New-York tribune., 1918-06-27
From a Car
Window
By John ]. Leary, Jr.
<c"OD is certainly very good to these
II United States, and it looks as
though the farmer was doing his

though the farmer was doing MS
full share
The speaker, a middle-aged man, wearing
as the badge of his profession the Roman
collar, was referring to the miles Of Iowa
wheat fields through which a Burlington
ficr was racing. He was impressed, as any
man who travels through the West these
days must be impressed, by the wonderful
promise of plenty given by the farms.
This promise has been made known to all
by the crop estimates of the Bureau of Agri-
culture, but it cannot be appreciated until
one sees for himself the actual conditions.
And to fully appreciate these conditions one
must have seen this same country in other
years, when the question of big crops was
not of the vital Importance it is to-day.
In the last month | have been in Illinois,
Ohio, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan and
Wisconsin, travelling through territory that
l have been travelling for twenty five years.
In those years we have had bumper crops,
but in no Of them have the fields looked
so we'll or were the conditions so uniform.
For once conditions are not spotty-that is
to say, splendid stand Of wheat or a field
Of corn in one section is not Offset by thin
fields in another
More remarkable, however, in view Of the
labor shortage due to the immense number
of men taken from the farms for the army
and the war industries, is the cleanly con-
dition Of the fields. One might we'll look,
indeed, one rather expects, to see in the
fields evidence Of this shortage. I saw it
in but one section--a run between Hanni-
bal, Mo-, and St. Louis, where long stretches
showed lack Of cultivation. This general
cleanly condition, believe, is due to three
reasons: First, more work on the part of
those who remain; second, but probably the
more important, to the work that women
and men of advanced years are doing in the
fields, and, third, and indirectly to the ex-
tension work of the Western state colleges
and universities.
The first two one could see from the car
windows The third contributing cause was
explained to me by bankers and others
whom l met in such centres as Omaha and
ST. Louis. These are emphatic in saying
that the work of the state colleges in TAX
ing the colleges to the farmers in the form
OF field stations, correspondence and winter
courses are doing war service the value of
which is not suspected in the East or fully
appreciated in the West
Another thing one notes from the car
windows is the unusually large number of
gardens, as they cell them. These small
patches, planted to potatoes, corn and other
easily handled crops, are everywhere.
saw thousands of them, many no larger
than city lot; but in the aggregate the
acreage runs high, and the amount of food
they will produce will be considerable.
There is also to be noted an enormous
increase in the number of hogs one sees.
Hogs are everywhere and in larger num-
bers than I have ever seen them before.
This condition is due in large measure to
the high prices for pork, the real desire of
the farmers to help win the war by pro-
vldlng plenty of food and the educational
work before referred to. But in one state
at least there is another reason
This state is Indiana, which this wear will
produce more pork than any one ever ex-
pected it would be possible for it to pro-
duce. The reason there is intel,ioent .c-
ton by the state officials in fighting hog
cholera, which is rapidly becoming an un-
known disease in that state
This action, Governor Goodrich told mo
consisted OF enforcing the existing laws of
the state on animal hygiene and making the
state Agricultural Department. the business
partner of the farmer who wished to raise
more hogs but who was afraid to buv feed
ers from the stockyards lest he might also
buy infection for the stock he already had
This department." said the Governor
was turned over to young man holding
subordinate place, Democrat as it han
pened, but good veterinarian, with orders
10 get results. He set out by enforcing the
law. lnls enforcement has cut the loss of
hogs through cholera from 18 per cent to
iess than b. That means a money saving
OF more than s5,000,00O. 1t is going to be
larger.
Then by the simple expedient of find;no
out who could raise more hogs if thew were
assured Of getting healthy stock and ar.
ranging. that they be supplied with animals
inoculated against disease and ster;l;zad a.
'ney 'elS the stockyards he guaranteed them
against loss or danger from that source
Simple, isn't it ?"
other states anxious to increase the food
supply are taking up this scheme, which ;s
mere mentioned as a concrete example Of
what is being done.
told all of this to man in the pn1,mar
smoking compartment who had com.
through/from the Coast.
It's the same story everywhere" he said
why, you never saw such wheat as +hav
are raising in the dry farming section Of
Colorado. 1t is the last place an oldtimer
would look for great crops, but saw better
looking fields there than have in Iowa"
AT time when there is SO much in tb.
news that is not cheering it is a pleasure