602 EXPERIMENT STATION RECOED. [VoL 35 



no small measure a reflection of the steady work of various classes 

 of agricultural institutions and organizations, which has been going 

 on quietly and often with meager support or understanding. The 

 measure of strength of these agencies, and the extent to which there 

 has been some form of agricultural organization to assist, has been 

 a large factor in meeting the unusual situation. 



The first efforts in the various countries centered largely on pro- 

 viding the machinery for gathering in and saving the crops, and in 

 this the assistance of the military was furnished to a limited degree. 

 But as time went on the necessity became apparent of providing for 

 the continuance of agriculture on the highest possible plane, of 

 keeping up the fertility of the land, of preventing the depletion of 

 live stock, of avoiding waste of all kinds, and often of discovering 

 and utilizing new sources of supplies. Organized effort was there- 

 fore enlarged and increasing latitude extended in the temporary 

 use of soldiers. 



The attitude of cooperation between the military and civil authori- 

 ties is well illustrated by the instructions of the French IMinister of 

 Agriculture in transferring to district commanders the assignment 

 of soldiers to agi'icultural duties. He said : " The regular, prompt, 

 and (as far as possible) complete execution of agricultural work 

 constitutes one of the essential elements of national resistance and 

 consequently one of the principal forces of success. The full use of 

 the soil must be obtained at all costs, equally with the supply of men 

 and material to the army, or the supply of labor to factories engaged 

 in national defense." Soldiers were classified on the basis of farm 

 experience, and opportunity given them to offer themselves for tem- 

 porary work in the fields. In order to avoid unfavorable reflection 

 upon such, the idea was widelj'^ disseminated that soldiers thus 

 volunteering to assist in farm work were not to be regarded as 

 " shirkers " but on the contrary as men doing a double patriotic duty, 

 by fighting and by keeping their brother fighters alive. 



In Great Britain the measures and appeals of the government have 

 shown no less appreciation of the importance of agricultural work. 

 Steps were early taken to organize the agricultural forces and to 

 increase the food production. The situation called attention to cer- 

 tain conditions in that country which attempts were made to remedy 

 by a readjustment of the systems of farming, and by organizing sys- 

 tematic means for providing labor and increasing the food returns 

 from the land under cultivation. In directing public attention to the 

 need of special efforts, the president of the Board of Agriculture 

 expressed the conviction that " if agriculture had made no more 

 progress in Germany than it has in the United Kingdom during the 

 period 1895-1915, the German Empire would have been at the end 



