O. B. Martin

“ Many negro agents seem to have the ability to encourage their demonstrators and magnify the influence of their work. They have caught the philosophy of the founder of demonstration work, Seaman A. Knapp, when he said, “Your value lies not in what you can do but in what you can get other people to do.” Negro agents seem to appreciate the standing in the community of a man or woman who has done better work than anybody else. ”

“ On their return, however, they are always enthusiastic about the men and women extension agents whose primary responsibility is to reach the farm and home. They see greater significance in demonstrations which proceed from the farm and home to the school than they do in those which go from the school to the farm. They seem to realize that the home is the fundamental unit of civilization and that the agents are the apostles of a better farm and home life, and therefore return to their work with an optimistic determination to encourage demonstration work in their countries. ”

“ There is something in the atmosphere of the farm that develops and strengthens the negro’s natural common sense. As a rule, the negro farmer has a rare gift of getting at the sense of things and of stating in picturesque language what he has learned. The explanation of it is, it seems to me, that the negro farmer studies nature. In his own way he studies the soil, the development of plants and animals, the streams, the birds and the changes of the seasons. ”

“ There is a fine recognition of individual effort and community cooperation in this method of reporting which might well be commended to extension workers generally.
I have been in the county two years and seven months. It is a pleasure to note the improvement of the people along every line. They eat better food, sleep in more fresh air, are happier at work, take better care of their children, have higher ideals, and have learned to sell the surplus food instead of wasting it and to buy things which they need. ”

“ The extension work for negroes and by negroes has been built up practically in the last 10 years. It is a wonderful development in such a short time. It took about the same length of time to build a similar organization for white people. When it is remembered that negro work has been established in a period of transition, turmoil, and readjustment, the significance is all the more remarkable. ”

“ Organization arose spontaneously. People who did the same kind of work in the same way were easily organized. Negro farmers and members of their families who had the same kind of poultry, for instance, and who built the same kind of houses, were brought together for mutual stimulation, help, and instruction. Every farmer who had an object lesson in growing vetch, soy beans, velvet beans, or peanuts was glad to join a tour to see similar activities on farms in other parts of his county. Field meetings, tours, camps, and short courses have the elements and principles of organization within them. ”

“ Wherever an agent obtains the indorsement of a negro pastor, and also gets this pastor to do some good farming and make his home more attractive, he gets assistance that is impossible to obtain from any other source. A negro industrial school in a county is usually a center of influence in extension work as well as in public service generally. Such a school reenforces the instruction given by the agents and is a gathering place for demonstrators and club members. The demonstration activities improve and enhance the school work to a considerable degree. ”

“ It is certainly very gratifying to note that a large number of negro women and girls are doing excellent home demonstration work. When it is remembered that they have to help a great deal in cotton, tobacco, and other fields, there is unusual significance in the fact that they are willing and anxious to take part in the special activities which make for better living and better homes. In 1924, 21,509 women and 27,114 girls were enrolled in the various activities which pertain definitely to the improvement of the home. ”

“ Negro club members have manifested a disposition for the boy to do the farming and the girl the home making. That tendency is general in all extension work, of course, but the line of differentiation has not been so clear in adult activities. Because of the limited funds available, few counties have been able to afford both negro men and women agents. Thus it comes about that the men agents do more home work and the women agents more farm work than in counties employing both county agricultural and home demonstration agents. ”

“ The climax of negro extension work comes in the constructive features just as for the whites. Special import should therefore be attached to the fact that the agents had 463 barns, 411 hog houses, and 787 poultry houses built according to approved plans. Some rural-engineering work of a constructive nature was done on 3,967 farms under the guidance of negro extension agents. All this development means that thousands of the best negroes are learning lessons of thrift, economy, and enterprise. They are coming to realize more and more the importance of owning land and building permanent homes. ”

“ Negroes are very susceptible to commendation and praise. It means a lot to a man, woman, boy, or girl, who has started out on a demonstration program, to receive recognition from his pastor, his neighbors, and especially from the leading white citizens. Whenever a county paper calls attention to [Pg 12] the outstanding results obtained by a negro farmer, he immediately measures up to the added responsibility and goes forward on the path of improvement. ”

“ In view of the fact that much interest has been manifested in the movable school, it may be desirable to consider it from a strictly extension point of view. First, in the communities where the negro population is densest and where their welfare has been most neglected, more simple instruction and demonstration by the specialists and agents themselves are necessary. Just as fast as the farmers can make object lessons and assume leadership themselves, just so fast should that responsibility be passed on to them. ”

“ The negro women and girls commence with growing vegetables in the gardens, beginning with the most needed food crops and enlarging their operations gradually. Then they undertake to conserve enough for home use during the winter. They sell the surplus vegetables, both fresh and canned. It is an easy step from canning vegetables to the preservation of fruits. Better bread comes next because of its importance as food and because flour, meal, and grains in general are available. Then eggs and butter are standardized, and poultry meat is properly [Pg 11] cooked and canned. ”

“ Whenever there is a considerable number of demonstrators of that kind, it is safe to do organization work along agricultural and home-economics lines. In fact, negroes who have demonstrated that kind of enterprise and dependability are ready for cooperative marketing or other welfare organization. The great task that is before the negro extension force is to multiply the numbers of good demonstrators. In this way, they will develop leaders and magnify the kind of activities which will meet with universal approval. ”

“ The number of dwellings constructed and remodeled under the guidance of negro women agents and the number of club members demonstrating the beautification of home grounds indicate clearly the progress of negro home demonstration work. Such activities show that other steps have been taken before the family is ready to build. They show, also, that a great deal of interest has been aroused and that the earning power of the people must have been increased to make such improvements possible. ”

“ Certainly the more intelligent farmers can carry object lessons further than the ignorant ones. Furthermore, it is safe to assume a fair amount of good farm and home development in an intelligent, prosperous community. Perhaps one reason why farmers tire of institutes and lectures is because they feel that they have reached a stage of knowledge where they can do things fairly well and have thus become teachers and leaders themselves. ”

“ That negro agents are building well is indicated by their success in influencing the construction of 569 new houses, the remodeling of 1,002 old houses, and the beautification of 1,336 home grounds during 1924.
In most parts of the Cotton Belt it has been possible during the last few years for farmers to make a good living and to make a profit besides. The migration to the North has perceptibly slackened, and thousands of negroes who have been getting good wages as carpenters, bricklayers, mechanics, and other artisans in near-by and distant cities are saving money to buy land. ”

“ It is greatly to the credit of the pioneer agents that their work has met with the approval of county commissioners, boards of education, and public authorities generally. Nothing is quite so encouraging about the whole development as the wholesome public sentiment which has sustained the work and encouraged the agents. ”

“ The 1924 annual reports show that 4,317 negro farmers undertook demonstrations with corn and that 3,292 finished them in good shape. The demonstrations covered 25,442 acres. Of 8,018 club members who planted an acre apiece, 4,308 completed the work with marked success. If each successful demonstration should influence only five neighbors, the totals would be impressive, and demonstrations of outstanding size, success, and continuity are even more far-reaching. From a demonstration viewpoint alone, it is estimated that a million negro farmers and home makers are being influenced effectively. ”

“ The end of the 10-year period also found a great many negro boys and girls demonstrating to their parents, their neighbors, and the world that they can clear $200 to $300 a year on their club enterprises and at the same time keep up regular attendance at school during the term provided for them by their respective counties and States. [Pg 15] A 14-year-old boy or girl who can put $100 or more into a bank and continue saving each year as he or she grows older is assured of an education and a start in life. ”

“ When it is realized that various Southern States are gradually increasing the appropriations to the State agricultural colleges, and also that a $9,000,000 endowment fund for Hampton and Tuskegee is being completed, it is possible to look forward to better-trained negro agents. Progress can be faster now because the way is clear. Every Southern State now has a group of efficient negro agents, whose numbers are increasing. ”

“ It has been extension experience that negroes are especially responsive to the demonstration method, because of their faith, confidence, and optimism. Demonstrations have reached the most ignorant and most needy better than any form of academic instruction, because demonstrators must be doers before they become teachers. The effect and power of a demonstration are measured by the success of the enterprise and the standing and influence of the demonstrator. The demonstration method has proved to be not only the best for the ignorant, but also for the intelligent. ”

“ The large number of cows, hogs, and chickens owned by them indicates increased land ownership by negroes. It throws light also on the increased production of feed crops. The annual reports for 1924 show that 9,936 adult farmers and farm women were enrolled as livestock demonstrators, of whom 7,379 completed the year’s work and submitted reports. It is safe to assume that most of the 264,432 animals used in these demonstrations were purebred. Likewise, it means progress when it is realized that negro boys and girls cared for 102,070 high-class farm animals in their club enterprises. ”

“ Since most people at that time were practicing fishing and oystering, no one believed that truck gardening could be successful. When my success became known, one after the other began to take it up until to-day Gloucester County has become a great trucking center.
What success I have had in land buying, soil improvement, home making, and education of my children may be credited to the extension service through its agents who have rendered me most valuable service for which I am deeply grateful. ”

“ Of course, a large percentage will remain in the industrial centers of the North, but the negro’s love for his folks [Pg 2] and for the soil will influence many to begin payments on farms at a time when wages are high and when such crops as cotton, tobacco, and peanuts are bringing good prices. Negroes, as a rule, know how to grow the cash crops, and it has been found in many sections that negroes succeed with poultry, truck, dairying, and other diversified interests when they own their own small farms. ”

“ In livestock activities, one group may be emphasizing dairy cattle and another hogs. The retroactive influence upon crop production in one direction and soil improvement in another is very potent. Seaman A. Knapp evidently had this whole evolution in mind, and he was familiar with the work among negroes, when he told the agents not to go before the people with elaborate programs. He said: “The average man, like the crow, can not count more than three. ”

“ In junior extension 482 boys grew tobacco. In field-crop activities the enrollment of negro girls has been very small, just as it has been among the whites, which clearly indicates that the boys do most of the work on the farm and the girls in the home.
As a further contribution to the effort of the South to feed itself, the activities of negro farmers with cereals other than corn are indicative. In 1924 demonstrations were undertaken with wheat, oats, rye, barley, and other cereals, and 2,580 men, 983 boys, and 5 girls were enrolled, of whom 1,871 men, 682 boys, and 5 girls completed. ”

“ Farmers’ cooperative demonstration work was begun in 1903. At first, all demonstration agents were white men and women. They enrolled negro demonstrators who followed instructions so faithfully and carefully that they were often more successful than white farmers and home makers. Many instances were reported of negro farmers who got started along the pathway of success because of the stimulation of such demonstrations. County agricultural agents often reported that 25 per cent of their demonstrators were negroes and that many negroes attended the field meetings and public demonstrations. ”

“ Some of the most successful demonstrations in truck farming, from a financial standpoint, have been made by negroes. Good stories of their work with melons, berries, cabbage, turnips, carrots, celery, and other similar crops come in constantly. Some of the enrollment figures in horticultural demonstrations deserve attention and favorable comment. Negro farmers undertook 1,392 demonstrations in trucking and market gardening and completed 971 with marked success. A total of 8,729 persons were enrolled to make object lessons in home gardens and 6,502 of them were carried through to completion. ”