CHAPTER VIII 



THE DAWNING OF THE NEW ART 



What these strong masters wrote at large in miles 



I followed in small copy in my acre ; 



For there's no rood has not a star above it; 



The cordial quality of pear or plum 



Ascends as gladly in a single tree 



As in broad orchards resonant with bees; 



And every atom poises for itself, 



And for the whole. 



Emerson. 



THERE is visible as yet only the gray dawn of 

 the new art sketched in the previous chapter. 

 The effulgence of the fully-risen sun is reserved 

 for the future, but apparently for the early future. 

 A few lonely pioneers thousands in the aggregate, 

 yet relatively few out of our total population have 

 beheld this vision of a well-provided life and a secure 

 old age to be won by the scientific use of a little land. 

 So the seeds of the new art have been planted. They 

 must be nourished in the passion of millions for landed 

 independence and self-expression. 



The work of the National War Garden Commission 

 extended much further than a temporary increase in 

 the food supply. It was rapidly expanding along 

 scientific lines of development when the War came to a 

 sudden end. For example, it put out many bills-of- 

 fare to show the war gardeners how to make the most 

 of their produce on the family table. In the latter part 



96 



