ENLISTING SOLDIERS OF THE SOIL 



IN the present national crisis the members of the American Forestry Association can make no contribution more 

 helpful than their cooperation in the campaign to stimulate Food Production and Food Thrift. The enthusiasm 

 with which they have entered into this work is manifested in letters received by the editor of American Fores- 

 try from members throughout the country, endorsing the efforts of the Association and the Magazine to assist 

 and supplement the plans of the National Emergency Food Garden Commission. Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack was 

 the originator of this commission and is its president, which facts give the Association particular pride and interest 

 in the success with which the work is meeting. The movement is already proving of tremendous value in increas- 

 ing the nation's food supply through the planting of a million or more food gardens. By thus utilizing land that has 

 been unproductive the country is now creating a source of food supply of immense worth in this time of war emer- 

 gency. The American Forestry Association is doing much by the contribution of its headquarters and organization 

 to the work of the Commission. President Pack feels that the individual members can increase this contribution 

 by doing whatever they can to stimulate Food Production and Food Thrift in their own communities. — Tuk Editor. 

 mill 



ml 



AS a clearing-house through which potential food gar- 

 deners are brought into intimate touch with expert 



knowledge on which they can base intelligent work 

 for food production, the National Emergency Food Garden 

 Commission exercises one of its most important functions. 

 In this way the Commission 

 is developing a new genera- 

 tion of gardeners of all ages 

 and guiding them into suc- 

 cessful cultivation of vacant 

 land near their homes, to the 

 personal gain of the workers 

 and to the needed increase 

 of the nation's food supply. 

 Authorities agree that the 

 propaganda of the Commis- 

 sion will prove a vital factor 

 in helping America solve one 

 of its most serious present 

 problems, that of supplying 

 ourselves and our European 

 Allies with enough to eat 

 during the period of the war. 

 The raw material for this 

 movement was at hand. The 

 land was waiting, in the 

 form of back yards, vacant 

 lots and unused tracts of 

 various sizes, in or near 

 every city, town and village 

 of the country. The gar- 

 deners were ready in the 

 school children and their 

 elders iiT every community. 

 That the one thing needed 

 was a national commission 

 to arouse interest in the 

 national need and to supply 

 expert guidance has been 

 shown by the immediate 

 success of the work which 

 the Commission has under- 

 taken. The response has 



334 



A SOLDIER OF THE SOIL 



Women arc taking as important a place as men in War Gardening. Throughout 

 the United States they are shouldering the rake and hoe and adding to the 

 nation's food supply. The costume is a type of uniform being worn by the 

 women and girls engaged in raising food for soldiers. 



astonished everj'body concerned. That the results will 



be of vast importance is obvious. 



The movement affords a rare example of Thrift wedded 



to Abundance. It is a case of producing for the purpose of 



immediate use as well as for sa\'ing for the future. The 



food garden will enable 

 families in the most moder- 

 ate circumstances to enjoy 

 the hitherto unknown lux- 

 ury of vegetables fresh from 

 the garden, and to those 

 who have been denied this 

 privilege the work involved 

 will pay dividends far in 

 excess of the money saved 

 in the pui-chase of food- 

 stuffs. Anyone interested 

 in statistics may take as 

 his basis the $250,000,000 

 of expected output in the 

 Emergency gardens, multi- 

 ply it by the proper factor 

 of individual satisfaction on 

 the part of the consumers 

 and find, to his own profit, 

 at any rate, the aggregate 

 worth of the dividends to be 

 gleaned by the shareholders 

 in this important war 

 movement. 



Thrift is the essence of the 

 undertaking. The nation's 

 shortage in foodstuffs is one 

 of the most serious phases 

 of the unprecedented situa- 

 tion which confronts the 

 American people. It is no 

 exaggeration to say that 

 the countrj' is today in the 

 midst of a food panic. 

 Efforts to i:)lacc the blame 

 for some of the trouble 

 arc interesting and impor- 



