The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-13

called a meeting of the farm bureau and told the members that the wheat could be saved if hogs could be se- cured to clean up the fields. The county agent was then authorized to go "hog hunting," and as result he secured 2300 head which were put to work sal vaging the damaged wheat.\
 In many localities the limiting fac tor in hog raising is easy access to market. County agents are solving this question by inducing farmers to market hogs comparatively, thus greatly re- ducing the expense to each farmer. In Utah recently more than 100 farmers supplied IS carloads of hogs from sec- tions 35 to 90 miles from a market shipping point. The hogs were brought in wagons and even automobiles to the shipping point and were there handled under the supervision of county agents. Similar work is being done by county agents or through farmers organiza- tions in many parts of the country.
 THE HOG SITUATION.
 A conservative policy with respect to increasing the number of swine until the relative shortage and high price of feed are overcome is the recommen- dation of the United States department of agriculture, recently made in state- ment on American agricultural produc- tion in 1919. In summarizing the hog situation, the department reports that the number of swine fell from 65.620,- GOO, the high point in 1911, to 5S,933, 900, the low point in 1914 and under the stimulus of war demand and record corn crcop in 1917 the number in creased to 70,9S,000 on January 1, 1918. Reports indicate that the number on farms on January l, 1919, was 75,5S7, 900, or an increase of 6.5 per cent.
 The number of swine per capita of population in 1911 was 0.679 of one ami mal On the same basis there should be 72,474,000 on farms in 1919.
 Exports of pork and pork products fell from 1,67S,0000OO pounds in the fiscal year 1899 to 07,000, 900 in 1910 and rose to 1,692,000,000 in 1918. Al though definite data are lacking, re- ports indicate a considerable reduction in the number of swine in Europe representative of the food administra- tion reports a reduction of 25 per cent in the United Kingdom, 12a per cent in Italy, and 49 per cent in France However, in estimating probable de mand in Europe for American pork prod ucts certain factors must be borne iT 1 mind, namely CD large stocks now or 1 hand in the United States, and CD the rapidity with which the number O. swine can be increased in Europe. An. other factor of importance is the rela. lively large proportion of lard in the exports of this country, amounting te about 50 per cent of all pork products exported in the five-year period iron 1910 to 1914, and about 200 per cen more than the total quantity of beef ex ported. Exports of lard amounted tt lS1 100000 pounds in 1914, 476,O00, ,00t pounds in 1915, 427,O00,000 pounds il
 1916, 445,OO0,0O0 pounds of 1917, ant 92,0OO,000 pounds in 1918. No shipments
 to Germany and Austria have been in
 cluded in the exports of lard from tn,
 United States since 1914. However
 prior to the war Germany was our sec
 ond largest customer, taking 146, ,O00, 0O
 pounds in 1914, or about 30 per cent o
 our total lard exports. The foreign de | mand for lard is likely to be heavy dur ing the present year.