The next most important medium of publicity open to county agents was reported as "mimeographed letters," with a number of comments as to the value of using illustrations therewith, and learning to prepare attractive news copy.

Visual aids.-One type of appeal to the mind through the eye— the extension exhibit-has long been prominent in extension work. Various forms of exhibits have been developed, ranging from agricultural trains carrying extensive detailed exhibits to the rural districts to the showing of panels, charts, photographs, and poster displays at county and community fairs. In recent years highly developed commercial advertising displays have had a tendency to stimulate improved methods of illustrating principles and practices in agriculture through exhibits. While improvement in technique of building attractive displays has been noteworthy, there is a growing belief that teaching by means of these types of illustrations is not particularly effective. This conclusion has been one of the outstanding features of the method studies of doing extension work as developed by the Federal extension service.

Twenty-two of the institutions report furnishing an exhibit service to county extension workers, while 16 provide exhibit material to various State organizations. State and county fairs serve as mediums for institutional displays of various types. In many States banks, creameries, elevators, stores, and schools cooperate in providing space for exhibits of equipment, bulletins, models, charts, and posters. Breed and crop associations, farm bureau unit meetings, home-achievement days, boys and girls club displays, field-day demonstrations, women's clubs, and many others provide desirable settings and opportunities for exhibits of slides, films, charts, livestock, crops, and other types of illustrative material.

Table 28 shows the summary of the number of exhibits for which the extension services of 35 States were responsible for the year 1927. This indicates the expenditure of a large amount of time, energy, and money in the attempt to illustrate some of the methods and results of extension work. The emphasis upon county and community exhibits as contrasted to State and outside displays is significant.

TABLE 28.-Number of exhibits in agriculture and home economics, arranged by extension service in 35 States, for the year ended November 30, 1927

Visual aids to field instruction in many extension projects have been developed by 31 of the 41 institutions replying to this question.

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The use of charts and strip films has been especially emphasized in recent years, while the use of motion-picture films has diminished. The "show" atmosphere so often developed by the running of films is not conducive to effective teaching, particularly where "features" are used to attract attendance. The extensive substitution of strip films and charts for motion films is quite general and the opportunities so much more varied and effective as to indicate a rather rapid development of this type of visual instruction.

Table 29 illustrates the extent to which these aids have been developed as reported by 31 institutions.

TABLE 29.-Extent of use of films, slides, and charts (31 institutions) year ending November 30, 1927

Radio as an extension agency.-Thirty-one institutions reported using the radio for broadcasting programs in agriculture and home economics. Fourteen replied that this agency was not used for any purpose. Of those indicating use of the radio 17 owned their own stations, 14 used commercial stations, and 2 used both. Of the institutional stations only 1 was of 5,000-watt power, 3 of 1,000 watts, and the remainder of 500 watts or less. In only two instances did the reports indicate that the States were covered by these stations.

On the other hand, the 14 institutions using commercial stations reported that the States, with two exceptions, were quite adequately covered and reception generally satisfactory. None of these radio stations was less than 1,000 watts in power and five were 5,000 watts or more. This comparison points to one of the limiting factors in institutional broadcasting and illustrates the advantage held by the commercial stations as a general rule.

The programs in agriculture and home economics center about subject-matter information and announcements of important events. Eight of the institutionally owned stations and all but one of those using commercial stations confine their broadcasting to these general types of programs. Only three of the institutions provide a weatherreporting service while eight of those owning their stations give daily market reports as an important phase of their programs.

Only two institutions provide what may be termed completed programs, featuring agricultural and home economics information in regular series of connected lectures and a considerable amount of entertainment, news service, and general information. Of those using commercial stations, all but one confine their broadcasting to subject-matter discussions in agriculture and home economics.

The time of broadcasting is important, for rural reception is limited by conditions peculiar to the industry of farming. Very little broadcasting was done on Saturday by these institutions, while Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were reported as the heavy broadcasting days. The time of day is even more important than the day of the week. Of those owning stations, two institutions reported a rather complete daily schedule beginning at 9.30 a. m. and running to 9.30 at night. Two gave their programs at noon only, 6 others in the evening-from 7 to 8 p. m., 4 used both noon and evening hours, and 2 were on the air in the morning only.

Of those using commercial stations, four days per week were most common and noon and evening (30 minutes to one hour) the daily time of broadcasting for all but one institution.

A noticeable difference between the two groups lies in the more restricted time allowance and the more unfavorable evening hours of those using commercial stations. This may be accounted for by the fact that none of the institutions pay for this time, and commercial stations quite naturally sell the more desirable hours.

The time per talk has become fairly well standardized with 10 and 15 minutes the two common periods, and in no instance were lectures of more than 20 minutes reported. Approximately half of all programs of subjectmatter information were arranged in series form ranging from 3 to 12 talks in a series. But one institution maintains a registration system for enrollment in radio "classes."

The most important question in the broadcasting of extension material is whether or not the radio offers an opportunity for doing comprehensive, systematic extension teaching. Eighteen out of thirty reports were in the affirmative, but in few instances were adequate reasons given in support of the affirmations. On the other side, the 12 negative replies were followed by positive statements— most of them to the effect that the radio was extremely valuable as a means of widely extending certain types of objective information and for advertising important events, but as a systematic teaching medium it lacks many of the essential clements.

This agency in education is so new and its problems and possibilities so little known as to prohibit the settling of such a question with the meager available information at hand. Further studies may reveal methods of utilizing this agency in ways and to an extent entirely beyond the present conception of those whose experience leads them to question the radio as an important aid in extension teaching.

The "local-leader" method of extension teaching.-The question was asked by this study, "Is the local-leader method established as a successful method of extension teaching in agriculture and in home

economics?" The replies to this question and to others concerning detailed operation of the method were extremely interesting.

Eighteen of the forty-six institutions replying indicated affirmative answers for agricultural projects and exactly double this number, or 36, affirmed the success of the method for home projects. A study of the returns, however, clearly shows that some of those testifying to its success in agriculture interpreted the term “local leader" to mean a project committeeman or representative without the specific duty and obligation of receiving the subject-matter material in lesson form from the State specialists and in turn serving as teachers of their own local groups of farmers, previously organized for this purpose. This is the commonly accepted interpretation of the local-leader plan in home-economics extension, and discussions of this plan during the past few years have centered upon the difficulties of its successful adoption for many agricultural projects.

The range of percentages of all agricultural projects being developed by the 18 institutions indicating successful application of this method was from 5 to 85 per cent, with 7 reporting less than 25 per cent of the farm projects under this method and 11 indicating from 30 to 85 per cent. It can not be said that the returns as made tend to settle the question or to contribute greatly to the conclusion as to the success or failure of this method of extension teaching in farming subjects. The situation in home-economics projects is entirely different. The institutions using this method reported approximately two-thirds of the projects operating under the localleader method, with 25 institutions indicating more than 75 per cent and 6 with all home projects under this plan of operation. Apparently it has become much more firmly established as a successful method in home projects than in agricultural projects.

In 4-H Club work the leader plan is also widely used in the sense that both adult and older junior leaders carry club lessons on both farm and home subjects to their organized groups. The average number of club projects so developed by the 46 institutions constituted 80 per cent of the total club program. The distinct difference in club and home projects under this plan is the absence of definite reports of club members directly through their leaders and the tendency to break up the subject-matter material into sporadic lessons that lack the continuity and completeness of the home projects.

One of the commonly expressed objections to the use of local leaders pointed out that such work was so exacting in its detail and required so much of a volunteer leader's time that the supply would soon be exhausted and those who had served in such capacity would soon tire of the responsibilities and heavy duties unless financial recompense was forthcoming. Five years' experience in home

project work has failed to substantiate this objection to any great extent. It is rather significant that 30 out of 41 replies for agricultural work, 37 of 46 answers for home subjects, and 36 of 42 statements regarding 4-H Club projects indicate positive opinions that as the extension work develops it is less and less difficult to secure desirable types of local leaders. It should be kept in mind, in this connection, that this plan operates on the volunteer and not on the compensation basis. Only two institutions reported payment of services and two the payment of expenses for leader work in agriculture or home economics.

Table 30 summarizes the number of institutions that emphasize various functions of local leaders.

TABLE 30.-Number of institutions emphasizing activities of local leaders

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Limitations of the use of the local leader method of teaching.-The local leader method of teaching home economics has had a mushroom growth. Its use is therefore attended by an unusual number of problems which were not foreseen. In extreme cases it may constitute a mechanism which threatens to prevent the attainment of the very purpose it was set up to accomplish. A discussion of some of the problems involved in the use of lay persons in teaching subjectmatter courses may serve to stimulate further thoughtfulness in the employment of the local leader method.

First, it requires a very unusual specialist or county home demonstration agent to teach in a few hours, methods of teaching and subject matter to lay persons, so that a certain degree of success will be insured when the lesson is repeated.

Second, the physical factors of transportation, time, and money, make adequate observation and supervision of local leaders' teaching in their own communities very difficult.

Third, unless this method is carefully introduced and developed, some women hesitate to accept the information given by one of their own number and this results in the development of a hostile attitude toward the work. On the other hand. experience has shown that