Part 3

The farmers of this country are as efficient as any other farmers in the world. They do not produce more per acre than the farmers in Europe. It is not necessary that they should do so. It would perhaps be bad economy for them to attempt it. But they do produce by two to three or four times more per man, per unit of labor and capital, than the farmers of any European country. They are more alert and use more labor-saving devices than any other farmers, in the world. And their response to the demands of the present emergency has been in every way remarkable. Last spring their planting exceeded by 12,000,000 acres the largest planting of any previous year, and the yields from the crops were record-breaking yields. In the fall of 1917 a wheat acreage of 42,170,000 was planted, which was 1,000,000 larger than for any preceding year, 3,000,000 greater than the next largest, and 7,000,000 greater than the preceding five-year average.

But I ought to say to you that it is not only necessary that these achievements should be repeated, but that they should be exceeded. I know what this advice involves. It involves not only labor but sacrifice, the painstaking application of every hit of scientific knowledge and every tested practice that is available. It means the utmost economy, even to the point where the pinch comes. It means the kind of concentration and self-sacrifice which is involved in the field of battle itself, where the object always looms greater than the individual. And yet the Government will help and help in every way that it is possible.

It was farmers from whom came the first shots at Lexington, that set aflame the Revolution that made America free. I hope and believe that the farmers of America will willingly and conspicuously stand by to win this war also. The toil, the intelligence, the energy, the foresight, the self-sacrifice and devotion of the farmers of America will, I believe, bring to a triumphant conclusion this great last war for the emancipation of men from the control of arbitrary government and the selfishness of class legislation and control, and then, when the end has come, we may look each other in the face and be glad that we are Americans and have had the privilege to play such a part.

THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE.

[Extracts from addresses.]

The next great factor to enlist for the betterment of Agriculture and rural life in this Nation is the business man of the town and the city. He has not always been alive to his obligations. He has contented himself, in too many instances, with plans to secure profit in agricultural trade, instead of sympathetically and eagerly planning constructive assistance. This duty, pressing in peace time, is of the most urgent and impelling character in this crisis; and I appeal to the bankers and business men to see that they omit no effort to familiarize themselves with the agencies serving to aid the farmers and to promote wise plans to secure the necessary results.

D. F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture.

In the interest of our national development at all times and in the interest of war efficiency just now our agriculture must be well maintained. It should be remembered that the agricultural unit is a small unit. There are 6,000,000 farms in this country, each an individual unit. It is to the interest of persons who do not live on farms, even more than to the interest of those who do live on farms, that production shall be kept up. This means that all people, not farmers alone, but those who live in cities as well as the farmers, are interested in experimental and educational activities along agricultural lines as conducted by the Federal Government and the States. These efforts should be liberally supported.

R. A. Pearson, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture.

In a time like this no man has a moral right, whatever his fortune may be, to employ another man to render any service, of mere comfort or convenience. When the finest young men of the United States are in France digging ditches, sawing lumber, laying rails, and playing with death, and when the finest young women of the United States are scrubbing floors in hospitals, it is a sin that almost approaches the unpardonable offense against civilization for any man or women in the United States to engage in a wasteful or unnecessary service.

Clarence Ousley, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture.

BEEKEEPING IN WARTIMES.

It is imperative that the sugar crop of the United States be increased, and every supply of supplemental sweet should be augmented to the greatest possible extent. Honey is one of the best of these and its production may be increased without great effort. The supply of nectar from which the bees make honey is bountiful and the only limitation to honey production is whether the price obtainable for the honey justifies the labor of the beekeeper. There is no question of this in wartimes.

The recent demand for honey for export has been greater than ever before and the home demand has also greatly increased. Because of the shortage of sugar, all forms of supplemental sweets are being utilized and none of these appeals to the tastes of the consuming public more strongly than does honey. This increased demand has raised the price of honey and it is therefore a paying business to produce it to meet this need, in addition to the fact that the beekeeper may feel that he is materially assisting in the food crisis of the Nation. It is to be expected that even after the war is over this demand for honey will not cease, for many people are eating honey now who were not familiar with its delicious qualities, and they will not forget how good it is.

In the production of honey, it is of the first importance that the colonies of bees be kept strong, especially that they be strong before the beginning of the main honey-flows of the early summer. To bring about this essential condition, the most important step is the proper wintering of the bees, and this bulletin has been prepared that beekeepers throughout the country may be able to get their bees through the winter without the great loss of colonies and reduction in strength of those which still live which have been so common in the past. The proper preparation of the bees for winter now becomes not only a patriotic duty, but it is good business.

KEEP MORE BEES. KEEP BEES BETTER

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Transcriber Notes

Illustrations moved so as to prevent splitting paragraphs.