Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-05-12
u. s. Farm Expert Gives
Friendly Advice 10 China
Department of Agriculture Officials Visit
Chinese, Suggest Practical Methods
Of Increasing Food Production.
By BAUKHAGE
Netps Analyst and Commentator.

small farming and very small farm
ing, indeed, is the chief activity. In
the west, there are great grass
lands better adapted to the raising
of stock.
Animal husbandry in China must
meet one immediate problem, and
that is, increasing and improving
production in the western part of
the country and breeding for re-
stocking in the areas which will be
re-occupied when the Japanese are
driven out.
The heavy demands for food by
the American military, to say moth
ing of China's own soldiers, make it
necessary for the Chinese to in
crease food production to the
utmost. At present, however, DR..
Phillips reported that except for the
famine areas where drouth or in
sects have affected the crops, the
Chinese people have more food
available than is popularity believed.
But they aren't making the most
of their COWS and pigs and chickens.
AS to the Chinese cow, about which
DR.. Phillips spoke with great feel
ing, one of the first things to do is
to teach the Chinese peasant that it
gives milk and that milk is pretty
good food. And then to improve the
breed so that it will give milk. At
present, the COW is beast of bur-
den, a draft animal. However, it
isn't even as good a draft animal
as it could be. 1t will not be diff
cult to improve the breed so that it
will be more efficient as beast of
burden and as milk giver, at the
same time.
OF course, the Nomadic people
who live on the great plains of
northern China, who live from their
herds, use the milk as food, mostly
dried in the form of casein. They
also store butter. They have the yak
and hybrid animal, cross be-
tween a yak and a COW, which is
called "pian-niu."
The chickens in China aren't
much to crow about either, I take
it, from DR.. Phillips description. If
they lay only so to 60 eggs year,
nobody complains. There, too,
breeding from selected types that
China already has would be a great
help.
DR.. Phillips likes the Chinese dom
keys and in spite of personal expert
ences on their backs, thinks Mon
golian horses have possibilities.
Very good mules are produced by
crossing the Monaghan mare and
the donkey. But the Monaghan horse
is little, tough-mouthed, flat-with-
cred, crooked-legged animal which
could be greatly improved with
inter-breeding with a good saddle
horse strain.
No Ordered Effort
DR.. Phillips had first-hand expert
ence with these little animals whose
ancestors were tough enough to
carry Ghangis Khan across Asia but
are too tough to follow the bride if
they get other ideas.
Up until now, there seems to have
been no ordered effort by the repre-
sentatives of any other foreign coun-
try to assist in the improvement Of
Chinese livestock. Missionaries here
and there have introduced better
grades which have had an influence
in the immediate vicinity, German
missionaries brought in some nice
fat pigs. Others introduced good
chickens and COWS. But these were
only drop in the bucket.
The Chinese Department of Agri-
culture itself is new thing and has
very little background of training or
experience. Perhaps the one most
important influence has been the ex-
change established between Cornell
university and the University in
Marking. A number of experts in
agriculture have been trained at
Cornell and have gone back to
China.
Naturally with such large pro-
portion of the population illiterate,
it will be exceedingly difficult to
spread the information even when
the Chinese leaders themselves are
trained.
The present Chinese government,
despite the fact that almost every
ounce of energy has to be turned
toward fighting the war, has shown
an interest evidenced by the well
come reception given the various
American representatives., and the
| United States on its side has sought
to improve it's relations between
people and extend its influence by
this activity which is part of the
! cultural relations program.