114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



prise had developed knowledge and ability in matters of food 

 production. All these were tied together in and by the com- 

 mittee. One supreme task which is involved in the food cam- 

 paign is the bringing together of the expert and volunteer in 

 such relations as make for efficient service. This cannot be 

 accomplished in a minute. We do not grow in understanding 

 b}^ an instantaneous revelation. Knowledge comes slowly and 

 is always costly. In this working out of the common problem 

 the expert and the volunteer are marching side by side. In the 

 food campaign this has been particularly true. The State 

 therefore was to be congratulated upon the make-up of its food 

 committee. 



The enthusiasm and patriotism of the volunteer has somehow 

 to become a genuine re-inforcement to the expert who knows 

 the field. His experience must be shared with a new recruit, 

 and at the same time he must guard against dangers which 

 attend enthusiasm when yoked with ignorance or inexperience. 

 The volunteers, both men and women, worked well with the 

 food committee. 



To go back, the government at Washington, in forecasting 

 the problems of the war, was assured that America must 

 supply the Allies with food, and that to this end the food 

 supply must be increased. Seed time was upon us. The need 

 of haste was clear. Every one remembers the enthusiasm and 

 devotion with which the farmer increased his labors, the planter 

 plowed up his fields and the small householder laid out his gar- 

 den. The expert and the novice, the wise and the otherwise, 

 outdid one another in contagious enthusiasm. In the food-pro- 

 duction campaign the country was with the government. 



Then came our first introduction to food conservation. The 

 bill authorizing food control was held up in Congress. Activi- 

 ties involving the distribution of food, and directions concern- 

 ing the use of food, were delayed. At last, without waiting for 

 the passage of the bill, the President empowered Mr. Hoover to 

 lead the volunteer forces of the American nation in matters re- 

 lating to the conservation of food. Even before this the Fed- 

 eral Department of Agriculture, out of its vast experience, fore- 

 saw the essential need, and stimulated the work of conservation 

 which was already under way. 



