Department of Agriculture Urges Planting of City Gardens
Special Oom*pondence
WASHINGTON. D. C..
1018.
THEJ office of pomological and
horticultural Investigation of
the Department of Agriculture
Is Industriously sending out in
formation relative to war gardens for
the United States. Prof. U C. Corbett
is in charge of this office. In co-opera
tion with this particular branch of
agricultural work is the states' rela
tion service, which has agents to apply
the Information given out. They pro
mulgate their work and Its aims
through state, district and county lead
ers, chambers of commerce, boy and
girl soouts, school teachers and others.
The Department of Agriculture has
estimated that of the 20,000,000 fam
ilies in this country a third will prob
ably have gardens, and it Is the de
partment's wish to serve this third
effectually. In reviewing the gardens
of last year It is believed that the
failures were comparatively few, but
the department Is determined that ef
ficiency shall be so promoted that this
year, even though the number of gar
dens is increased, the number of fail
ures will be in proportion, considera
bly reduced.
In order to insure more reliable re
ports than were obtainable for 1017,
the department Is preparing a pledge
card for this year's gardeners. Each
fortunate possessor of a war garden
will receive a pledge card, to which
he will append garden results at the
end of the season. The card, it is
thought, will not only stimulate ama
teur gardeners to fresh efforts, but
also will give In detail a record much
desired by the department.
* *
War gardens urged and wanted
not only because patriotism dictates,
but likewise because of their inestima
ble convenience and the immense ad
vantage and the real comfort families
derive from them. Gardens in the coun
try are taken more op less for granted,
and suburban districts are steadily in
creasing their quota of gardens, but it
is city gardening that the department is
doing its utmost to encourage. City
conditions are generally conceded to
be averse to successful gardening, but
the deparement is endeavoring to show
that the greatest deterrent Is the inex
perience of the average city dweller
along horticultural lines.
City gardens are not Infrequently
strange and novel things, as seen
through the eyes of the farmer, but
they can be qulta as successful as the
farmer's vegetable garden. Once a city
family has a taste of first-class prod-
Vice from its own garden the family
ambition is bound to soar, which prom
ises well for next season. And, indeed,
aside from the pleasure of having fresh
vegetables at hand, there are many
things to be said in favor of the city
garden.
Any garden carefully planned and in
telligently cared foi is bound to bring
results and there is not the slightest
necessity of Its becoming a burden. The
energy which goes Into garden exer
cise ordinarily escapes byway of less
practical channels; Indeed, an aston
ishing amount is foolishly frittered j
away.
Assuming that Mrs. Jones wishes to
raise her own vegetables for the ta- |
hie during the coming season, and in i
case she is frankly at sea as to just
tho proper method of procedure, she I
will communicate with tho office of |
pomological and horticultural investi
gation, Department of Agriculture in
Washington. From this office will ema
nate a vast fund of general information
and she will immediately be put in
touch with local agents who are fa
miliar with local conditions and who
are in a position to give her much val
uable advice.
Mrs. Jones may have only a tiny
garden plat, but she will be astonished
to learn the quantity of good things
that she can coax from her bit of
ground if she handles It capably. Or
Mrs. Jones may have no vacant ground
at all, in which case she will be in
formed of a limited area at her dis
posal near her own home. If her par
ticular neighborhood is unusually
cramped for room, she may indeed be
forced to grow her garden stuff on her
roof or In window boxes. Even this Is
far better than nothing, for it Insures a
supply of fresh radishes, lettuce, pars
ley and other of the smaller but ex
ceedingly palatable vegetables.
Many urbanltes are planning to make
their gardens on the roofs of their
I es or in their window boxes. Spare
time will be utilised to excellent ad
vantage in exersise about the garden,
and the outdoor exercise will pay for
Itself in Improved health, not to men
tion compensations in actual achieve
ment and luscious food
*
* *
Men and women, boys and girls of all
ages and In every walk of life become
Interested and enthusiastic over gar
dening if they have an opportunity to
work about In one. Most children de
light in it. The parents of one child
interested their five-year-old in it to
such an extent this past season that he
insisted on doing his own planting in
so far as he was able. He sprinkled
his garden assiduousuy each day and
watched eagerly for the first sign of
tender green shoots. When they ap
peared he was thoroughly excited and
anxious to see them grow big and
strong rapidly. He was shown how to
weed and was told that weeds were
the common foes of his garden, and
that they must be fought and conquer
ed. With a right good will he aided in
weeding and in keeping his garden fit
and trim. Whn his vegetables had
reached maturity he knew their names
perfectly, and an amazing amount
about each variety. He could be trust
ed to go Joyously into the garden for
any one of the several varieties and to
return with the right one.
The Department of Agriculture knows
of one man who had an odd and orig
inal garden. This individual was de
termined to grow as much food as he
could for home consumption. He was
embarrassed, however, by lack of prop
er ground. But he soon conceived a
novel idea. He straightway gathered
together a number of empty barrels
and arranged them as he wanted them
in tho limited area of his back yard,
laborious work was required to fill the
barrels to within a third of the top with
ashes. The ashes were covered with a
generous foot of soil which, in turn,
was planted with a variety of vegeta
bles. This unique garden was given
every attention and ajnply repaid the
gardener in fine lettuce, radishes, car
rots, onions, tomatoes, etc.
The department divides gardens Into
three classes, designated as back-yard
gardens, vacant-lot gardens and school
gardens. The first of these is given
first place because of Its inevitable in
timacy with the home. Of course, it
can be readily understood that the
back-yard garden is by far the most
convenient.
The only regret Is that the average
back-yard garden is not of sufficient
size to grow satisfactorily any great
variety of vegetables. The department
suggests the following: String beans,
tomatoes, cabbage, beets,onions and all
the smaller vegetables. The back-yard
'* v * rif'i > "ir if<• i i \ Bi.k* '*\'• *"^ l^ >' in Till • ovr ,f; \ nnF.\ m\or fti<)>i
gardener often has a garden superior
to that of the man who works over
half an acre or more; the former has
less to claim his attention and conse
quently gives what he has more care
than is possible when a garden is larg
er and but one or two people available
to do all tho labor. JThe department
emphasizes the fact that the secret of
the best back-yard gardens is fertility
of soil—which is true of all gardens.
The importanco of tho vacant-lot gar
den, agricultural experts allege, must
not be underestimated. Vacant lots are
very often of an ideal size for the rais
ing of potatoes, cauliflower, corn, as
paragus, eggplant, peas, spinach, mel
ons and other plants that cannot t>e
successfully grown irf ordinary back
yards. Boy and girl scouts and other
clubs are urged to interest themselves
in these vacant lots which can be made
most productive. People with any es
thetic sense will welcome these gardens
in many unsightly spots, for if growing
plants do nothing else they are often
the means of hiding ground which, left
to Itself, soon becomes littered with
every sort of disfiguring debris.
I.ast year many favorable reports
were submitted to the department
showing the result of work on vacant
lots performed by the country's boys
and girls. Children are paid well for
vegetables they raise. It has been as
certained that, in innumerable in
stances they have been paid a higher
price than markets could obtain for
practically the same commodities. This
was an Incentive to the child, but the
department thinks it wiser for each
city to adopt a scale of prices.
At the office of pomological and horti
cultural Investigation some interesting
data can be found. For example, from
reports relative to boys and girls' home
gardens of less than DOO feet the fol
lowing is shown: "Average area per
garden, 166 square feet; average ex
pense per garden, 62 cents; average
hours of labor per garden, 14." Gar
dens, labor and expense were divided
up between school boys and • girls
strong enough to do their share of
work thoroughly, and who were able to i
assume easily the expense. Their In
terest was unquestionable, as was the
knowledge and experience accumulated
during the season. The experiment!
also necessitated practical lessons in
economics.
From other records on file, from eight
clubs, some of which were boys' clubs
and some girls', an average was struck
which showed that the "average area
per garden was 1,909 square feet; aver
age expense per garden, $2.51; average
hours of labor per garden, 39." Cer
tainly the expense was reasonable, the
toll, as measured In hours, was moder
ate and each garden covered an area of
more than 500 square feet
J" t ?, l \ Connection ,he department
avers that any well kept garden of
approximately half an acre can be
p r? duc e not only an abundance
f , 4Mes .J or an average family's
use during the growing season, but
also a liberal supply for storage. If
Mrs. Smith goes to market and pur
fr°T tlnie to tlme same
quantity of vegetables that can be
grown in a single season from half
an acre of ground, she will find that
she expends between SIOO and S2OO in
vegetables alone. But if Mrs. Smith
actually had no garden and felt in
clined to invest a couple of hundred
dollars in vegetables, it is probable
that she would be compelled to de
prive herself of certain favorites for
there are always other things that
are exceedingly necessary for the
housewife to purchase. However if a
neighbor persuades Mrs. Smith to try
a garden she will. In all probability
manage to have one each season there
after, as the advantages derived are
manifold.
Gardens under the supervision of
schools or institutions are often more
successful than gardens raided by the
average individual, assuming that he
is a novice. This In because an or
ganized body of persons has trained
men or women who liave acquired
much practical knowledge through
years of study and experience and un
der whose management all horticul
tural work comes. In club work the
jnembers soon develop a good-natured
spirit of competition, which stimulates
a course In gardening.
In casting about for available gar
den space the amateur Is cautioned
against choosing any area shaded for
a great part of the day. Such a spot
may seem highly desirable because of
location, size., etc., but to plant seed
In soil that has less than three or four
hours of sunshine each day Is to court
disaster. Foliage crops can be coaxed
to flourish with but three sunny hours.
To expect peppers or tomatoes for in
stance, to respond to less than five
hours of sunshine daily is to foredoom
them to failure.
*
' * *
Soil Is the next consideration. A
cursory examination will quickly dis
close its character. Hardy plants will
adapt themselves to about any kind of
soil except that which is made up pri
marily of stones, bricks and mortar.
In case soil is found to be sticky and
clayey, the department advises a two
or three inch sprinkling of coal ashes.
Ashes and soil should be thoroughly
mixed.
In other localities a sandy loam may
dominate, and in seeking to Improve
this condition the gardener must re
sort to i fertilizer which will Correct
TUB KIJTD OF A VEGETABLE GARDE'S IN WHICH UNCLE SAM DELIGHTS.
the sandy state sufficiently to Insure
the growth of healthy crops. Soils In
every part of the world are greatly Im
proved by certain kinds of fertilizer,
and their productivity thereby in
creased.
Good drainage Is also an essential
feature In the garden. The lay of the
land often secures its own drainage.
j Carteei Work of Red Gross Along Battle Front ira France
Special Correspondence
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
THERE Is probably not a single
canteen in France among all the
long line of rest and refresh
ment stations that the American
and French Red Cross ara uniting to
establish where somebody's genius for
homemaking or poetry is not bringing
an unexpected bit of comfort or Interest
or beauty. Where this bit of home or
spirit is expressed, immediately it af
fects every 6ne, like an amazingly swift
compound interest and extending its in
fluence to the next sojourner and the
next canteen along the line.
There Is one canteej: where an Ameri
can woman has planted a flower bed
along a munition factory wall. And
there is another where a French soldier
left a book for his fellows to writo or
draw sudden "Inspiration" in —and they
did—experiences that the newcomers roar
with delight over, tributes to lost com
rades and great sacrifices, drawings that
some day may" be immortal, a "blank"
book which some' time will help future
generations of France to love and under
stand this one.
There is still another canteen where a
woman worker has made n shelf for chil
dren's toy?, for the small visitors who
come sometimes. And. at a great rail
road station where the troop trains start
for the IJrijr.t, Mine. Courcol (never rests)
takes the flowers or the lovely weeds
and grasses which have been decorating
her refreshment truck from which the
outgoing soldiers have been having bread
and coffee and fastens them high and
Jauntily to the end of the train Just be
fore it moves out —the field flowers, the
lilies and the flag of France.
*
* *
Many American women who have been
living abroad are now in the canteen
service of the Red Cross. Fifty have
recently sailed, fifty more are preparing
to go soon, and other groups continually
will be leaving. Wherever they will be
on duty in this war some outward life
of the spirit will blossom. The nearer
they are to the front line the more
frequently their sheds, their cellars or
their dugouts are bombarded, the more
naturally will they hang green branches
to the door, festoon the celling with
bright colors or tack some heartening
picture to the wall, not out of deliber
ate purpose, but out of their natural
instinct.
It is, perhaps, the principal reason
why they are so needed. There Is some
thing almost wistful in women's won
der If they will rise to the emergencies
of havoc and destruction. They have
been on duty in many a shattered place,
and yet the next shed under the same
fire had more of home than the one
before. It is woman In war and in
pence.
There are various kinds of canteens
i In case It does not, the gardener is
i I compelled to Improvise an effectual
• 'drainage system. Ditches deftly dlrect
, ed will give real satisfaction, though
• tile drains are said to be best.
After these preliminaries have re
l ceived the consideration duo them the
i wise gardener will bring forth his
. garden plan which he has carefully
*
' 'v- - "
s*?\ - ">< ( * JliL'i
ufc HHK ■*
A RKD CROSS CANTEEN WORKER IN FRANCE.
now In the field, from the portable
kitchens which send hot drinks right up
to the men In the trenches to the way
stations that afford hot meals, sleep
ing rooms, recreation, baths, disinfect
ing and laundry plants. Each one has
Its own Individuality.
One of these large canteens Is unique
In several respects. In the first place,
it was constructed solely by the labor
i drawn up during long winter even
i lngs. These plans are similar to maps,
and indicate In Just what spots certain
i vegetables are to be planted. If more
than one planting has been decided
upon this is also noted. The depart
i ment highly commends these plans, for
i In studying them out many details wiil
come up for discussion that otherwise
of German prisoners of war. It Is
built In a train Bhed, divided Into apart
ments, decorated, perhaps fearfully and
wonderfully, but after the heart of the
French soldier. There Is a pink room,
a blue room, a green room and a room
whose walls are tiayly striped. There
Is an abundance of plaster figure deco
rations In "near-Delia Robbia" style,
bodiless cherubs, flying figures, not
would not be thought of until too late
for a thorough solution.
To insure an even distribution of
sunshine on plants it Is always advis
able to run rows for planting north
and south. It Is desirable to place vege
tables which will grow year after year
without replanting to one side, where
it will not be necessary to disturb
them as the seasons roll around. Corn,
peas, etc., grow to a considerable
height, and one must be careful to
plant them In such a way as not to
deprive any of the others bf sunlight.
If early growing vegetables are group
ed gardeners will find their care and
cultivation very materially mitigated.
Gardeners, who fail to build a fence
around their gardens are likely to be
surprised by damage done by chickens,
dogs and cats. Small children have also
been known to make their way into a
garden and play havoc. Board fences
will further pay for themselves and
prolong the crop growing season by
serving as windbreaks. If, however, gar
dens are sheltered by houses, hedges
or trees, they will not receive tho full
force of a heavy blast, which Is bound
to harm the • unprotected garden.
An efficient gardener will compel a
maximum yield, which means more
than one planting In a season. There
are sections of the country which can
easily grow three or more crops on the
same piece of land In a single season.
Says the Department of Agriculture:
"The vegetable used for the first plant
ing, or one with the same character
istics or belonging to the same family,
I should not be used In the same place
at the second planting."
Botatlon of crops Is a study In Itself.
Proper rotation greatly retards the
spreading of plant diseases and an In
crease in the number of injurious in
sects. Rotation also plays an Important
part in the conserving of plant foods.
Authorities emphatically declare that
no seed Is available for the gardener
who is not deeply In earnest. There is
truly artistic, but undoubtedly gay and
cheerful.
These rainbow apartments form the
sleeping chambers, with cots, whose
mere asoect wafts the sleep-starved
soldier i ito the realm of dreams. The
beds are arranged closely along the
walls after the French manner, and
there are, besides, a bathroom ,a loung
ing room and a recreation room with
books and games and cards, and still
another room where the uniforms and
other Items of clothing are subjected
to sterilization and disinfection with
steam and formalin.
Such a spot is "a little bit of heaven"
in the day of the soldier when he Is
compellod to wait from one to eight
hours for train connections that will
take htm back to his homo or back to
the trenches. French trains are slow
and uncertain dn war time. All avail- |
able rolling stock Is In use for the
transportation of munitions, supplies
and troops, and the trains must ac
commodate their movements to those
of the army.
On the evening when the first of the
American Red Cross canteens was
opened, among the first guests to be"
served with rtfreshments was a troop ;
of French chasseurs who had come !
from instructing American soldiers, and .
they were followed a few hours later I
by a company of American engineers.
One can fancy the khaki uniforms j
among the blue—tlie keen, young Amer- |
lean faces among the lined French ones.
Many kinds of men and many kinds
of uniforms pass through these can
teens —Arabs, English, Scotch, Cinga
lese, Russian, Irish, Indian, Canadian, [
French and American—and the canteen i
means a little of the feeling of home I
to them nil, whether that home is a
tent In Morocco or a cottage in Eng
land. There one may see them In fcls I
imagination, as MaJ. Grayson M. P. i
Murphy, Red Cross commissioner to
Europe, described them, "sitting com- '
fortably, swapping stories over a cup '
of coffee, struggling over a game of
puzzle, or chatting over the counter
with our workers."
. Tragedy and comedy walk hand In
I hand at the canteen. There pass the
men who have lost families in the ex
posure and hunger tho refugees en
dured or died of in their flight from
burning villages; the young men start
ing out with the eager look; the black
man who does not know what It is all
' about ,und docs unhesitatingly; the Tom-
Imles with their song and our men with
• their good-natured curiosity and_ jokes.
I Through the fall and winter months
i they passed to the fire and back for
| "the little rest," from the Jolly or the
sacred things of "the little rest," back
to the fire again.
The canteens sent the men out warm,
their hunger satisfied, their bodies
clean, the letters written, their hearts
full of confidence that their countries
were looking after them. Many an
amusing story the canteen workers
write home—when they ever get time
—and many a memory may change nil
their lives, overturning the conven
tional scale of values. After a few
no seed to be wasted. If every one buys
just as much as lie needs and no more,
there will be enough to go around, but
to waste seed will mean a deprivation
for some one. When a garden Is plan
ned out some time In advance It Is pos
sible to tell just how much seed Is need
ed even when three or more plantings
are to be made. The department thinks
It advisable to buy sufficient seed to
meet the gardener's demand for the en
tire season.
Seed should not be selected Indis
criminately or because the pictures in
a seed catalogue are attractive. The
varieties chosen should be studied with
an eye to their adaptability to tho par
ticular region in which they are to be
grown. Standard varieties invariably
give the amateur gardeners the most
satisfaction and those purchased from
well known seed houses carry with
them a certain guarantee.
It is best to buy seed some weeks be
fore one uses it, and, furthermore, the
department admonishes new gardeners
In regard to protecting fresh seed from
rats and mice. Rodents make heavy
inroads on one's supply if given the
opportunity.
In case one has seed left from the
season previous, it Is desirable to use
that which Is good. A test is suggested
by which seeds with the necessary vi
tality can be gleaned from those inca
pable of producing healthy plants.
Prom each variety of seed left count
from twenty-five to fifty seeds. Place
these between a couple of pieces of
damp cloth, put them in one plate and
cover them with another. These can
be watched and If, In the course of five
or six days, sixty or more per cent of
the seeds under test send forth sturdy
little sprouts, It Is reasonable to con
clude that they have the required vital
ity.
Seeds should never be planted until
after the last killing frost In the
spring. Small seed Is generally cov
ered by a quarter or three-quarters of
an Inch of earth, larger seed by a good
two Inches. It is sown considerably
thicker than It Is desirable to have the
matured plants. This is done In order
to Insure a supply of hardy plants.
After the plants have begun their
growth the weaklings can be removed
to make way for their more stalwart
brothers and sisters. '
weeks In a canteen many things that
once loomed large seem small, and
many Just little things seem the great
wonders of the world.
A letter from an American girl to
her mother, written after her-first day
as an assistant at one 01' the Croix
Rouge canteens near Paris, tells of her
encounter with the poilus and her first
good-bye at a departure of the troops.
"W'hllo I was talking with the dt
rcctrice through the yard In front of
the canteen," she writes, "carrying one
of her big baskets, sho was called away
nnd while I stood there waiting for her
a funny little dark soldier came up and
got quite excited at the contents of my
basket (big pink boxes with Arabian
characters, whosJfc significance I knew
not). In a very businesslike manner he
grabbed a tin can from a comrade, put
it on the ground, placed the loaf of
bread ho was carrying on top of it so
It wouldn't get dirty, straddled the
structure so It wouldn't get knocked
over, pulled out his purse which held a
few sous and then began to negotiate
insistently for one of the pink boxes,
showing me by pantomime that he
wintcd me to pull it apart and let him
have some of it."
"I kept telling him that I couldn't sell
It, didn't know what It was, that It be
longed to Miss G , and the mere I
protested the more insistent he became.
Soon we had a crowd—lf you could have
seen It! A few of them understood
my French and more of them didn't
and the ones who did stood ready to
pull tho little soldier oft, while ho kept
repeating he only wanted to buy, but
buy he must. The crowd of fifty or
sixty soldiers, was so sweet and would
certainly have taken him off If It
hadn't been such a friendly fight.
"Finally as one last appeal to my op
ponent I said very slowly and em
phatically, syllable by syllable, In
French, so he would be sure to under
stand, that I did not speak or under
stand French. And he, thinking this a
piece of the most flattering coquetry,
burst into a thousand eajolings and
tried to force all his sous in my hand
with one of his hands, and to make a
slit with his fingernail on the pink
wrappings of my boxes with the other.
"Just then I saw Miss G— and
ran after her, the crowd opening to let
me through. When I found her and told
her about the passionate eagerness for
something in the pink boxes she said
If I could find him again to bring him
to her, that the boxes were Algerian
cigarettes and that he had served In
the colonies and was doubtless wild for
some, and she would let him have an
extra lot
"I found him finally ami told him to
come with me, and never did you see
any one so thoroughly scared. Ho
hadn't known Miss 's name, and
It suddenly dawned upon him that the
boxes were hers, and all that I'd been
trying to tell him. He must have
thought that we were going to arrest
him, for he started to run away. A
couple of the soldiers got on each side
of him ami kind of shoved him along
for me, I trying to assure him by
many Tres Blens' and 'clgaretts pour
voue,' and he frightened, glowering and
suspicious. Thanks to the others, we
got him pushed up to whero Miss G >
was, and there he saw her dealing out
the cigarettes to the men who were
going on depart. I pointed him out to
her, and she filled both his hands. He
was so bewildered, taken abaok and
overcome that he was the most pathetio
little figure in all France."