assic inconsistency they were also reluctant to
call in a veterinarian for such a purpose.[115] In the end, the agents
found that, like many other progressive techniques which seemed new and
unsubstantiated to the farmer, demonstration worked better than
rhetoric. An example of this occurred in 1926 when a farmer let some
cattle onto a pasture, believed to be infested with a calf disease known
as blackleg. When one of his best calves died, he panicked and turned to
the county agent. The farmer's animals were all inoculated, as were
those on several neighboring farms, and there were no further losses.
"This incident has done more to place confidence in vaccinations than
several years' talking could do," wrote a pleased H. B. Derr. "There are
no more doubting Thomases in that community at least."[116]

Similar work was undertaken to convince orchardists and crop producers
of the advantages of preventative spraying to eliminate bacterial
diseases and aid in insect control. The county's production of fruits,
vegetables and grains had suffered less from direct neglect than from
ignorance of proper care.[117] The value of chemical pesticides was just
beginning to be understood (their use would not reach major proportions
until the years after World War II) and Joseph Beard noted that the
agents were frequently "bombarded with all these new advertisements
coming from the supplier or chemical company...."[118] The agents
refrained from recommending products that had not been tested for at
least three years at the State Agricultural Experiment Station, insuring
some safety in the pesticides, though Beard admitted that the principles
of chemical buildup were not yet recognized.[119] Slowly word
travelled through the county of the advantages of protecting crops from
disease. By 1930 the program was progressing nicely, as Derr reported to
the state agency. Driving through the county one day, he met a
successful orchardist whom he had previously urged to use fungicides.
"Derr," the farmer remarked to him, "you sure keep me busy; every time
my wife sees your spray notices she makes me get the machine out and go
to work, but it surely does pay to spray."[120] Here too the farmer
relied on his own verification and judged personal experience stronger
than the words of experts.

[Illustration: A wild cherry tree destroyed by web worms. Insect pests
such as these were a chief reason for the decline of orchards in the
area. Photo in H.