BULLETIN 192. 



REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR. 



During the period covered by this report, there was raging in Europe the 

 greatest conflict of arms that the world has ever known. Even though we 

 were thousands of miles from the trenches, there were few lives and few institu- 

 tions in this country that were not affected and influenced by the war. It is a 

 bright page in the history of our country that records the patriotic response of 

 the American farmer to the call for increased food production. "Food Will 

 Win the War" was a direct challenge to the patriotism of our farmers, to 

 which they responded nobly. In spite of the decreasing and inferior labor 

 supply for which the farmer had to compete with other industries that were 

 paying war prices, the unusually liigh cost of seeds, fertilizers, implements, 

 machiner)^ and parts, to say nothing about the uncertainty of prices which 

 he might expect "for his crops, he went ahead and planted bumper crops. 

 The countrj^ needed food to win the war, and the American farmers were deter- 

 mined it should be forthcoming. 



It is natural that the farmers should turn to the College and Experiment 

 Station for even more assistance during a time like this, v\hen there is so much 

 more risk involved, and when to make a mistake would mean greater financial 

 loss than it would dming normal times. The requests for advice sent to the 

 New Hampshire Experiment Station covered a very wide range of subjects 

 with innun^erable variations. Fortunately the Station had been able to acquire 

 gradually dm-ing past yeaTS a large amount of data and information relating 

 to the agriculture of the state which it could supplj' at once and thereby 

 render a valuable service not only to the indi'i'idual farmer but to the state and 

 the nation in helping to carry out the war program. 



As the pre-war v/ork of the Station had prepared for meeting the needs under 

 emergency conditions, it was felt that in so far as possible even under the stress 

 of war, the future should not be lost sight of, and it has been the poUcy to con- 

 tinue with the minimum interruption the long-time and most important Experi- 

 ment Station projects. This has been difficult owing to the many demands 

 which have been made upon the members of the staff to assume new duties. 

 In order that there might be unity of purpose and the gi-eatest efficiency in 

 directing and carrjang out the food production campaign in the state, there 

 was created a State Food Production Committee which included, in its mem- 

 bership, representatives from the leading ogicial and voluntary agencies of the 

 state directly concerned with food production.* The Emergency Food Pro- 

 duction Committee consisted of: 



Huntley N. Spaulding, Federal and State Food Administrator. 



R. D. Hetzel, President, New Hampshire College. 



Andrew L. FeUcer, Commissioner of Agriculture. 



Fred A. Rogers, Master, State Grange. 



George A. Putnam, President, Federated Farm Bureau Association. 



George H. Whitcher, Deputy Superintendent of Pubhc Instruction. 



