Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-04-17
Department Of Agriculture
Can We Raise Enough Meat9
By Frederic J. Hdskin

Washington D. c., April l4.-War means big
demand for meat. Army rations always include
a liberal proportion Of meat 1t contains much
energy and is peculiarly well fitted for food for
the fighting man. Although George Bernard
Shaw and hosts Of other vegetarians may thrive
on vegetable diet, the soldier always eats all
the meat his commissary can supply with relish.
1t gives him plenty OF red blood and energy.
The nations and races where meat plays small
part in the diet have never been fighting nations,
with the possible exception OF Japan, where FISH
largely takes its place "Salt horse" bully beef"
and, lately. sausage are staple army and navy
rations In its program of feeding the allies as
far as possible, and putting an enormous army
in the field, the United States will need to pro-
duce the greatest possible amount of meat.
The Department OF Agriculture has been
spending millions in money and the time and
labor Of its experts with free hand in its attempt
to cope with the problem. In the last year or two
the tide seems to have turned and there is sound
basis for confidence that we will be able to meet
the emergency
The most encouraging feature Of the situation
is that there has been an increase in the number
of beef animals in the last three or four years.
The lowest point was touched in 1913 and since
then the tide has turned Nevertheless, it is
necessary to take every possible means to increase
meat production.
The Department Of Agriculture is working on
the matter from several angles The main lines
to raise more cattle and hogs and sheep on the
one hand and to protect the herds from the raw
ages of disease on the other. Very encouraging
progress is being made in the fight against
disease, and this line is very vital one. The
annual stock losses from disease and wild animals
in the United States amount to about $225, 900
a year. 1t is impossible to measure the indirect
loss in meat-the lean cattle that might have been
fat were it not Tor the cattle ticks and the Texas
fever the hogs that might have been raised had
Il. L~..
with the menace Of hog cholera hanging over
them. Much ground has been gained in the fight,
and it is now for the country at large to make use
of every inch of it.
Besides the farmer and the stocknan, the small
town or suburban dweller can cooperate in the
campaign. One of the most promising avenues
for increasing the nations meat supply lies in
the small meat animals. As Secretary Houston
said the nation has gotten too much in the habit
of regarding the meat problem as problem of
big animals and big ranches. The item Of poultry
alone amounts to $50000O,0O0 year in this coun-
other words, raise chickens. If you have patch
of ground that will not do for gardening, or if you
prefer feeding the chicks to labor with spade,
if you prefer eggs to eggplant, get busy and &C
quire flock of chickens. The department will
give you directions for buying them and taking
care of them. You will have cheap eggs and
good deal of cheap meat, and you will be doing
your bit toward relieving world wide pressure.
An interesting suggestion comes from the
chief of the bureau of biological survey in this
connection. He points out that one of the cheap
est meats that can be raised is that of Belgian
hares. 1t is actually possible to produce this
meat at a cost of 5 cents a pound. Very little
space is required, the hares can be fed on cheap
foods and table scraps, and they increase very
rapidly at the rate Of several filters year. If
the meat situation becomes acute nationwide
campaign for Belgian hare-raising might help
,,nhtt r,,, I,Yal and
his children a, chance to do their share.
The range of the cattle tick covers the south
ern states from Florida to Texas. So much
progress has been made in the fight against the
cattle tick that complete eradication can be looked
for in few years. Some of the field workers
are hoping to see the job finished in four years.
They are sanguine because the farmers are CO.
operating more and more enthusiastically. We
are over the crest" said one of these men. From
now on it's down-hill drag" Fully as important
as the battle for tick-free southern cattle range
has been the campaign against hog cholera. This
disease has taken a toll Of $30000,000 annually
for the last forty years In 1918, bad year, the
loss ran up to $75,000000. Then the full scientific
force of the department was turned upon it and
an anti-hog cholera serum was worked out. The
industry has been made practically safe by the
use Of this serum.
According to the experts, one of the chief
dangers in the rog-raisng industry today is the
fact that, tempted by very high prices Gan ordi-
nary hog will bring 1922, the farmers are selling
off their breeding stock This is obviously bad
practice, and every effort will be made to point
out the dangers of it. If it continues, says the
department, pork may rise out of reach of the
ordinary consumer.
Besides all this work, the department has in
creased our meat production by regulating the
grazing on national forests until they support
several times as many animals as ten years ago.
Another promising avenue is the raising of sheep
for meat, instead of for WOOL To make wool
growing profitable, large ranges are usually
needed but mutton can be grown prohtably on
land where there is now no meat production.
On the whole, our meat resources are well
modified The work was started in good time,
and il we are still far from where we might be
in the matter of meat production, at least we have
passed the low point and are moving in the right
direction. With the chief problems solved and
the most promising lines Of effort indicated by
the department, only the whole-hearted co-opera-
ton Of the nation is needed to assure that we
meet all demands.