204 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



WASTE MADE USE 



Before these boys and their garden instructor carried their tools and vegetable seeds upon this vacant lot it produced nothing but weeds, which scattered their 

 seeds over adjacent lawns. Now it is giving a large measure of economic independence to several families, in addition to improving the quality of their food. 

 "The waste of vacant lands in and about American cities, particularly in the East, is appalling," wrote Albert Shaw, editor of the Review of Reviews, to the 

 National Emergency Food Garden Commission. 



"The question of proximity to the house should be 

 given first consideration. As the work of caring for the 

 garden is usually done in spare time, the location selected 

 should be as near the house as possible. The slope and 

 type of soil should be the next consideration. A slope to 

 the south or southeast is usually preferable, because here 

 the soil warms up early in the spring, which permits early 

 planting and stimulates the early growth of crops. Prac- 

 tically any type of soil can be used for the garden, but a 

 sandy loam is to be preferred. 



"Good drainage is of prime importance. The land 

 should have sufficient slope to drain off surplus water during 

 heavy rains, but the slope should not be so great as to wash 

 the soil. If the land near the house is level, artificial 

 drainage should be employed. Open ditches or tile drains 

 will be satisfactory. On level land that is not artificially 

 drained it is necessary to plant on ridges or in beds to 

 prevent drowning the crops during wet weather. The 

 ridges or beds should be as wide and flat as conditions 

 will allow, for narrow, sharp ridges dry out quickly. 



" In planning the location of crops, consideration should 

 be given to the matter of succession, in order that the land 

 may be occupied as large a part of the time as possible. It is 

 not advisable to have a second planting of the same crop or 

 a closely related crop follow the first. For instance cabbage 

 should not follow cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, mustard, or 

 kale, for many of the same diseases and insects affect all of 

 these crops. Tomatoes, egg-plants, and peppers should not 

 follow each other. In some sections of the country two crops 

 can be grown on the same land each year, while in other 

 sections three or four crops can be grown to advantage." 



The Commission is spreading its campaign throughout 

 the country, and the press of the nation, furnished daily 

 with bulletins and other information for the guidance of 

 the amateur gardeners, is aiding the Commission in a 

 laudable manner. It is realized only too well by the men 

 behind the movement that it is not so much a question of 

 production but a question of transporting the foodstuffs. 

 This difficulty confronts the country even today, and with 

 a declaration of war the government heads say most posi- 

 tively that the trains could not be utilized for transporting 

 food supplies across the continent. 



President Pack believes that it is the patriotic duty 

 of every man in the United States who owns or controls 

 land to plant and cultivate it. He has studied the con- 

 ditions in Europe closely and with that dreadful picture 

 of hunger and starvation before, him he feels with every 

 government official that no time should be lost in arous- 

 ing the nation from a lethargic condition to one of 

 bustling vigor, and his plea is to plant food gardens at 

 once. He explains that no campaign of his knowledge 

 has met with such instant success as the food garden 

 plan of the Commission. 



"But the work has just begun," he adds. "There must 

 be a million recruits to the army of home garden makers. 

 Wherever there are no clubs they should be formed to 

 foster the work. Effort of any kind seems to be more suc- 

 cessful where the individual feels that his neighbor is work- 

 ing with him. There must be no letup in the work started 

 throughout the nation. American cities are to be put to 

 the supreme test their vacant land must be made to pro- 

 duce a large portion of the vegetables that they consume." 



