The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1918-04-18
Every Man a Farmer
By Frederick J. Haskin

II everyone IN the united states VINO
owns bit of ground would make that
bit produce something, our food prob
lem would be solved.
And practically every bit of ground
is capable of producing something. The
home vegetable garden, although the
slest and most practicable way for
| .e majority of householders to produce
food at home, is by no means the only
one. The purpose of this article is to
point out that there are several
practicable forms of backyard farming
about which full information is available
to anyone.
When the home vegetable garden
campaign was launched, there were
scoffers who said that home production
of food was not worth while. The sue
cess of the home vegetable garden is
now an established fact, and the De-
partment of Agriculture is trying to
populariZe. In the production on a small
scale of poultry, rabbits and honey.
Here, then are four distinct oppor-
tunities. If gardening does not appeal
to you, or you have not the soil, per-
haps you can go into the livestock busl-
ness or establish a small apiary.
The need for more poultry is especial
ly pressing. Owing to the high price
of feed, and the high prices offered for
poultry in the markets, too much poultry
has been killed during the past winter
The nation as a whole has ten per
cent fewer chickens than it should have,
which means also that the egg supply
is ten per cent short. In a time when
all food is scarce, and when poultry is
especially needed to take the place of
the red meats which we are exporting,
this is serious situation. The Depart
ment of Agriculture hopes to remedy it
by inducing farmers to increase the size
of their poultry fiocks, and by populariz-
ing poultry keeping among suburban,
small town and even city jewellers. 1t
is conducting vigorous campaign to
have repealed the numerous city
ordinances which prohibit the keeping
of chickens within city limits. The
urban chicken keeper is to keep only
hens, the rooster with his loud noise be-
ing debarred AS corollary Of this pro-
hibtion, the city man is not to raise
chickens, but merely to buy pullets and
give them a home. He should keep
as many as he can FEED on his table
scraps. supplemented with just little
grain. This is for the city jewellers
only. The farther OUT you live, the
larger the scale upon which you can
operate.
The government poultry experts
would also respectfully call your atten-
p ton to the fact that there are other
kinds of poultry than chickens. Con-
slider, for example, the guinea fowl If
YOU have fairly large place, this may
be the very bird for you. The guinea
fowl is also the ideal bird for a lazy
man to raise. 1t likes to live in patches
of weeds and unkept shrubbery; it
seldom requires feeding, being an ex-
pert at taking care of itself; it lays
excellent eggs, and is very good to eat
Finding the eggs, however, is not
lazy mans job.
If you have pond or creek en- your
place, ducks and geese should be con-
sdered. Geese are especially valuable
if you have bit of grass land, such as
back lawn, where they may feed.
For the goose is grass eater, and if he
has good pasturage will not require
great deal of feeding. The duck, on
the other hand, is a largely carnivorous
bird. and unless he has a good creek or
pond in which to hunt, is the greediest
guest of them all. The pigeon, accord
ing to the experts, has the smallest
claim of all upon your consideration.
Pigeons feed almost exclusively upon
grain, and we cannot spare grain. The
value of poultry lies in its ability to
convert into food material which would
otherwise serve no useful purpose.
Having taken up all varieties of poul-
try, bees and rabbits remain to be con-
sidered. The keeping of bees and rab-
bits are perhaps the most economical
methodssof producing sugar and meat.
Bees extract sugar from almost every
growing thing without injury thereto,
and feed themselves from their own
product. Rabbits most cheaply and
quicklyl convert grass heritage and a
little grain into meat. The European
nations. shaving long recognized the
value of bees and rabbits. One part of
Germany's long preparation for the
''Der Tag" was teaching the people to
produce these things by offering prizes.
In France, too, rabbits and bees have
done much to supplant the meager war
rations.
In this country, wild rabbits have
been so abundant that the keeping of
tame rabbits has never become wide
spread. But now that the sale of game
: is prohibited in most markets. and rah