>s”Z-' w/ Volume XVI rrrrfTz % H i he Va Ohio State University Bulletin Agricultural Extension Work luly I 9 M Published by the University 'at Columbus Entered as second-class matter November 17, 1905, at the post- affice at Columbus, Ohio, under Act of Congress, July 16, 1894. Making u c e of the Farmers’ and Home Makers’ Reading Course bulletins. Agricultural Extension Work Introductory Statement This bulletin has been prepared to give information concerning the different forms of agricultural extension work conducted by the College of Agriculture of the Ohio State University at Colum- bus. Applications for any of these forms of extension work and correspondence regarding them should be addressed to A. B. Gra- ham, Superintendent of Agricultural Extension, College of Agri- culture, Columbus, Ohio. THE LAW RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORK Sec. 7973. The College of Agriculture and Domestic Science of the University shall arrange for the extension of its teachings throughout the state, and hold schools in which instruction shall be given in soil fertility, stock raising, crop production, dairying, horticulture, domestic science, and kindred subjects. No such school shall exceed one week in length, and not more than one be held in any one county during a year. Sec. 7974. In addition to the holding of such schools, such college shall give instruction and demonstration in various lines of agriculture, at agricultural fairs, institutes, granges, clubs, or in connection with any other organizations that, in its judgment, may be useful in extending agricultural knowledge. The work in extension may also include instruction by mail in agricultural and mechanical arts, and the publication of bulletins designed to carry the benefits of its teaching to communities remote from the col- lege. Any common carrier is authorized and empowered to carry the persons employed and the equipment and exhibits used in such instruction and demonstrations, free or at reduced rates. Forms of Agricultural Extension Work In order to carry the teachings of the College of Agriculture to the people of rural communities and to others interested in agri- cultural industries, the following kinds of extension work have been conducted during the past year and will be arranged for more extensively during the coming year : Agricultural Extension Schools. Demonstrations in Spraying Eruit Trees. Pruning. Mixing of Commercial Fertilizers. Field Meetings. Agricultural Trains. Fair Exhibits. 3 Bulletins : The Agricultural College Extension Bulletin. Home Makers’ Reading Course Bulletin. Farmers’ Reading Course Bulletin. Identifications. Suggestions for Agricultural Work in the Rural Schools. Personal Visits to Agriculturists. Lectures at Institutes, Granges, Clubs and Other Organizations. AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SCHOOLS In the Agricultural Extension Schools four courses will be offered. One combination may be selected from the four follow- ing : An Agricultural Extension School in which apparatus used during a soil fertility lecture is shown. Learning to mix a little of the Why with much of the Hew. These men have farmed for years. (1) Soil Fertility, Farm Crops, and Live Stock. (2) Soil Fertility, Farm Crops, and Dairying. (3) Soil Fertility, Farm Crops, and Horticulture. (4) Soil Fertility, Horticulture, and Dairying. Soil Fertility: This course will consist of a discussion of the principles under- lying the maintenance of soil fertility, including such subjects as food requirements of plants, the use and effect of tillage, drain- age, manures, fertilizers, lime, etc. Farm Crops: This course will consist of a study of cereals and crop rota- tions. Practice work will be given in grain judging and seed selection. Live Stock: The work in this subject wHl take up a discussion of the types of farm animals and feeding and breeding of live stock. Practical instruction will be given in stock judging. Dairying : This course will include instruction in the principles of dairy- ing, feeding and breeding of dairy cattle, barn sanitation, and the care of milk. Horticulture: The work of this course will consist of instruction in the principles of fruit and vegetable growing, and will include culti- vation, pruning, spraying and marketing of horticultural crops. A fifth course for Home Makers will be given in the Agri- cultural Extension Schools. This course will include instruction in the selection and preparation of foods, sanitation, decoration, and other subjects of importance to the household. Practical demon- strations in food selection and preparation will be given. University Rules Rules to Govern the Holding of “Agricultural Extension Schools,” Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Ohio State University, April 8, 1909, and amended July 18, 1910. 1. Schools shall be held at points designated by the Board of Trustees of the Ohio State University on the recommenda- tion of the Faculty of the Agricultural College. 2. Satisfactory rooms for instruction and demonstration shall be provided and properly cared for and the expenses for rent, heat, light, and janitor service for them, and all other local 5 expenses, including the lodging and boarding of all in- structors and other persons assisting them shall be borne by the community in which the school is held. 3. Applications for schools shall be made on a blank form fur- nished by the College of Agriculture and signed by not less than twenty-five persons who shall pledge their support and guarantee any deficiency that may arise in the local expenses of the school. 4. When applications are granted, a local organization shall be perfected which, in co-operation with the Superintendent of Agricultural Extension, shall have charge of all local ar- rangements for holding the school. A SCHOOL FOR HOME-MAKERS. It is assumed that the women can cook, etc. They are learning more of Why that they may know the better How. Applications Applications for schools shall be made on a blank form fur- nished by the Superintendent of Agricultural Extension and signed by not less than twenty-five persons as provided in the rules above. The applications for schools should be on file with the Superintendent of Agricultural Extension by July 1, as the schedule of schools that will be held the following season will be made as soon after that date as possible. Any applications that may be made after July 1 will only be considered after the ones previously filed have been disposed of. 6 Applicants are requested to give as definite information as possible upon the application blank in regard to the rooms that will be available for holding the school. Applications for demonstrations in spraying fruit trees, prun- ing, mixing of commercial fertilizers shall be signed by at least five persons. Blank forms for applications for demonstrations can be secured upon request. Local Organization The object of forming a local organization is to secure satis- factory rooms for instruction and demonstration, to properly ad- Township h : gh school teachers learning to judge dairy cattle under the direction of an instructor from the Extension Department. vertise the school, and to solicit the attendance of persons who may be benefited ; that appropriate committees may be organ- ized and that means may be devised for raising a fund to defray the local expenses. It is suggested that the following committees be appointed : (1) Finance and Local Arrangement. i (2) Membership and Advertising. (3) Demonstration Material. The Committee on Finance and Local Arrangement should secure rooms (one for the Agricultural School, one for the Home Makers’ School, and such other rooms as may be necessary for demonstration material, such as cereals and live stock) and see that they are properly heated, seated and lighted ; further, that tables, trestles, etc., are furnished and that the rooms are prop- erly cared for by a janitor during the week of the school. The Committee on Membership and Advertising should look after printing and the securing of members for the school. It is suggested that this committee be made up of sub-committees ap- pointed to represent the townships and villages of the entire county or of the townships and villages within a radius of ten or fifteen miles of the place at which the school is to be held. If a Home Makers’ School is arranged for, a number of women should be appointed on these sub-committees. The Committee on Mem- bership and Advertising will be furnished with blank membership cards and with material and suggestions for thoroughly advertising the school. The Committee on Demonstration Material should secure live stock, samples of cereals and such other material as may be re- quested for use in judging. They should also furnish other mate- rial necessary for demonstration purposes. If a Home Makers’ Course is to be given, at least one woman should be on the Com- mittee on Demonstration Material. For the Home Makers’ School it will be necessary to furnish a cook stove (gasoline or gas, with oven), two kitchen tables, and a small quantity of groceries to be arranged for the first day of the school. The Board of Trus- tees of the Ohio State University recommends the following: That each prospective member of the school pay to the treas- urer of the local organization a membership fee of one dollar ($1.00), the money thus raised to be used for defraying local ex- penses; that no school be held where fewer than fifty member- ship fees have been paid by bona-fide members ; and that the receipted membership cards be filed with the Agricultural Ex- tension Department ten days before the opening of the school. It is suggested that after the local expenses of the school have been paid, the balance on hand be returned pro rata to those who have paid weekly membership fees. An Agricultural Extension School should not be conducted with a view to financing some other organization or meeting which follows it. No part of the fee suggested goes to pay for the services of any instructor; its use should be only to defray the local expenses of the school. Expenses The following items of local expense will need to be provided for : Hotel expenses for all instructors and assistants from the Col- lege of Agriculture for the week during which the Agricultural 8 Extension School is held. Where an Agricultural School and a Home Makers’ School are arranged for, there will usually be four men and two women. It may be necessary to have from one to three additional assistants. This department believes that it should expect the best accommodations that the prospective financial con- ditions of the school will warrant. Rent of an assembly room for the Agricultural School and Learning to judge live stock at an open grange meeting under the direction of in- structors from the Extension Department. one for the Home Makers’ School, provided the last named school is arranged for, and other comfortable quarters in which live stock is to be judged, and for heat, light, and janitor service for the same. The Agricultural Extension Department pays the railroad fare and the salary of instructors. These two items need not be con- sidered by the local committee. Hack fare, livery, and baggage transfer from the railway station to the point where the school is held and return are items of local expense to be cared for by the school. Schedule The sessions will begin at 8:30 a. m. and close at 3:30 p. m. standard time, unless there is some local reason for opening or closing earlier or later. Each period for instruction will be fifty-five minutes in length.. Five minutes intermission will be given between periods. An intermission of one hour will be given at noon. The sessions will open promptly at 8:30 a. m. and 12:30 p. m. and close at 11:30 a. m. and 3 :30 p. m. Since the opening and closing times are on regular school hours they can easily be kept in mind. OPEN GRANGE MEETINGS In the fall before the Agricultural Extension Schools open, and in the spring after they have closed, some of the instructors from this Department may be secured by grange organizations for the discussion of agricultural and domestic science topics before open meetings. These instructors will visit farms, dairies, orchards, etc., in the community in which the grange is located and give advice and answer questions on drainage, fertilizers, cul- tivation, pruning and spraying, crop rotation, etc. The meetings must be open to the general public. The Department will pay for the services and the railroad fare of the instructors; those served will be expected to take care of the local expenses. Instructors will be sent to as many of these open grange meetings as funds will permit. DEMONSTRATIONS A demonstration that very closely follows or that accompanies instruction oftentimes makes clear what would otherwise take many pages of printed material or much time for oral explanation. The Department of Agricultural Extension is prepared to make demonstrations in the spraying of fruit trees, pruning, and in the home mixing of commercial fertilizers. To see the spraying material prepared and observe how it is applied helps one to estab- lish a confidence in himself. To know how to prune without practising tree-butchery should help the amateur fruit grower to assist the tree to produce to the limit of its ability. With a rea- sonable knowledge of spraying and pruning, the small fruit grower should grow fruit equal in quality to that produced by any grower. A demonstration in the home mixing of fertilizers will be made at such times as instructors in this department are available for this work. All material used for demonstration purposes must be supplied by those for whom the work is done. Application 10 An orchard demonstration in Southern Ohio. Apple tree before pruning. An orchard demonstration in Southern Ohio. Apple tree after being pruned. 11 blanks for any of these demonstrations can be secured by writ- ing the Superintendent of Agricultural Extension. FIELD MEETINGS The Department of Cooperative Experiments at the Agricul- tural Experiment Station, Wooster, Ohio, has a great many per- sons conducting tests to determine the best varieties of farm crops. In connection with these tests, the Department of Agri- cultural Extension of the College of Agriculture, Columbus, is doing what it can in the way of conducting field meetings for one day or during an afternoon, at times during the growing season when the instruction will be of most value. These meetings may be arranged for by writing the Agricultural Extension Department of the College of Agriculture, Columbus. AGRICULTURAL TRAINS The railroad companies, in response to requests from the grain dealers, millers, horticulturists, and dairymen have found it bene- ficial to carry instruction to patrons along their respective lines. This Department is glad to cooperate with the railroad companies in giving instruction adapted to the sections of the state through which the trains are run. Shippers of agricultural products should urge the railroad companies to negotiate with this Depart- ment for instruction along their lines. FAIR EXHIBITS Any fair board or association may secure upon application an exhibit made by the College of Agriculture to represent each of its departments. This exhibit is composed of such apparatus and material as will serve two purposes : first, to impress lessons in farm and school improvement from contrast by maps, charts, pic- tures, etc. ; second, to teach lessons in feeds and feeding, the bet- tering of tillage and cultivation methods, the improvement of de- sirable plants and the control of undesirable plants and insect pests, by apparatus to show the water content of the soil and some exhibits to show the life history and habits of plants and insects. BULLETINS During the past six years, one publication, the Agricultural College Extension Bulletin, has been prepared with much care for the public school teachers and the children of the upper elementary grades and the high school. This free publication will be con- tinued for the same class of readers. Any person interested in agricultural education may have his name placed on the mailing list. An effort has been to have every member of the township 12 Hearing a lecture on corn given aboard an agricultural special train. 13 and village boards of education receive this publication. The February number is devoted to some public school subject or some phase of the improvement of rural life. Two additional bulletins are being published to meet the de- mand for agricultural reading courses. One of these is known as the Farmers’ Reading Course Bulletin and the other as the Home Makers’ Reading Course Bulletin. These reading course bulletins will be sent to those who make application for them annually. The Agricultural Extension Department offers its services to answer questions concerning or to discuss further, subjects re- quiring a more lengthy discussion than the space in the bulletins will allow’. A lesson in corn judging at an Agricultural Extension School. Plenty of tables and good light. A large enrollment of middle aged and old men. Young men, of course. IDENTIFICATIONS Some of the most common insects and plants referred to by their proper names in the bulletins or other publications are fre- quently passed in the field or by the roadside without recognition. The Department of Agricultural Extension offers the services of specialists to name such specimens as may be sent to its offices. Whenever it is possible, some habit or characteristic of the speci- men will be given. The specimens will not be returned unless such a request is made. AGRICULTURE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS With the passage of the bill providing for the introduction of agriculture in the rural schools the work of planning courses and giving suggestions in regard to the teaching of agriculture is no longer tinder the jurisdiction of the Extension Department. How- ever, this Department will continue to give scientific instruction in agriculture whenever requested by teachers, boards of education, or school superintendents. The services of instructors from this Department may be secured by request for a discussion of agri- cultural subjects at farmers’ and teachers’ institutes, granges, clubs and other organizations. PERSONAL VISITS TO AGRICULTURISTS During the time when no Agricultural Extension Schools are being conducted or demonstrations being made, arrangements may A class of township high school girls receiving a lesson in sewing under the direction of one of the high school teachers. be made with the different instructors in this department to visit farms, dairies, live stock farms, orchards, and gardens for the purpose of giving individual instruction in up-to-date agricultural practices. This department does not offer the services of its in- structors to pass judgment upon commercial propositions. The Department of Agricultural Extension is organized to give instruction and no pains will be spared to arouse a greater degree of interest in the improvement of every form of life in the country, whether it be industrial or social. 15 Suggestions for advertising Agricultural Extension Schools.