The Department of Agriculture during the War. 183 



THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DURING 



THE WAR. 



[This article briefly reviews the work carried out by the various branches of the Department 

 during the years of the war, and irecords some achievements despite the manj^ 

 difficulties encountered through the abnormal conditions then existing. - Acting 

 Editor.] 



Evidence of the advance of agriculture in Soutli Africa is visible on 

 all sides. The application of scientific metliods of farming, the 

 growth of concerted effort, and organization engendered by education 

 and the experience of the past are bearing fruit in greater production, 

 increasing numbers of pure-bred Iv^e stock, and a higher standard in 

 the quality of our products. Our country, which not so long ago had 

 to depend — if not for its life, then for most of its comfort — on the 

 production and energy of other countries, has now shaken off this 

 stigma ; its importance as an exporting country looms ever larger in 

 the eyes of the world and the promise of future development was 

 never brighter. 



The Department of Agriculture is charged with the duty of pro- 

 moting and guiding the country's agricultural activities, and un- 

 ceasingly watches over and strives to advance the interests relegated 

 to it. The task is a great one, for it involves the building up of the 

 farming industry, which has truly been termed " the backbone of the 

 country." The Department, as constituted to-day, is one of the out- 

 standing forces in the life of the Union, and it is well that the farmers 

 of the country whose interests are so dependent on its activities should 

 know what is being done by their own Department and realize the 

 efforts it is putting forward to ensure their well-being. 



An agricultural journal enables the Department to keep in touch 

 with the farmers, but this means was denied it since August, 1914, 

 and in order therefore to bridge in a measure the hiatus, and to give a 

 brief sketch of some of the matters coming xmder the purview of the 

 Department during the stress of the great war, the following notes are 

 given. To do so will necessitate touching on a wide range of subjects, 

 and many of far-reaching importance in themselves which entailed 

 considerable anxiety, thought, and time on the part of the Department, 

 have had perforce to be passed without special reference. Fuller 

 particulars are obtainable from the published annual leports of the 

 Department for the financial years covering the period dealt with in 

 this article. 



The situation created by the war was a most trying one. Besides 

 seriously reducing the staff by withdrawing officers from it and 

 rendering it impossible to fill many of. the vacancies occurring in it, 

 the war imposed a great many additional duties upon the Department 

 of a pressing nature and far from easy to discharge, whilst the ensuing 

 financial stringency and the increased cost of running the Department 

 contributed to the difficulty of the task. Indirectly, also, the war 

 added materially to the work of the Department, for the resultant 

 high prices and keen demand for foodstuffs and products of the soil 

 gave a great impetus to agriculture, leading to many branches of 



