THE UNITED STATES SCHOOL GARDEN ARMY 103 



A company consists of 1 50 garden soldiers as a maxinmm number. 

 This number should be, and usually is, much smaller. Each com- 

 pany is entitled to a captain, a first and second lieutenant. A 

 garden teacher is required for the company. The officers have 

 been used to great advantage by many teachers in helping them on 

 their reports, inspecting gardens, encouraging members of their 

 company to do their full duty as true soldiers, and in arranging for 

 exhibits, pageants, plays, etc. 



Insignia 



The insignia of the Garden Army consist of a double bronze bar 

 for the captain, a single bronze bar with two stars in the border for 

 the first lieutenant, and one star for the second lieutenant, and a 

 combination bronze and black enameled bar for privates. 



The Problem 



As this is fundamentally a school problem, it should be proyided 

 for by superintendents and boards of education and financed by 

 them from school funds. Not only is this as legitimate and as 

 necessary- for a well-organized and administered school system as 

 the teaching of any other branch, but to care for it at this time has 

 become a patriotic duty. To lead boards of education to see it 

 thus was the most important problem to be met. The success 

 attained has been very gratifying and the promises for next year 

 are encouraging. Some cities have done remarkable garden work 

 this season, and most cities are coming to see that the schools must 

 assimie responsibility for it to insure its success and permanency. 



Rather than enrich and adjust the work of our schools we close 

 them during the sximmer months. This makes supervision of 

 garden work in summer difficult, and without supervision it will 

 fail. The spirit of work to win the war has been strong, however, 

 and probably by the time we have finished the war we will have 

 learned that school work, as other work, is as profitable in stnnmer 

 as in winter. 



Results 



One million five hundred thousand boys and girls have responded 

 to the call of the President and enlisted in the United States School 

 Garden Army. Sixty thousand acres of unproductive home and 

 v^acant lots have been converted into productive land. This will 

 release an equal acreage now used in truck gardening for the pro- 

 duction of other food stuffs more important for war purposes. It 

 will also relieve transportation congestion through home con- 



