The sun., 1916-12-21
ARE THE FARMERS OF GERMANY ABLE
TO FEED THE NATION?
Scientific MAhsds. Particularly In Feral.asiss, Have Worked Wonders
Of Productivity.

fOIow the recent accession O.. fertile.
crs ready for the farmer.
A sound British view Of the case n,
German farmers has Just reached This
country. 1t is n parliamentary papcr
concerning THE Recent D~evclopmor,
OF German Agriculture" by Mr.. T II
Middleton. How vital tho business ie
how II Affects the very existence OF Tho
country Ii shown In a few words u,
preface by Lord Selbornc. They orc
few. but sufficiently startling. as cyc,
papers like the Saturday Rcricm AN,
the Quarterly freely admit. Lord Sol.
borne has studied German method.
and It has become clear to him m.
IF agriculture had made no more pro-.
rcss In Germany than 4. has In IN,
United Kingdom during the period IsG;
to 1915 the German Empire would has,
been at the end OF its resources lopy
before the second year of the var"
Agriculture has become Il weapon -,
the war. il might he called tha ,tu,,
OF the German farmer. whose dr,u
apparently the best in the worlL. II,
can boast the finest cultivation Of cc,.
tain crops and the best specimen Il.
certain forms of live stock, " in ,hc
amount OF o produced from the soil
which Is the vital matter. he occupIc.
q place second to none at the prcscrl
time. II Is therefore of the frs, lin.
p%ortancc to investigate his culture r,
the land. which is having sdch solid r..
suits In maintaining the nations ABILITY
for skilful warfare.
Mr.. Middleton proves ny figures N.
recent advantages gained by German
As regards tho output in wheat. barley.
oats and potatoes. tho las two yea,
show In Germany a large increas,
This Is striking. FOR the German farmer
IN generally supposed to hav" an in.
ferior soil. Other liz urcs given hy 81
Middleton are equally impressive. In
milk production the German ,icld ~.
cccds the British by 20 per cent. III,
German farmer. lesidcs. dcvutes much
more space than the English farmer :,
staple crops like potatoes. Sugar ls
scarce, but In tho beet. which makes
sugar. the German has a rcsour,c
which Is scarcely realized. Again, the
German annually ploughs more than
twice as much OF his land as tho Brit
ish. n there Is reason To regard this
rate ~ even exceeded in 1916.
II may be clearer after these figure,
how Gcrmany's favorable position has
been achieved. II j. the result o.
organization. tho cultivation of 'ho
higher education in agriculture ami 2
settled military policy. Tho Cover.
ment DEGREES. which We have TO gath,
now from French and Russian PAPER.
that il has definitely aimed
'hc largest possible increase IN f"ud
production from German soil. Th-
German tariff has helped. hcCaisr
has secured. not perhaps Il cheap. tH'
an assured sourcc Of food German
often speak of their duty in this r..
spect. They regard the cultivation a.
land AS a duty TO the Fi.hcrland. an,
the German idea Of t~horouehncss
fostered by numerous agricu!tIr
papers.
But. adds Mr.. Middleton. this is nu.
all. The farmer in Germany has ot-
c"'lcnt helps. but his actual increase ir
production is not due To 'hcso. II
chiefly due to the Increased Us, ,f
artificial fertilizers. This source f.,
fertilization has been emphasized O..
oil German mel OF science. ard. - y
Gloess remarks. Germany l. in Il iayc..
able position TO use IL. sine" tn" rou'-
try contains not only largo deposits u.
potash salts, but also light sol 81,
c!ally fitted to profit by them y l.''
Of seaweed thrown up - III" lid.u
yields tho heterogeneous material mos
suitable to tn" ground. Tho crop u
this seawcel Is now recognized a.,
immense service to GoSmdn dgr.
ture. Thus, in proportion ~ his nr.
arc more vivid, pressing ANA mate,
u" German concentrates his e1prr
the more.