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



Greater effort and larger sacrifices must then be made by 

 those who clearly understand the situation. More and more 

 teachers and interpreters are needed to make plain that the 

 world famine calls for sacrifice on the part of every one of us. 

 Even the poorest family can deliberately choose to eat corn 

 bread instead of wheat bread when prices are even, to choose 

 fish or beans instead of meat; while those who have margin 

 and likewise understanding should absolutely deny themselves 

 the foods which must be shipped abroad, to make up for the 

 inevitable failure on the part of many who do not make a 

 similar choice. It is quite true that if every individual in the 

 country gave up seven-eighths of a loaf of bread a week we 

 might ship across the required supply of wheat to our Allies; 

 but because understanding comes slowly, and many who fail 

 to understand will make less than this saving, it will surely be 

 incumbent upon those who see and understand to make ten 

 times over the sacrifice required. 



Just so far, then, as one has wealth and can make free choice, 

 or because of added intelligence and experience can deal wisely 

 with foods, we must expect of him the larger sacrifice, the com- 

 plete conformity. Exactly as the volunteer leaps into the 

 arena, so those of clear vision must shoulder the responsibility. 



One of our responsibilities, however, is patience and persist- 

 ence in teaching the truth to those who even now are failing to 

 understand. We must extend the enthusiasm for food conser- 

 vation; and this we must do by every available means. Abso- 

 lute necessity will come to our aid as it did with the recent 

 sugar shortage. When Finland is eating bread made from 

 beech buds, and when France is apportioning 7 ounces of bread 

 a day to her men and women at home, we must expect to come 

 upon days when we shall be glad to do without this, that or the 

 other food to which we have become habituated. And so far 

 as we can we must help our people to meet the situation with 

 courage, with cheerfulness, as well as with intelligence. 



Heroic work has been done thus far by the farm bureaus and 

 the county agents throughout the State. The volunteer soci- 

 eties — the women's clubs, the civic federations, the special aid 

 societies, the granges and the churches — have swung into line 

 and are lending their aid. But we still need the devotion and 



