The Arizona copper camp., 1920-06-05

!
The constant. warnings Of the grain
administration that wheat is going to
| be lower as soon as government con-
/ troll is removed is not conducive to
( bigger production
The increase in food production, SO
notable for the past few years in the
southern states, is unlikely to con-
tinue in 1920 Cotton is suppIanting
food crops everywhere, and many
i farmers in the middle states are turn
ing from food to tobacco How dis
appointing the sugar crops of Cuba
and Louisiana are needs no elabora-
ton.
Fruit and Truck Crops
Those vegetables ordinarily called
the truck crops seem to be suffering
most severely from reduction of acre
age They usually are raised near
the great industrial centers and re
quire a large amount of hand labor
The New England production of truck
crops is expected, according to the
state departments Of agriculture, this
year to decline As TO so per cent. The
same tendency is reported in New
York and Illinois, while in the new
industrial sections of Ohio and Michi-
!, gan ali even worse situation has de-
veloped
Potatoes, sweet corn, and other hoe
crops show smaller reductions but re
veal the same general tendency Mar
i .bet gardeners were never so far be-
hind with their spring work, and the
number who will plant nothing to sell
this year is astonishing.
The great significance o. the mar
ket gardening situation is that city
people will have to eat something be
sides green vegetables this summer.
1t is estimated that The number of
city gardens is so per cent less than
last year
Thus far, those who have written
on the general food situation have
overlooked the fruit outlook
1t is impossible to reduce fruit
acreage. There will be nearly as much
produced as last year, but how is it
going to be eaten? All of it natures
at about the same time, and unless
the greater part Of it is canned the
greater part of il will be wasted.
i With sugar at 25 cents pound,
and difficult to secure at that the
housewife will not be likely to "put
up" as much as usual Indeed, many
will put up" nothing at all The
glass jars on the cellar shelf will be
filled with sweet corn and string
beans rather than peaches, Dlums, jel-
/ lies, jams, and the other sugar and
fruit products for which the Ameri-
can housewife is famous
The fruit pack will be left largely
to the Gamers. Their capacity is linn
tied. 1t will be difficult for them
to secure the large credits that Will
be necessary to finance their sugar
needs. They are facing a tin plate
situation that viii make it impossible
for them to secure an ordinary supply
of containers And worst Of all may
communities which produce large
quantities of perishable fruits have
no canneries in their vicinity One is
reluctantly forced to the conclusion
that most of the counuys enormous
fruit~crop is going to waste.
Higher Prices Certain
Such is the plight OF the greatest
agricultural nation in the world It
faces a food shortage when something
like 80 billion dollars is invested in
agriculture, just about as much as is
invested in all the other industries
put together
Just as the manufacturer in times
past has closed his factory or cur
tailed production because he could
not make any money, so the farmer
is leaving his farm or curtailing pro-
duction He is rot striking any more
than the manufacturer was striking
and he does not make half as much
noise about it. He simply produces
enough for himself and his family
and waits for better times. Better
times mean prices high enough to
make production profitable
The man behind the hoe realizes
that, rightly Or wrongly, the middle
man has been getting the most of the
profit incidental to higher food prices
while the ignorant and misinformed
city dweler thinks the producer to
! be an arch-profitoer. The farmer may
be excused for being bitter
For time the government may be
able to keep the price of food down