The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-08-27
GERMANY PROVES
INTERESTING To
MANTEO COUPLE
Mr.. and Mrs. Putnam Home
After Four Years; Re-
count Visit

family will give some of their
impressions of Germany, Mrs.
Lynwood Putnam will say, eve
really haven't much to tell" At
the end of an hour or SOS recital
of scenes, incidents, impressions,
facts and opinions cleaned from
four years in Germany, she
laughs, 81 said that we wouldn't
have much to tell. You'll never
believe anything else I say, but
you haven't heard nearly every
thing yet"
Mr.. and Mrs. Putnam and their
son, Lynwood Jr., have been
vacationing at the family home
of Mrs. Putnam's father, the late
Edward S. Daniels, following
their return from Europe in
J June. They will leave Manteo
I this week to return to their home
in Long Island, New York after
an absence of four years.
During their first two years in
Germany, 1850 to 1852, Mr.. Put
nam worked as a civilian engi-
neer with the Eucom Exchange
System in Frankfort, handling
all food and supplies used by the
American military forces in Eu-
rope. Since this includes families
of soldiers and American civil
ians working for the Army the
volume of goods is enormous, Mr..
Putnam says.
Imagine the shipping cost for
all that food" he adds. "None of
the food used by the Army is
bought in Germany because the
Germans do not properly ferti-
lie their farms. For that reason
German food does not meet army
standards of nutrition some
foods are bought in Europe, for
example milk and canned hams
come from Holland and dairy
products, eggs and cheese, from
Denmark. Almost everything
else is shipped from the United
States.
Pasteurization is an innovation
in Germany, according to the
Putnams. Until recently milk
was handled in the old fashioned
way, stored raw in large cans
and cooled in springs. When sold,
it was dipped out of the cans
with long handled dippers. Ger
man milk has less food value
than that from Holland, Mr.. Put
nam continues. Often the Ger
man cow pulls a pillow all day
long before she is taken home in
the afternoon for milking.
| Army stores and post ex-
changes supply all the goods that
the Americans need in Europe,
according to Mr.. Putnam. The
only things that they generally
buy from Europeans are SOU
venirs and items, such as cam
eras, that are better in Europe
or cannot be obtained in the
United States.
During the last two years of
their stay in Europe, Mr.. Putnam
was maintenance Engineer for
the Army at Giessen not far
from Frankfort.
In addition to marking poor
crop fertilization, Mr.. Putnam
described German farming as
almost primitive. There is little
INFLAMMATION" he says. Horses
or cows pull the plows. One does
not see tractors or much ma
chinery"
In country of about 81 mil
lion people with less space than
Texas, every inch of farmland
must be utilized, Mr.. Putnam
says, to support the population.
The farmers partly accomplish
this by locating their houses in
village with the fields about a
mile away. These villages grew
up, each with its own wall, in
medieval times for protection
and the system has been retain
ed to conserve farm land. The
cows and other farm animals and
equipment are kept in the vii
lagos. In the mornings the farm
ers with their teams and equip
ment walk out to the fields for
the days work.
They do what is called
patchwork quilt farming" Mr..
Putnam says. I'm flying over the
country it has the appearance of
a quilt. No one farmer cultivates
large area. He may have an
acre or a part of an acre here and
another some distance away"
"The government plants fruit
trees along the roads," Mrs. Put
nam adds an illustration of eco
nomical German farming. Each
tree is numbered and leased out.
In the fall one drives along with
apple laden trees lining the