lopment of intelligent
initiative as a means of social progress.

When one has observed the feeble beginnings of this movement only a
decade ago, and has witnessed its growth to the present nation-wide
system, promoting plans for national organizations for cooperative
marketing, he appreciates the power of science, education, and
organization as new forces in the life of the rural community, whose
future influence one would be rash to prophesy.

This account would be misleading if it failed to indicate that the
extension movement has given attention to the problems of the farm home,
of the mother and the children, as well as to those of the farm
business. In 1910, girls' canning clubs were started in the Southern
States and young women were employed to supervise their work. Very soon
the mothers became interested and before long home demonstration agents
were appointed to work with the agricultural demonstration agents. In
1916 home demonstration work was in progress in 420 counties in the
South. A few home demonstration agents were employed by farm bureaus in
the Northern States prior to 1917, but the additional funds appropriated
by Congress for food conservation work during the war caused a rapid
increase in their number and women's work in the North received its
chief impetus during the war. The Smith-Lever Act specified that its
funds should be used for extension work in home economics as well as in
agriculture, but it was not until the farm bureaus commenced to employ
home demonstration agents and to organize the women for their support
that work with the farm home became established on a permanent basis. In
most of the northern states the farm bureau is now organized on what is
called the "family plan," that is, it includes in its program of work
projects dealing with the farm for men, with the farm home for women,
and with club work in agriculture and home economics for boys and girls.
In many of the states a separate agent is employed for each of these
lines of work and the women are organized in a separate department of
the county farm bureau and have their own local farm women's clubs. In
New York State the women's work has been further differentiated by
organizing it as a County Home Bureau which with the Farm Bureau forms
the County Farm and Home Bureau Association.

During the war the home demonstration agents gave their attention to
food conservations and clothing, but as a permanent program has
develo