86 THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 



Committees should arrange for purchasing seed, ferti- 

 lizers, and other necessary supplies for the entire group. 

 This cooperative spirit will save time and money to 

 all concerned and will bring better results. Reduced 

 rates usually can be secured when garden supplies of any 

 sort are bought in considerable quantities. 



In dividing a large tract into a number of individual 

 plots, it should be remembered that an average size of 

 forty by sixty feet is about as much as is needed for one 

 family. This should give an ample supply of vegetables 

 not only for summer use but to provide a surplus for 

 canning and drying purposes and for winter storage. 

 After a large piece of land has been divided and allotted, 

 it must be understood that for garden purposes the lot 

 assigned is the property of the person or family to 

 whom it was given, and it should be protected as such. 

 Each plot should be numbered. In assigning plots the 

 fairest way is by drawing numbers. 



As a specific instance of organized community gar- 

 dening, the story of garden production in Marshall- 

 town, Iowa, in 1918, is of interest. Marshalltown is a 

 city of approximately 20,000 people. Mayor S. H. 

 Reilly, sensing the crisis in the food situation, called 

 upon the county agricultural agent to determine the 

 amount of space within the city that could be put into 

 gardens. The county agent's survey revealed a fine 

 farm within the city limits, for the aggregate area of 

 the unused vacant lots which could be put to work ex- 

 ceeded seventy-five acres. The county agent found, 

 moreover, 300 tons of stable manure suitable for fer- 



