2 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
April, 1917 
Wisconsin horticulture 
Published monthly by the 
Wisconsin State Horticultural Society 
12 N. Carroll St. 
FREDERIC CRANEFIELD, Editor. 
Secretary W. S. H. S., Madison, Wis. 
Entered as second-class matter May 13, 
1912, at the postoffice at Madison, Wis- 
consin, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
PROCLAMATION 
Insomuch as our country is now 
engaged in a war with the central 
powers of Europe, the possible mag- 
nitude of which we must not under- 
estimate,. I feel it my duty to call the 
attention of the people of the state 
of Wisconsin to the sacrifices that 
we must make and the responsibili- 
ties that we must assume in order 
that we may fully co-operate with 
the national government in uphold- 
ing the arms of our nation. What- 
ever disagreement there may have 
been about the necessity or advis- 
ability of engaging in the war is now 
a thing of the past. War is upon us 
and I call upon every citizen of the 
state of Wisconsin to aid in the 
preparations that must oe made to 
meet every emergency and to en- 
able our state to do its full share 
in the support of our government. 
Military preparations must of ne- 
cessity be controlled by the United 
States government. We shall be 
called upon to provide our quota of 
troops and I feel confident that Wis- 
consin’s sons will respond to the call 
of the president of the United States 
willingly and promptly and with the 
same spirit of patriotism that has 
characterized our soldiers in the 
wars of former years. 
Soldiers alone cannot carry on a 
war successfully. Battles cannot be 
won with empty commissaries. 
Troops must be equipped. Armies 
must be fed. No soldier can endure 
the hardships of a campaign unless 
he is properly nourished. It is with 
a view of awakening our civilian 
population to a full realization of 
their duty in the present situation, 
therefore, that I address this mes- 
sage to the people of Wisconsin. 
The most important problem that 
confronts us now, and which must 
he met in no uncertain way, is to 
provide a supply of food. The high 
cost of living has been a source of 
complaint in our industrial centers 
for more than two years. The avail- 
able stocks of food have been gradu- 
ally depleted until we find ourselves 
practically without any surplus in 
our own country, and an absolute 
shortage seems to exist all over 
Europe. The price of some commo- 
dities, because of this shortage, has 
risen so high as to place them out 
of reach of the masses of the peo- 
ple. 
To add to the seriousness of the 
situation is the fact that the South 
American grain crop is a partial 
failure and that a vast acreage of 
wheat in our own country has been 
winter killed. In the Canadian 
northwest there exists a shortage of 
labor, which will materially reduce 
the acreage of wheat in that sec- 
tion. The fact that we shall enlist 
a large army of able-bodied young 
men and take them out of produc- 
tion, coupled with the further fact 
that large numbers of laboring 
men will be required in the factories 
that will produce the munitions and 
other supplies for our army, may 
produce a similar shortage of labor 
in our agricultural districts. 
I regard this as a serious situation, 
particularly in view of the fact that 
we must feed an army in addition to 
our industrial population, and also 
provide food supplies to the people 
of Europe with whom we are upon 
friendly terms. 
In view of the foregoing, it is per- 
fectly apparent that the man who 
works with a hoe will be a patriot 
in the service of his country, and I 
urge all who are able to work to 
contribute their part in the produc- 
tion of food, to the end at least that 
none shall contribute less than is 
required for their own support. 
What the country will need most 
are these plain articles of food: 
meat, potatoes and cereals for bread. 
I urge every farmer in the state 
of Wisconsin who has suitable land, 
to plant enough wheat to produce 
the flour necessary for his own use, 
and a surplus if possible. I urge 
that he plant sufficient acreage of 
corn and, if possible, increase his 
herd of swine, to produce pork for 
the market. I particularly urge 
that the acreage of potatoes be in- 
creased. Every farmer should 
plant enough of this vegetable for 
his own use, and wherever the soil 
is suitable he should make his pota- 
to field as large as he is able eto cul- 
tivate. 
I urge our farmers, as a matter 
of patriotic duty, to cultivate every 
foot of their soil; none of it is too 
poor to raise something. White 
navy beans and buckwheat will be 
in demand — in fact, anything that is 
food for man or beast will be a con- 
tribution to the pressing needs of 
our country. 
Our farmers should require no 
greater inducement than the present 
high prices of all farm produce to 
encourage them in the cultivation of 
every foot of tillable soil. The fact 
that no large stocks of food will this 
year be carried over is in itself an 
assurance that the price of farm 
produce will be high for another 
year, even if peace were immediately 
declared. 
It is reported that in some sec- 
etions there exists a shortage of 
seed, particularly potatoes. The 
department of agriculture of the 
state of Wisconsin stands ready to 
act as a clearing house in the matter 
of seed supply, and all who have a 
surplus of seed of any kind should 
so advise Mr. C. P. Norgord, com- 
missioner of agriculture, Madison, 
Wis.; and all who are short of seed 
of any kind should address the same 
official, who stands ready with his 
department to co-operate with the 
farmers of the state to the fullest 
extent in the matter of securing suit- 
able seeds to plant the crop. 
In order that we may conserve la* 
bor for agriculture and the neces- 
sary industries I recommend that 
public work, so far as it is possible, 
be deferred until such a time as la- 
Ikh' shall not be so urgently needed 
for these purposes as it is at pres- 
ent. 
I wish to again impress upon the 
people of this state that the food 
situation is so serious that we will 
commit a moral wrong against our 
government if we in any way un- 
necessarily interfere with the pro- 
duction and successful harvesting of 
our agricultural products. 
I ask that all bankers, business 
men, farmers, societies, agricultural 
associations, labor organizations 
and, so far as possible, the schools 
of the state, interest themselves in 
the matter of increasing our agri- 
cultural products. 
I urge that the bankers of the 
state give aid in the form of loans, 
in reasonable sums, to farmers who 
may need assistance either in the 
purchase of seed or in the cultiva- 
tion of crops. 
I recommend to the people of the 
cities, (owns and villages that they 
plant liberal crops of vegetables on 
the vacant property, in order that 
they may supply themselves and 
thereby be protected against high 
prices of such commodities. 
I also recommend that the citi- 
zens practice all reasonable economy 
in the conservation of food, bearing 
in mind that under present condi- 
tions food wasted is food taken from 
someone who needs it. 
EMANUEL L. PHILIPP, 
Governor of Wisconsin. 
Dated Madison, Wis., April 13, 1917. 
WAKE UP: 
DESERT THE ARMY OF GEN- 
ERAL APATHY AND ENROLL 
UNDER GENERAL FOOD SUP- 
PLY. 
