond to calls n ade on him
for personal service or for in.
formation concerning matters
of interest to the farmers or
others relating to his work,
and he is selected as being
trained by practical experience
and technical study to be able
to supply such information or
60 know where to obtain it.
The most eff .ient means of
accomplishing thedesired agri-
cultural improvement Of any
community lies in group or
community work and is such
that an agent seeks especially
to do, but if a community or
an Individual through prejudice
takes an attitude antagonistic
to this form of development,
the agent can, no matter how
competent or desirous he may
be, do little for the improvement
of that community or indivi-
dual.
The work Of an agent as
.sumes many possible phases.
For example in Bottineau coun-
ty such activities have been
engaged in as the corn show in
1914, held through the coopera-
stion Of the farmers and the
Bottineau Commercial club;
the boys short course in agri-
culture in 1915 held through
the cooperation of the county
com missioners and commercial
club, and faculty and facilities
of the State School Of Forestry;
in 1916 the boys anto hike
and chautanqua by which It
was sought to give the farm
boys an outing as well as
some agricultural training Of
practical use; The gopher ex-
termination campaign in which
some thirty-one townships CO.
operated and nearly $500 ounces
of strychnine distributed ready
mixed for use at saving over
former methods of purchase of
some $1,000; The organization
of breeders circle. COW test
ing associations, shipping as
sociations, farmers clubs for
social and material improve
ment of the community; Com
munity demonstrations in the
rotation of crops, growing corn
and alfalfa, the giving Of in
formation to farmers, supply
ing where pure bred stock and
seeds can be obtained. the be-
ing on hand in cases Of out
breaks Of epidemics among
farm stock such as hog cholera,
black leg in cattle, anthrax and
diseases Of live stock and plants
and in being familiar with.
local conditions and in such
cases as frost to rye in 1915 to
advise as to the best method
of procedure, the ravages of
insects such as the recent at
tacks on the wheat crop by the
Saw fly or other insect pest
which local man can deal
with more inteliigently than
one from the outside Of local
conditions. The interest of
the boys and girls in contests
in corn growing, alfalfa cul-5
ture, pork prod ction, the girls
in butter maxim 6, poultry pro-
duction and mark citing and
like forms Of activities, ia fact
in fulfilling the intentions Of
the Smith Lever appropria-.
tion bill which provides aid to
each county employing an
agent to carry to the farners1
On the farm the results Of ex-'
periments and ,investigation of
the state agricultural college
and the department Of aRricul-|
tnre at ashin gton and IA no
other way can this appropria
tion be made available tn the
farmers except throuR \ some
fork of exfension 81 issverl t isI
by sncll IN That the county
aren't aeelke n h pe of Ralue to
f6e e,ui1 Z 81 y 4 here il ne iis en1ploy1
e6 Btit without the coopera-
4 ~