The Topeka state journal., 1919-06-23
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM NATION
BUREAU
FREDERIC L HAsK4N. pirscte9
weshlnEtaA Ae
OUR EARN MISSIONARIES In
FRANCE.


| Washington, d. c., JUMP 20,-'Fhs
last American expeditionary force to
go to, Europe consisted of four gov--
eminent experts in the art of pEe-
serving fruits and vegeta Rles at home
/ These experts will help France ever
| her present hungry period by iHitiRt-
| ing French housewives into the myazI
teHiea of the "cofd pack and other
methods which have been poPHlaFi7ed
in this country by the DePa rtment of
Agriculture, and which have filled
(, thousands of pantry shelves In the
| past four years.
The canning experts are part of an
extensive program to reconstruct
French rural life and agriculture.
/ Heretofore, French women have
taken little interest in cannipEo aside
from an occasional attempt at jam
or preserves, The town bo1sekeepeF
buys factory canned goods. and
women on farms worlo>in the fields
liaI day, which leaves theIn little time
to learn pew stunts The quIai people
of France have. always had almost
vegetable-1ess winters. with the diet
| of bread meat and wine HEhtened
occasionally bp potatoes and dried
! fruit.
/ 1t was in the interests of ooaserva-
| tion that the French Ministry of Agri-
send over teachers of American cam.
ming methods. The teachers are to
work only with domestic science
| teachers of the French agricultural
schools, and they in turn will teach
the housewives of France, After the
American experts complete theiE
course of instruction at Paris Cor pos-
i Sibly. some other French city) they
AeyQect to visit the schools of domestic
science to give further demonstrations.
\ The. purpose of the canning. experts
is to show to French women the value
of canning and the. simplicity of Amer
| lean methods. They carry with them
| several sets of up-to-date equipment
such as many American women use in
i their kitchens, but emphasis will be
| laid on the fact that a wash boiler
with straw or Stats inside, ordinary
spoons and dishes. and the glass jars
or cans for packing the vegetables are
all the equipment necessary. The lack
of sugar in France is no bar to cam
ming, for by the new method sugar
| can be dispensed with almost entirely.
| The department of agriculture states
that it hopes to learn. as well as to
teach thru it's representatives, in
/ France. 1t is believed that France
can give our agriculturists valua Bile
points on intensive farming.
The canning experts are the only
1 Representa- tives from the departme Mt
| of agriculture that the French gox-
ternment has asked for as teachers,
but in other ways the United States is
/
farms.
I Roultry for, one. thing. is being
| shipped to France from this country.
| Chickens are scarce in France since
the war, but the department of agri-
culture regards this as a minor diff
Guilty, since poultry can be Increased
/ so per cent in two years under faVoF-
able conditions.
I Losses of cattle, on the other hand,
are serious handicap. Up to the
ttime of the war, France, had been
| slowly, but steadily. increasing her cat-
tile supply, but after four years of war
there are fewer cattle In the country
than fifty years ago.
| Some. COWS are being shipped from
| the United States, but 1t is impossible
Ito make up the deficit in this way,
The distance which the stock has to be
| shipped is so great that the cost of
shipping almost doubles the price Of
the animal A trial order of 104 dairy
cows and four bulls were shipped to
| France in April to furnish foundation
stock. A few head of beef cattle were
also sent.
I The American government is par
ticularly anxious that nothing but
| healthy stock reach France from the
| United States. Special precautions
are. taken before stock is allowed to
| leave this country, and danger of dis
| ease being contracted on the way Is
tessened by, the new export regu1a-
/
cattle aboard ship must have specially
constructed quarters placed at a giveE
| distance from the engine to avoid
overheating of the animals. They
| must be fed and watered according to
! regulations, and a certain number OF
attendants provided Further ship
nents will depend on the success OF
the, ftnst tho in view of the high cost
of transportation France will probably
try to raise her own stock.
The shortage of draft animals has
Il driven countries at war to depend
more on machinery than ever before,
and there have been many predictions
that France is to become a great field
l for trade in American machinery. AS
a matter Of fact, agriculturists DOW
4 consider II toss up as to whetheP
France will continue to use the ma
chinery thrust upon her, or will go
back to her old dependence on ami
mails as soon as machinery now in
use is worn out.
The average French farm is 50
small that American machinery is
i used with difficulty when it can be
\, used at all. A farmer does not wish
u to invest in a thresheE to -thneeh a
few rows ef wheat OF a tractor TO
French peasants cling to the old we'll
established ways of doing things. Take
the case of the scythe. The Ameri-
can scythe with its short handle and
we'll curved blade was Introduced into
France without the least success. The
farmers preferred the bong handled.
upwieldy instruments used by their an
/ cestors, and made famous in Millet's
painting 'HThe AngeIus."
At present France is suppfementinG-
her diminished supply of work oxen.
| which formerly were the main relf-
: ance of French farm. by the use Of
} large numbers of American army
, mules. 1t Is possible that the mule
may succeed as q substitute for the
| OF if the tractor fails.
While the value of the tractor to
| the small farmer in France is yet
undecided. Ii has been used with great
war. the United States Food Adminis-