Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 191, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1918 — EAT FRESH FISH AND SAVE MEATS [ARTICLE]

EAT FRESH FISH AND SAVE MEATS

Sport of Fishing May Be Made to Serve Nation's Food Needs ' and Give Exercise. MUCH CRAIN IS CONSERVED Seas, Lakes, Rivers and Ponds Offer Practically Unlimited Quantities of Fish Living on Food of No Use to Man. Every pound of beef, veal, mutton or pork that goes on the table represents a consumption of many pounds of com or other valuable grain fed to the- cattle, sheep or hogs from which the meat was taken. The more of these red meats you eat the more cereals you are taking out of the supply that is so greatly needed for the nation’s war needs at this time. To a large extent, too, these statements apply to all kinds of poultry. The one kind of meat, the production of which does not require the consumption of other human foods, is fish. The seas, lakes, rivers and ponds of this country offer practically unlimited quantities of fish that live on food which is of no use to man. When you eat fish you. save meat and save grain, b<|th of which your governmtent asks ybu to conserve. Ordinarily it is possible to secure good, fresh fish at the meat market, but whether justly or not, fresh fish is always more or less under suspicion in the meat markets of cities ahd towns that are distant from the sea coast or the lakes. The suspicion in most cases is not justified, but evjen if it were it would not follow that people of inland towns and cities must necessarily refraih from eating fresh fish.

Fish for Family Use. There are a large number of streams i and ponds from which one may take the fish needed for family consumptlon, and there should be very many more such ponds. A fish pond does not necessarily take up much space and need not be confined to large places. Practically all country families, and very many suburban families, could have, without any greiat difficulty, a fish pond or pool in which enough fish could be grown at minimum expense to supply the. table and to save large quantities of other meats and cereals. „|t ' There is a great deal of pleasure and recreation, too, in catching the fish. And there is a decided satisfaction in knowing that the fish you eat have been taken from your own pond or stream within a very short time before being prepared soy the table. The United States. department of agriculture has long urged a more general adoption of the family fish pond, and It points out the exceptional need for such practice at this time. It would be a genuine national service if several times more people than nefw indulge in fishing for sport or otherwise would, by devoting a little of their spare time to it, take enough fish from stream or pond to place this excellent food on the table several tidies oftener than is now the general practice. The hour or two that, every man should devote to some form of recreation. if intelligently applied to fishing, would afford the same rest and rejuvenation that is to be had from nonproductive sports and would, at the Mme time, be not only a domestic but • public economy, Thej-e is another source of meat

supply native to ponds and streams of which much fewer people avail themselves than of fish. That is frogs. There is no'more delicious meat than frog legs. Yet with the exception of a few hotels widely scattered along the lakes and a few of the streams, frog legs are rarely served. Around practically every pond of any considerable size there are enough frogs if properly utilised to. furnish an occasional meal and to furnish a very fine sport in shooting or otherwise taking. More attention to fish and frogs would result in the saving of much food and would be of personal benefit to those who might become interested In it.

More Sheep Needed. That mutton and wool production iff this country can be increased greatly admits of no doubt. This can be accomplished by developing sheep hus- , bandry on farms, especially in the Eastern and Southern states. Steps should be taken in the East and South to do away with the sheep-killing dog menace by state or local action. Large results can be secured by improving methods of breeding and management on the range; by securing the restocking of improved farm lands with sheep; by the larger use of forage crops and pastures; by encouraging sheep and lamb clubs; by the elimination of parasites; by protection against • losses from predatory animals; hud by having lambs ready for market at from 70 to 80 pounds weight, thereby requiring a minimum of grain to finish them and making possible the maintenance of larger breeding flocks. Feed for Next Winter. Far-seeing farmers may advantageously plan to secure their winter supply of feed in September and October when danger of spoilage is past and avoid the uncertainty of deliveries during the winter when the demand for feed usually exceeds the output of the mills.