ee mi ih altenah diaLy ee sources. U.S. Department of Agriculture commodities such as rice, flour, dry milk, lard, peanut butter, and canned meat have been distributed for typhoon relief. Agriculture extension agents with new planting materials and tools are assigned to damaged areas to help the people replant food crops. Water Resources With an annual average rainfall of over 100 inches a year, sufficient ground water for crop production exists in most areas. A lack of supplemental water supplies for irrigation limits commercial vegetable production in the Mariana Islands during the dry season. Certain atolls in the Northern Marshalls have insufficient water to sustain life throughout the year. Lengthy droughts have a retarding effect on crop production because supplemental water supplies are not available. Throughout the Territory, catchments and cisterns to hold water for livestock are lacking. Piped water is generally not available in the scattered farms of Saipan, Rota, and Tinian where water must be hauled to live- stock herds during the dry season. Very seldom is additional water needed for crop growing in districts other than the Marianas, except in nurseries to start young plants for later transplanting to the field. Lack of an adequate irrigation system in the Ponape District will inhibit expansion of rice production’on a commercial scale. A Chapter 4 LIVESTOCK In 1964 a nonindigenous firm, the Micronesian Development Company, 62 veo te Bede ys Aeokaksthal was given a lease to develop 7,50 acres of land on Tinian, Marian: Isiands District, for livestock. To date 250 acres have been planted in mixer feed, corn, soybeans, and sorghum With additional introduction from th, United States. local purchases, an normal herd production, the Micrc nesian Development Company’s her. has increased from 700 head in 196 to about 1800 head this year. The principal livestock in the Terr tory are swine and poultry. In add tion, cattle, goats, and carabao a found on the high islands. Chicker are in greatest number and areleft roam and breed at will, although a fe poultry farmers at district cente house their chickens and purchase hi quality egg-laying birds from the Ag culture Division. Swine husbandry practiced in the Territory by eith tethering, housing in small enclosur. or allowing free range around t farmstead. Breeding is done indiscri inately, using any boar available. Ea district center has foundation breed stock of at least one breed of poult a utility type, and two breeds swine, either Duroc, Yorksh Hampshire, or Berkshire. From foundation stock, indigenous inh itants can buy high quality breeder: upgrade local strains of swine poultry. About 10,000 straight chicks and 170 young piglets « distributed from the Agriculture C sion this year to Micronesians. Cattle, the third most impor: type of livestock, are concentr mostly in the Marianas District wi runs 5,471 head out of a Terri total of 5,945. The carabao is im tant as a draft animal in Palau Ponape. The quantity and quality of stock has been and is a prol Part VI—Economic Advancer