2 BULLETIN 602, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



This 'bulletin sets forth results obtained from small plots of 

 ground by over 500 families living in Southern cotton-mill villages. 

 The facts and figures gathered in the study of the utilization of 

 these plots for producing food are presented as suggestive of what 

 the industrial establishment can do for the welfare of its employees 

 by locating where the cost of living may be kept down by the home 

 production of food. They may also serve to give the village or city 

 dweller information as to the possibilities of raising food on small 

 plots of suitable available ground. 1 



It refers particularly to the small plots of ground which may be 

 used by village or city dwellers for raising vegetables, fruit, poultry, 

 and even hogs and milk. The ground should be located conveniently 

 so that the family may do most of the work. It is difficult to con- 

 ceive of a laboring man's family using its spare time to better ad- 

 vantage than in cultivating the home garden or caring for a small 

 flock of poultry or the family cow. The most productive garden or 

 the most profitable flock of poultry, however, is the result of good 

 management and intelligent care. If pride is taken in the garden 

 and study devoted to its management, it will be a pleasure to plan 

 for it during the winter and care for it during the summer. The 

 man who finds recreation in fishing knows just what bait is best for 

 each kind of fish; knows just where the best fishing places are, and 

 the season when he is most likely to make a big catch. The success- 

 ful home gardener or poultryman makes a study of this form of 

 recreation with the same kind of enthusiasm that animates the keen 

 fisherman. 



The local retail prices used in this study were considerably lower 

 than the prices current in large cities and towns at the time the study 

 was made, and only one-third to one-fourth of the present prices 

 (1917). The comparative cheapness of produce in these villages 

 may be attributed to the fact that most families raise enough for 

 their own use and a little over, so that in season the " store prices " 

 of most vegetables or fruits are influenced greatly by the prices at 

 which the consumer can buy them from a neighbor. 



THE COTTON-MILL VILLAGE. 



Southern textile companies furnish houses for the cotton-mill em- 

 ployees. The mill buildings, surrounded by the operatives' houses 

 and the few necessary stores and shop buildings constitute the mill 



1 United States Department of Agriculture bulletins, State experiment station bulle- 

 tins, and farm papers give information pertaining to garden culture, the amount of land 

 needed for a small flock of poultry or a family cow, and the kinds of feed to use. A 

 talk with a neighbor who has had success with his garden or his poultry is suggested. 

 He may be able to give some good information. Good seed catalogues also give certain 

 information on garden vegetables. 



