The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-01-14
NEGLECTED. sAuERKRAur.
Demand That The Agricultural Depart,
ment Give II Attention.


Since its establishment, the depart.
ment Of agriculture has cost Uncle Sam
more than $20o,oo0,0oo. II has given
employment at different times to ST.
900 separate and distince experts, pro-
fessors and muck-rakers, and has issued
1875 publications, varying in size from
elegant three volume, half -levant, hand
fooled treatises on the boil weevil, to
puny six-page pamphlets on sheep ticks,
barbed wire and horseradish. And yet in
all these busy years and with all this
lavish expenditure, it has done nothing
whatever TO investigate or improve that
queen regent of delieatessen--s auer-
kraut. In all is multitude Of publica-
lions, indeed, there appears but one
lonesome reference to the gentle herb,
and that consists OF an obscure foot note
couched in the following language, to
wit: "Sauerkraut, made OF purple cab
bage, is said to be good for the CONF
plexion."
lnasmuch as sauerkraut Is the cult
nary mainstay from Nocember to April
Of fully 40 per cent. OF the American
people, this gross neglect, seems utterly
inexcusable. Under the tuteage Of the
department, the cultivation Of alfalfa
has become an exact science, and the
agricnlturist who produce know more
about chemistry than Dr. Rensen, and
more about germs than Jonn Kiger, In
the same way thousands Of dollars have
been spent in the effort to eradicate tho
epach chincn, the apple rust, the wheat
lizard and the mountain lion. The JIM
Son weed has been brought to such
high state Of culture that II Is now used
ia the manufacture Of perfumerv Hens
have been Taught TO iay two eggs
day. Farm hands have been taught to
think. The despised cotton seed has
made the South rich. And all the while
sauefkraut has been overlooked and neg
lected
As it Is grown today sauerkraut Is
the most toothsome Of all grasses, but
there is good reason TO believe that
scientific attention would make IL even
more delicious Science has made the
rose sweeter and increased the diameter
Of the Gala lily. Why shouldn't it
amplify and refine the grace, flavor, re-
siliency and symmetry Of sauerkraut
Why shouldn't il be possible, by Judi
cious crossing aud careful nurtufing, 10
work yeritabie apotheosis Of the FRUIT
The sauerkraut Of commerce lacks
stamina and yigor Like spaghetti, II Isl
prone to break upon ones knife mid
way between the plate and mouth. The
result il disappointment. swearing and
sorrow in the home Let il be crossed
with some hardy Wild variety, that it
may acquire from the iatter some meas
ure Of stability. And let there he 4
pernionent corps Of experts resident
abroad to study the leading European
strains and acquire wisdom from the
most celebrated continental breeders.
Nothing Is more exasperating than
breakable krant. 1t reaches the face in
the form Of debris, or driftwood, and
the delicious sensations which agise out
of the passage Of long strands down the
esophagus are lost The broken pieces.
entering the system helter-skelter, cause
irritation and annoyance Eminent path
ologists assert that they may produce
hay fever and tonsilitis, and even II this
Is not true, the mental anguish Is GER
tainly worth considering.
Due diligence on the part Of the de
Of agriculture might rid the |
human race al an this suffering. 1t |
should be POSSIBLE within few years TO
perfect an utterly unbreakable strain Of
kraut~ kraut a. tenacious as a pair /
Of susppnders and at the same time a.
as 80 much angel cake. Pes
simists may call the prophecy a fantastic /
dream, but we hold it to be Utterly safe /
and sane Let Mr. Wilson adm his as
sistants yet on the job at once. II j.
high time that something were done I
The public has suffered long enough
Baltimore Sun.