WAR & AGRICULTURE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2955, 15 December 1916, Page 23

WAR & AGRICULTURE

LESSONS FROM FRENCH FARMERS BENEFITS OF UNITED ACTION Moat people know that tho predominant olement in tho French population is the agricultural, and that its typical representative is the peasant who cultivates his moderate-sized farm with the help of his family. France, before the war, was able to feed herself almost entirely from the produce of her own land. Agriculture is thus tho foundation of tho whole economio structure of tho State, and, had the mobilisation of its armies, largely com- ! posed of cultivators, caused a, very gieat diminution in the volume of food produced at home, the country would have been face to face with a most serious economic crisis. i If rural soldiers constituted the' i backbone of the French armies in 1914, the proportion is even more parked now, for, with the growing importance or' munitions, it was necessary to withdraw many soldiers who belonged to the industrial classes for work in tho munitions factories. The result has been that, although the youngej classes still contain a proportion of workmen, the older classes are composed almost entirely of agriculturists. Yet a writer in tho "Times," during u three weeks' tour in different parts of Northern and Central France, has seen thousands of acres of stubble, and scarcely a rood of arable land that was not' cultivated; a glance at the statistics of one or two corn-growing departments shows that tho yield of the harvest of cereals in 1916 is practically up to the level of 1914. How Has This Been Achieved? This has been achieved by the most intimate co-operation between tiie civil and military authorities, by the intelligent and unremitting activity of the Ministry of Agriculture in unison with the prefects of the .departments, the mayors of the rural communes, and agricultural co-operative societies wherever found, and last of all by the self-sacrificing exertions of the old

men, children, and women, who "man" tiie mowing macliino and feed the thrasher in tho spirit and. with the samo object—victory—that their sons, brothers, or husbands line the trenchcs.

True Go-operation at Worn,

Already in 1014, mowing machines, binders, and thrashing machines, whether owned by individuals, contractors, or co-operative societies, were 111 common use. But in August, 1914, their use in every case becamo for the time being co-opcrative. According to the official account of what took place in the department of Loirct. —"Each ouo came to the aid of bis , neighbour; gangs of labourers proceeded to the cutting and binding of tlie liavvest without troubling themselves about the boundary marks of tho little piecos of land belonging to different persons." The principle that was adopted on individual initiative ■ to meet an ■ unforeseen emergency has since been applied as a deliberate policy by the French Ministry .of Agriculture to counteract the ever-present difficulty caused by the scarcity'of agricultural labour. It is recognised that tho moro extensive use of labour-saving machinery is not only a partial remedy for tho difficulties of the present, but will be advisable when tlio war is over, as even after demobilisation therfe I will be A. scarcity of agricultural la- . hour. It is also recognised that in tb© case of antall farmers expensive

machinery can only bo purchased and used with economy if they arc organised in co-operative societies for the purpose. The Ministry of Agriculture issued a decree 011 September 8, \ 1915, granting subventions to various professional associations of farmers (co-operative societies, etc.) to assist them in the purchase of motor apparatus ("appeareils inoteurs") for the purpose of iinding out and demonstrating the possibilities of mechanical cultivation. Its experts iu the different departments are charged with the duty or organising co-operative, societies for the collectivo purchase and use of thrashing machines and the like, and have carried out this duty wherever it was possible and desirable. A Laudable Objeotive. The interests of the State take precedence of everythingj and it is precisely because the elhcieut organisation of agriculture is regarded in France as essential to victory now and social well-being hereafter that 1101 means is neglected which may add to that efficiency. The possibilities of mechanical cultivation loom large on the national horizon. Demonstrations' of light tractors of different makes engaged in ploughing and other agricultural operations are held throughout the country, and attract thousands of visitors. For one held at Oucques iii July the Orleans Railway Company granted free transport iu both directions to the motor apparatus and the personnel in charge of it. Certain railway companies have offered to carry free, or at a reduced price,. the tractors for mechanical cultivation that have been bought by groups of agriculturists. Another has decided to givo a subsidy of 10 pencent. of the value of the apparatus purchased to "syndicates demotoculturo," which buy for collective use.

Needless to say, these railway companies aro not without expectation of increased traffic receipts for the transport of food later on, but theirs is an enlightened self-interest which might well bo imitated in tho self-gov-erning Dominions of His Majesty's Empire. At all events, the French agriculturists have set an oxamplo to their class among all tho Allies.