The Oskaloosa herald., 1917-11-22
WAR ECONOMIES
BRING RESULTS
SOLUTIONS FOR PRo6LEMs or
SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
BRITISH SEEKS WAYS & MEANS
Grain Must Be Conserved For Human
Food While Animal Life Is Like
Wise Sustained.--A Revision
Of Policy.

! or Poticy.
/ London, Nov 20.-Some wonderful
results of the War Economy Cam
paign in England are being made
! known.
A Manchester chemist has learned
how to exact from the towns sewage
wonderful stimulant for plant life
which promotes growth and fruitings
several hundreds per cent higher than
any previously known manure.
/ The city council of Bradford, the
Yorkshire town which is the head
quarters of the British WOODEN trade
has invented a new way of using up
| the grease collected from the sewage
! of the towns woolen mills, by which
| over 100000 profit has been made,
whilst more than $25,000 has also
been received from the collection and
special sale Of manure produces by
new processes in the q" treatment Of
sewage.
Profit From Waste.
Many other English towns arc try
| ing to gather up and use hitherto
| waste stuff Wonderful effects are
being obtained therefrom. 1t is more
than probable that the war will have
proved a vertiable God-send to a large
number of places, from the financial
point of view. in ways such as never
could have been anticipated three
years back.
BY carefully collecting old bottles.
thrown away tins and such like stuff.
the Yorkshire town of Keighley has
managed to raise over $4,000 yearly
from this source since the war began.
Papers Collected.
Twickenham has a plan of gather
ing old newspapers and waste paper
from the houses in the town. Boys are
mapped districts. They bring the
paper to centers, from which the
whole is later on gathered and dis
posed Of for goodly sums of money
that are proving of great advantage tol
certain institutions in which Twicken
ham folk are interested
Not only is money thus earned, but
the process inculcates into children
many practical lessons in thrift. work,
and kindly help that cannot but prove
very advantageous in their future
careers and labors.
Conversion of Food.
British scientists, who are investi-I
eating the food problems created by
the war, have discovered that the con-
sumption of grain by animals other
than man involves a prodigious waste. /
No animal returns in meat anything
like the food values that it absorbs in
the shape of corn. Even the pig.
which is the most economical of the
lot, requires twelve pounds OF dry.I
grain TO produce one pound of dry"
human food in the shape of pork. The
ratio in the case of fowls is fourteen
to one, in sheep twenty-four to one
though we must remember the wool,
and we reach the summit of extrava-l
CANT conversion" in the fat steer,
which eats GA lbs. for every pound of
meat that it yields in the slaughter
house.
Must Revise Policy.
These facts suggest the need for a
drastic revision of agricultural policy.
The grain feeding of pigs, Professor
Wood of Cambridge University main
tains, should be greatly reduced, or 3,
completely stopped in the case of |
grain fit for human consumption; and
the same counsels apply to poultry.
In the case of sheep and cattle for the |
market they should be slaughtered in
| a much leaner condition than has been
customary. This will reduce the tax
upon grain, and render it easier to
avoid the slaughter of milking COWS.
Professor Wood is prepared. OF neces-
sary, for a considerable reduction OF Z
the number of live stock in this coun-
try through the application of such a
policy-though, of course, it should be
regulated so as not to deplete the
stock of high class animals for breed
ing. II the numbers should fall below
the point at which the meat supply can
be maintained, he points out that "it
viii obviously save tonnage to import
ready-made meat instead of import
ing the raw materials from which the
meat can be made at home"
Maintaining Supply. !
The broad lesson Of these facts is
that the diversion of grain from live
stock to direct human consumption is
a most important factor in maintaining
the supply Of human food for the Brit.
ish nation What is the extent to
which 1t can be practically applied?
There are some obvious limitations
Some Of the grain fed to animals Is
damaged or of inferior quality. and
then working horses for instance,
must have their oats. The new Mill
ing Orders for closer grinding have
transferred about 100000 tons OF
wheat from the animal to the human
side of the account. Professor Wood,