50 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Febkuaky -23, UnS. 



•To the normal forces of the government dealing 

 with agiiculture and rural problems there has been 

 added an emergency agency with great and unusual 

 powers, with enormous possibilities for good, and with 

 a remarkable rtcord for achievements already to its 

 credit. It has enlisted in its ranks men of wide experi- 

 ■ence, tine spirit, and high ideals, many of whom are 

 gladly volunteering their services for the common 

 cause. I refer to the Food Administration under the 

 -direction of ^ir. Hoover. 



•The relation between this agency and the other 

 organized agricultural forces of the nation is intimate 

 and fundamental. It is impossible completely to disas- 

 sociate them, and it would be undesirable to do so. 



'The problem in part is a common one, and it is 



of the first importance that the work be done in the 



closest co-operation, and with an eye single for the 



public good. There is no need for undue duplication 



of effort, and no causes of friction which cannot be 



removed through an intelligent conception by each 



agency of the powers and purposes of all, and by a 



spirit of mutual accommodation. In a broad way it is 



agreed that the prime function of the Department of 



Agriculture shall be the stimulation of production, the 



conservation of products on the farm through all the 



normal and approved processes, the promotion of better 



marketing and distribution of products from the farms 



to the markets, the prosecution of the work in home 



-economics along usual lines, the dissemination of 



information, and the extension of all these activities 



as authorized by law. In a similar way the principal 



function of the l^ood Administration is the control and 



regulation of commercial distribution of foods: that is 



of products which have rcachtd the markets, are in the 



channels of distribution or in the hands of consumers, 



their conservation by consumers, the elimination of 



wa.ste, and the handling of foods and feeds in the 



market by legal means, through its regular ofticinls 



as well as through its volunteer agencies. 



•In the main the Department of Agriculture deals 

 wiih all the processes of farming up to the time 

 products reach the market, until they are in the 

 reijuisite form for consumption, and are available for 

 the purpose. At this point the Food Administration 

 enters and exercises its wide powers of regulation, 

 direction, and .suggestion. Where the Food Adminis- 

 tration through its powers can be of assistance to the 

 Departmentof Agriculture in its field, it is at liberty 

 freely to make suggestion, and when necesaajy, Uj 

 to-operate in execution: and the same relation obtains 



as to the department's participation in food adminis- 

 tration matters in which it has a vital iuterest, and 

 toward the promotion of which it can be of assistance. 

 This is the substance of the agreement originally 

 entered into between the Food Administration and the 

 Department of Agriculture, and will be more satis- 

 factorily observed as the agents and divisions of the 

 two departments familiarize themselves more fully 

 with their tasks and with the prescribed lines of efforts. 



'Obviously the making of a programme for the 

 agricultural actitives of the nation did not end with 

 the St. Louis conference. Thought, action, and co-oper- 

 ation between the members of this association and 

 other state agencies on the one hand, and the federal 

 department on the othpr, have been continuous. Atten- 

 tion has been given without cessation to probieius in 

 the field of labour. It was obvious that difficulti»s 

 would be presented, and that apprehension would run 

 beyond the actual condition. An army could not be 

 raised without taking men from every field of activity, 

 and it would have been unfair to any class of work- 

 ers in the community to have proposed its exemption. 

 It was impossible, in the haste of the first draft, satis 

 factorily to work out in detail the principle of selective 

 service: but, nevertheless, under the regulations, con- 

 sideration was given throughout by exemption boards 

 and by the officers of the War Department to the needs 

 of agriculture. With ampler time at its disp>)sal, the 

 War Department has worked out a system of classifica- 

 tion which gives due regard to the necessity of retain- 

 ing skilled farmers and expert agricultural leaders on 

 the farms and ranches, and in the educational and 

 administrative services.' 



THE FOOD OF THE WEST INDIES. 



The II. Ml. II. A. Alford XichoUs, CM ( ;., M.D., 



F.LS., Senior ]\lcdieal < )tticir of Dominica, has dntri- 



buted to this Journal the following article on the above 



subject which is claiming so louch attention at present 



'in the.se islands: — 



Some timt' ago in one of the West Indian colonies the 

 fjuestion of the deticiency of protein in the food of the people 

 became the subject of otiicial reports, and it was asserted that 

 this deficiency involved a s'arving and stunting of 

 young fjrowing persons, and a lowering of the physique 

 of the people, with the con.sequent diminution of their work- 

 ing power. 



It wan also considered that the low protein content and 

 the excess of carbohydrates in the food were the cause.* of 

 the prevalence of pellagra and (n'ripheral neuritis. 



The otiicial pa, ers in regard to the questions raised were' 

 sent to me for my consideration and report. The matters 

 dealt with are of interest to the West Indies generally, and 

 a request was made to me that my report should be published 



