REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN'S 

 GARDENS. 



By Henry Saxton Adams, Chairman. 



The exhibition of the products of the children's gardens was held 

 at Horticultural Hall on Saturday and Sunday, August 31 and 

 September 1, 1918, and filled all three halls. There was not 

 quite as much material brought in as in 1917, due probably to the 

 fact that much of the product raised in the gardens was used as 

 food or for canning and drying purposes. Our prizes were also 

 reduced which undoubtedly prevented a number, outside gardens 

 particularly, being represented. 



We noted a decrease in the number of exhibits of flowers, showing 

 that children's gardens were given up more than ever to the pro- 

 duction of vegetables for food. The exhibits were fully up to 

 the standard of the last few exhibitions and in some cases better 

 than ever. There is no question but that the quality of the exhibits 

 of the children in many cases equals those of adults at the regular 

 shows. There were entries in all of the classes in which prizes 

 were offered except wild flowers, and here again we seemed to feel 

 the effects of war conditions. In some of the exhibits of vege- 

 tables there was an unusually large number of exhibits ; for instance, 

 there were one hundred entries of six specimens of tomatoes for 

 which ten prizes were offered and awarded; there were sixty-five 

 entries of potatoes; fifty-eight of carrots; forty-four of beets; 

 forty-two of green string beans; and thirty-six of green sweet corn. 

 In the class of any variety of vegetable not mentioned in the list 

 we had eighty-two exhibits with only six prizes offered. 



Among the interesting garden exhibits was one from the War 

 Garden on Boston Common which we think is rather unusual and 

 particularly noteworthy as an exhibition of vegetables grown by 

 children on Boston Common. The appropriation for prizes was 

 entirely used and it gives us pleasure to announce that for the 

 season of 1919, with the cooperation of the State Department of 



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