CHAPTER XIV 

 CONSERVING THE GARDEN SURPLUS 



How HOUSEWIVES TURNED THEIR RESERVES INTO PRESERVES 



FROM the governments of the Entente Allies and 

 the associated nations, whose territory girdled 

 the earth, came the cry for conservation. There 

 was need for this cry. Never in the world's history was 

 material of all kinds used up in such quantities. More 

 than once, in a three-hour preparation for a short ad- 

 vance, a greater number of shells had to be employed 

 than were fired in the entire Franco-Prussian War. 

 Shells are but a type. Everything was used in unheard- 

 of quantities. This was particularly true of food, the 

 basic material upon which the entire structure of vic- 

 tory rested. Speedily it became apparent that every- 

 thing possible must be saved old cartridge cases, old 

 shoes, old shells, old clothes, old materials of every 

 sort and particularly food. This was especially true 

 of food because material like old shoes or old shells 

 could be used repeatedly; but food once eaten was 

 gone forever. As the world's food supply became more 

 inadequate the cry for conservation grew more and 

 more insistent. 



"Turn your reserves into preserves!" became the 

 order of the day among the women all over the country. 

 With this as their slogan they made ready by the mil- 

 lion to build up a second line of defense which would 



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