"The whole question of dogs is engaging the closest attention of the authorities. Admittedly the problem of reducing the numbers is beset with difficulties, and, whatever is done, it is extremely unlikely the one-dog owner will be disturbed, the government recognizing the sentimental forces involved, to say nothing of the utility value of many breeds." [Illustration: Members of "The Women's Land Army" in England Girls weeding frames in which cauliflower plants were set out to be ready for market in the early spring. Copyright by Underwood & Underwood] But while English dogs were threatened with starvation, dogs of Germany were having a still worse time. Numerous cable paragraphs were published giving the price of dog flesh in various German cities. Indeed, from all over Germany, at the closing period of the war, the hope of drawing upon Russian food supplies was seen to be illusory. There was much talk of getting food from the Ukraine, but this was probably used to keep up popular morale. The situation in the Ukraine did not encourage German hopes. This was frankly admitted by the _Frankfort Zeitung_: "The stores and warehouses in the Ukraine are almost emptied. The peasants' stocks are depleted, while the best seed corn has been used to feed cattle or to supply a secret still, which nearly every household possesses. "The outlook for next harvest is most unpromising. The peasants have plundered the estates, destroyed farm buildings and machinery, and have stolen or slaughtered most of the cattle. No labor is available for cultivation, and there are no facilities for harvesting the next crop, while the sugar industry is confronted with ruin, owing to the decrease of beet cultivation." FOOD CONTROL FOR NEUTRALS It is interesting to study the effect of the war on the food situation of the neutral powers. In Scandinavia, there was at first a panicky feeling of a world-wide catastrophe; then there came the realization of an unparalleled chance for making profit. The international shortage of tonnage made freight rates soar. Shipping shares became attractive. Then came the submarine sinkings, and the refusal of the Allies to allow goods to be imported into Scandinavia for the sole purpose of selling them to the Central Powers. Imports fell off rapidly. Everything which could be sold had been sold in the beginning of the war. The next step was the placing of an embargo on exports by the Scandinavian governments: