SOLDIERS OF THE SOIL 



277 



planting, especially throughout the South. 

 The value of the beans for oil produc- 

 tion, as well as for human food, has be- 

 come recognized so quickly and so gen- 

 erally during the past year that the crop 

 has acquired a commercial standing far 

 in excess of its previous status. 



The high food value of field beans and 

 the shortage of supply due to the light 

 yields of 191 5 and 19 16 render them of 

 great importance in the regions to which 

 they are adapted. This is especially the 

 case in portions of the New England 

 States, New York, Michigan, and Cali- 

 fornia, where the chief supply has been 

 grown for many years, and in sections of 

 Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, and other 

 Western States where beans have at- 

 tained importance recently. 



The seed supply, while high in price, is 

 well distributed. 



RESERVE SUFFICIENT HAY, FORAGE, AND 

 PASTURE LAND 



A deficiency of hay and forage for the 

 next winter would jeopardize the future 

 meat and dairy supplies of the country 

 and result in a shortage of roughage for 

 military draft and saddle animals. 



In regions where dairying dominates, 

 the full acreage of clover, alfalfa, and 

 the grasses that is in productive condi- 

 tion should be maintained. Under the 

 conditions prevailing in most dairying 

 sections, these crops can be carried with 

 less man-power than that required for 

 tilled crops. 



The older, thinner, and less productive 

 grass lands, however, frequently can be 

 made to produce much larger yields of 

 feed in corn than if left, as they are, in 

 unproductive grass. The seeding down 

 of small grain fields for next year's mow- 

 ing should by no means be neglected, for 

 the maintenance of effective rotations of 

 crops will be found as important in the 

 future as in the past. 



For the Gulf States, perhaps no forage 

 crop of which the available seed supply 

 is relatively abundant exceeds the velvet 

 bean in potential value. This legume pos- 

 sesses also the ability to make a crop 

 when planted relatively late. 



Seed potatoes should be conserved by 



planting on the best lands available for 

 them and planning for thorough tillage 

 and protection of the crop against disease 

 and insect pests. 



POTATOES AND VEGETABLES 



Potatoes can be grown most advanta- 

 geously near the centers of population in 

 the Northern States, where transporta- 

 tion cost may be reduced to a minimum. 

 This crop is capable of quick and large 

 increase of production when conditions 

 are favorable. 



There is, however, considerable risk of 

 unprofitable production of potatoes when 

 they are grown at long distances from the 

 consuming markets, owing to their dis- 

 proportionate weight and bulk in com- 

 parison with the cereals. 



Such vegetable crops as carrots, ruta- 

 baga turnips, onions, and cabbage are 

 worthy of much more attention than they 

 generally receive, especially in the east- 

 ern United States. All these crops are 

 capable of large production on suitable 

 land, under intensive culture, throughout 

 the more densely populated portions of 

 the country. The supply of seed is am- 

 ple and their culture comparatively simple. 



The holding of these vegetables for the 

 winter food supply is relatively easy 

 where suitable, inexpensive pits, cellars, 

 or lofts are prepared in time. 



THE OLD PRACTICE OF DRYING VEGETABLES 

 IS REVIVED 



The practicability of quickly drying 

 vegetables for longer preservation was 

 demonstrated on a large scale last year in- 

 western New York, where quantities- 

 were dried in the available apple evap- 

 orators and in rapidly constructed dry- 

 kilns, for export as army supplies. A 



This was a repetition of the experience 

 of the Civil War period, when desiccated 

 vegetables assumed considerable impor- 

 tance in the army ration, and the equip- 

 ment required for their preparation 

 proved the forerunner of our present 

 fruit-drying equipment. Existing condi- 

 tions warrant heavier planting than usual 

 of staple winter vegetables in the sections 

 where canneries and fruit evaporators 

 exist, and probably in some sections 



