Semi-weekly herald., 1915-01-04

to the yards where government con-
tracts are being carried through with
great dispatch.
Lord Kitchener has given his con-
sent to the formation of a Jewish
battalion, although there IS still some
opposition to the movement on the
part of the Jewish leaders, who say
that Jewish battalion would inten-
sify the tendency to regard Jews as
aliens. There are now over 5000
Jews in the British army. The cas-
ualty lists disclose wounded Jewish
soldiers in many of the regiments at
the front, including some of the ia
nous old regiments like the Black
Watch, A fair showing of Jews is
also made in the royal navy.
There are now over 10000 old Boy
Scouts serving the British army at
the front and making splendid SOL
diers, says General Baden-Powell,
chief of the organization. The gen.
eral has just returned to London
from York, where he made salts
factory arrangement with the educa-
tion authorities in regard to the
scouts serving as messengers and Of
fee boys in the military headquarters
there. By this arrangement, the boys
give one week to the army and an
alternate week to their schools. A
significant announcement is the open
ing of the Scouts Defense force to
boys of Is, which would give them
a year of training, it is said in case
the age of enlistment in the army is
lowered to Is years.
The latest bulletin of the Interna-
tional Institute of Agriculture, the
headquarters of which are located ir
the city of Rome, gives some very
interesting facts regarding the pro-
duction of the great agricultural sta.
pies for 1914. The grains all show
a large decrease as compared with
the production for 1918.
For the principal wheat growing
countries of the world the production
of 1914 is 91.2 per cent that of 1913
For the same group of countries as
in the case of wheat, but omittine
India. the production of barley this
year is 1914 per cent of last years
production of that grain. For the
same countries as in the case of bar.
ley, the production of oats in 1914 is
S7.3 per cent of the production OF
1918.
BY far the greater part of the de.
crease is due to the war but there
are also some special instances OF
crop reduction. For instance, the lin.
seed production of Canada is 42.9 pei
cent of that of 1913. The wheat har.
vest in Australia is not expected tt
be more than from one-fifth to one
third that of last year. The sugar
beet crop of Italy is BIB per CEN
of that of 1918.
The lessened production would nat
urally lead to higher prices and thi.
rise is further increased by the diff
culties of transportation both by Sc:
and by land. In some countries pri
ces are almost double what they were
last year as for instance in Austria
and Hungary, where wheat sold OF
November 10, 1914, at twice the price
it brought on November 13, 1918. Ii
Great Britain also the rise is consid
cradle and has continued slowl,
through October and November. II
Canada and the United States the
prices of grain are considerabl,
higher than year ago.
The conditions in the foreign mar.
kets seem to indicate that a greater
part of the worlds food supply thar
is usually the case will have to be
raised in the United States in 1915
and that the prices obtained by Am.
erican farmers will be considerably
bi0bar than IN 4ba ,1,a,.a,.a 49,.