604 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 35 



money to the Caisses Kegionales de Credit Agricole, which in turn 

 advanced money to the cooperative societies. Steps were taken to in- 

 crease the amount of gardening carried on, by putting the opportu- 

 nity for cultivating gardens within reach of even the humblest. 

 The services of schoolmasters were enlisted to instruct children in 

 gardening and to carry on model gardens. 



To direct these efforts a " committee of agricultural action " was 

 formed in each commune. These committees have formed a part of 

 the government's plan for mobilizing agi"icultural labor, and have 

 also become responsible for the cultivation of farms or holdings 

 which have fallen out of use, the supply of seeds, fertilizers, etc. 



In Germany systematic provision has been made for the cultivation 

 of the land — selecting the crops most needed, for providing ferti- 

 lizers and feeds, and economy in the utilization of agricultural prod- 

 ucts. In addition to its previous agencies and its food bureau, an 

 imperial office for vegetables and fruit, to further the production, 

 sale, and preservation of fruit and vegetables, was established the 

 past year, with power to provide for the growth of the necessary 

 amount of these supplies and their preservation. 



In Great Britain the organization for agriculture has been greatly 

 extended and strengthened. War agricultural committees and 

 borough war food societies have been organized extensively for the 

 assistance of farmers and to secure further allotments of land for 

 cultivation. Attention has been turned to the utilization of land not 

 ordinarily employed in agriculture, such as private parks, golf links, 

 pleasure grounds, etc., as well as bringing more land into cultivated 

 crops, employment of waste woodland for raising pigs, etc. 



The farmers have been urged to plow up the poorer of the perma- 

 nent pastures, shorten the period of grass and clover in rotations, 

 bring the remaining grass into the highest stage of production to 

 enable it to carry more stock, reduce the acreage of bare fallow, and 

 to cultivate more extensively crops for food and for animals. 



The labor problem has been a difficult one in all the countries. In 

 Great Britain persons employed in certain agricultural occupations 

 have been exempted from military duty, but despite this, it is esti- 

 mated that up to the middle of 1916, 320,000 men had been taken 

 from the land. Special efforts have been made to secure labor at 

 critical times, as during harvest, by a national volunteer movement, 

 and women have been drawn into agricultural occupations as never 

 before. In this they have shown marked adaptability and brought 

 much favorable commendation on their services. Nearly every issue 

 of the Journal of the Board of Agriculture gives accounts of the 

 successful and satisfactory employment of volunteer women laborers, 

 frequently drawn from classes not accustomed to outdoor work. 

 Women's committees have been active in securing recruits, and to 



