Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-03-27

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That the herds of cattle of the allies
of the war and that the United States
is not likely to be called upon to fur
nish much hoof ~niff except possibly
dairy cows, but will be asked to fur
nish dressed beef and commercial
horses, was the statement made yes
terday by George M. Rommel, chief of
the animal husbandry division of the
department of agriculture In an ad-
dress before the convention of the
New Mexico Cattle and Horse Grow
ers' association. Mr. Rommel recently
spent several months in Europe as a
member of a commission appointed
by President Wilson to investigate
food conditions there, his part in the
inquiry being confined mainly to the
status of the live stock industry.
I'VE found on our arrival in Eng
land said Mr.. Rommel, that there
were just as many cattle in that coun-
try as before the war. There had
been a considerable decrease in the
number of hogs and a slight falling off
in the number of sheep. We found
just as many horses on the farms but
fewer in the cities. Evidently Inc army
had taken the city horses and per-
mitted the farmers to keep theirs.
They were cultivating four million
more acres of land than they did be-
fore the war, but they had supple
mented the shortage of horses with
tractors.
More Young Cattle.
There are more young cattle in
France than before the war, Mr.
Rommel said but the sheep have
dropped from sixteen million to ten
and one-half million head. Hogs also
decreased some. The decrease In sheep
was caused by taking the herders to
bear arms or engage in other war ac
tivities, and the slump in the number
of hogs was largely due to there being
a shortage of concentrates.
There has been a great deal of
comment regarding the demands from
Europe on the United States for
breeding stock" Mr.. Rommel contin
ued. Il question very much whether
the United States will be called on to
any great extent for breeding stock of
any kind, unless it is dairy cows and
Pereheron horses for commercial pur-
poses.
The loss of horses in Europe during
the war is not known. Mr. Rommel
said. Estimates place the destruction
as high as 100000 head. He said in
his opinion 50,000,000 would be a.
more accurate guess.
The speaker stated that the coun-
tries needing breeding cattle would
prefer to obtain them in Europe. in
stead of sending across the water.
Percheron horses, however, made a
decided hit with British army officers,
and Mr.. Rommel predicted that about
midsummer the demand from Europe
for this breed for comm mercial purpose .
would become quite noticeable The
horses must be of good size, Weighing
1.400 pounds and up, he said.
shows War Pictures.
The latter part of Mr.. Rommels ad-
dress was illustrated with the aid of
stereopticon slides. The pictures.
many of which were taken by Mr.
Rommel and members of the commits
sion, showed types of cattle, sheep,
hogs and horses produced in England
and France. There were also pic
lures of women doing manual labor in
England during the war, and num-
ber of views of the devastation
wrought by the Huns in France and
Belgium.
All the pictures were interesting,
but the ones showing English women
doing farm work deserves special men
ton, not that they were any better
than the rest but because they re-.
vealed quite clearly just how the
members of the so-called weaker sex
proved that they were able to do theI
work of men when the crucial testl
came. Women were shown piowing,
cutting wheat, stacking hay, shearingI
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