The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-09


 ! encamped at Montgomery have been having a sorry time of it for the past few days. The camp has been flooded, tents have leaked and com pany "streets" have been turned into
 seas of mud. Camp Suffers Along But they are With Birmingham not the only
 suf ferers. Even Birmingham has seen more mud and water during the past week than ever before.
 The boys will not permit rain-even when it becomes deluge-to dampen their ardor, and they may console themselves with the thought that it was neither their fault nor the fault of their superiors that they were forced to take refuge in Montgomery. The situation was extraordinary. A storm of great severity swept in from the gulf, and as a result millions of dollars worth of property has been destroyed and a number of lives lost. Under the circumstances, Camp Van diver was speedily made unfit for hab- itation.
 Every effort was made by the mii- tary authorities to provide adequate shelter for the troops and the hospi- table people of Montgomery helped in the good work. The experience was trying on young men who are not ac- customed to such hardships, but they have stood the test well. In few days the camp will be dry again, the dis tribution of new equipment will be well under way and the unwelcome drenching will be forgotten.
 There isn't much glory in taking good wetting cheerfully, but it shows the spirit of a true soldier.
 THE United States department of
 agriculture reports that while the production of meat in this country is on the increase 'it is not yet pro- portionate to the growth of popula- tion," and in view of that fact reaches
 the logical conclu- Meat Prices to sion that prices will Continue High continue high indefi-
 nitely. This is not cheering to housewives, but it is dis tinctly encouraging to the farmer who raises cattle, sheep and hogs for the market.
 Alabama live stock growers who are turning their attention to animal husbandry on large scale should re- alize exceptionally good profits this year. Even before the price-level for hogs and cattle had begun to climb the stock raiser in states favored py nature and nearby markets was a sure money maker but now he would be a backward farmer in any grazing and grain section that did not make meat stock pay handsomely.
 The agricultural departments re- port states that the United States is not only the greatest meat-eating na- tion in the world but the greatest pro- ducer. Approximately twice as much is consumed in this country as was consumed in Germany before the war; and Germany in normal times con- sumes more meat per capita than Great Britain, France or Russia.
 In the fiscal year 1914-15 the United States imported more beef than it ex- ported. According to the department report, the available supply of pork and beef in this country would be much greater were it not for the enormous losses caused by disease and exposure. It is estimated that in the past sixteen years nearly 1,500,000 cattle have died annually from dis ease, and about as many from ex- posture. In 1914 the number of hogs that died of cholera was estimated at 7,O0O, 900. Now that inoculation by government agents is being extensive ly practiced the loss is being greatly reduced.
 Tick eradication is doing wonders for cattle, and if Alabama farmers