Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-01-29

given much attention to the development of small
home gardens, but these produce for the most part
only fresh vegetables which contain little nourlsh-
ment. Rabbits, the other hand, proVlGe lresh
meat of very good quality, and may be fed on all
sorts of weeds and plants that could not other
wise be utilized, while bees provide sugar. ana
extract it from plants without 1mpa!rlns tnelr
food value. Meat and sugar are what all the World
needs. Our own department OF agriculture mas
been encouraging the keeping of bees, and scien-
lists the biological survey have pointed out the
possibilities of supplementing the meat supply by
raising rabbits. So far, neither of these movements
seems to have taken ohld in this country. If bee
and rabbit keeping could be promoted as success
fully as was the home garden idea last summer the
food shortage could be greatly aIleVlated-
Another interesting experiment reported to the
academy in the use of acorns for the manu-
facture of alcohol. This experiment seems 10 nave
been Unexpectedly successful, nlgn percenIdSe VI
alcohol which is of course, much needed In the
manufacture of munitions, having been extracted
from acorns. The work is probably now Delng oone
on a commercial scale. The French sclentlst COM
ments that only the pigs are the losers IN TINS
country we have enormous stretches of oak torest
especially the dwarf oak of the West-tne lrulI VI
which is not even used for pig 1000 .
Horse chestnuts are also being used for human
food in Europe the inner bark OF poplar
trees the buds of trees and the leaves OF rhuDaro
plants 1t is evident that man discovers the 1000
values of many natural products only when he is
forced by necessity to do so. The only nation
which seems to have anticipated the necessities now
before the war she offered prizes to railroad en-
ployes for the production of honey and RADIUS on
the small bits of ground about their dwellings,
while German scientists made many experiments
in the utilization of materials that had always gone
to waste. Now that the necessity Is forced upon
them the French scientists are showing tnetnserVeS
equally resourceful.
OF course, the great question which France
faces is that of power. In spite of all her
efforts her agricultural production has suffered for
lack of men to till the soil. Many of the academy
reports deal with various phases of this problem
Thus it indicates that the labor of women in the
fields is being stimulated by offering prizes to
farmers wives for agricultural work There Is
also note indicating that, the labor of prisoners
of war not having proved useful France Is now
turning to her colonies for labor. Black men from
Africa either have been are to be imported for
use as agricultural labor. Both France and Eng
land have tried the of black men on the battle
field but there they have failed, being unable to
stand the rigorous conditions of military service
in climate to which they are not adapted 1t
seems quite probable that they might be success
fully used as laborers especially in the warm re-
gions of Southern France. 1t may be hazarued'
too that only a desperate lack of man power
wonId induce France to risk the problems wnicn
have always risen from the importation OF olacK
men in an Aryan country.