Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1916-08-10
ENGLAND MUST
FEED HERSELF
Plans to Increase Her Feed
Supplies.

war Will De seen IN great TeVfVab
of agricultural life in England and
the United Kingdom. The outbreak
of the conflict caught the British
Isles dependent on foreign COM
mercc for four-ffths of their food
supply, barring meat, of which be
tween co and 70 per cent is pro-
duced at home.
The motto of a few years ago.
Back to the Land" thus has givea
feed HERSELF Lord Selbouyne, the
leader of the crusade declares thai
the attainment of this object is the
country's sacred duty, and he en-
phasiZcs the point that the farmer
can do as much for the roup1ry az
the soldier in the trenches.
Plans for the great reform include
number of important measures
that are to be put into effect at the
earliest possible moment. They ia
clude the following:
/. The rcpopulation OF the rural
districts and afforestation. The War
Office has just consented to the IL
change of many of the older men
who in the earlier days of the war
left farm work for the firing line
for men between 19 and 80 to take
their places at the front. This ex-
change will begin Immediately
2. The setting aside of Thousands
of acres for the settlement on tho
cooperative plan of EnglAnd's so:-
diers and sailors after the way This
expediency is provided for by the
SmalIholding Colonies Act. NOV
halfway through Parliament Tho
scheme will provide for motA vI-
lagos, better housing, with gz~asA
to every cottage, reading rooMs, u
braries and good schools. Conceiv-
ed by Lord Selbourne. the idea has
aroused so much enthusiasm that 4
wide demand has been made for In
creasing the land to be- devoted to
it by almost as much again AZ ii
specified in thu bill.
3. The importation OF natives
from South Africa for agricultural
la bor during the remainder OF ths.
war, though SO many objections
have been raised to this that there
is little likelihood o: its being
adopted.
1t is believed that the plan for
bringing back soldiers from the
front will have the effect OF progid
ing sufficient farm labor practically
Immediately. In announcing the
War Offices consent to the transfers.
an expert told the Agricultural So
cicty that in England and Scotland.
as well as in Ireland, the farms in
many districts had fallen far below
their minimum needs in the nattar
of labor.
The tendency to regard more GEx-
iously the countrys capacity a<
growing larger crops is illustrated
by the figures of the wheat, barley
and oats crops in England and
Wales. Wheat and oats were srow1
in larger quantities, though zhe bar
ley crops were much smalleI- There
were 5,4S9,939 acres devoted To the
three cereals in England and Walea
in 1915, an increase of 1904
acres as compared with 1915 The
greatest increase in acreage was de-
voted to wheat, or 2,170,l7e acreE
in all, the figure representing an in
crease of 362,672 acres (26 per
cent?, greater than in 1914, and Is
per cent greater than during any OF
the years between 1905 and 1915
Every country returned increased
areas, the total for Wales Of 71-13
acres (31 per cent?, being the
greatest.
The returns for 1916 give z.uSe.-
O47 acres under oats, an increa1e o8
15S,421 acres as compared With
1914, but only 24,S69 acres above
the average for the past iV y"
The whole of this increase was IN
England. The reduction of the areas
under barley amounted to 1sS.411
acres, the total acreage of 1.z3l-711
being the lowest yet recorded Per
haps to no individual as much ss u
the Earl of Selbourne ia due d2
credit of bringing home to the Peo-
ple of all classes the importanea Il
taking prompt means of making De
country more nearly self-suppogt1ax
in food-stuffs. In all Of his n
dresses in recent years he has la4
stress on the point. A praetnns
farmer and enthusiast on his Eaxue
and fertile tract in Hampshirs. -
has been able to meet tho eaO-
tions of opponents of expert @vE
edge to the great advantage q -