THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 99 



Louisville, Kentucky, ^750,000; Worcester, Massa- 

 chusetts, $750,000; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, $500,- 

 000; Dallas, Texas, $300,000; Scranton, Pennsylvania, 

 $450,000; Rochester, New York, $350,000; Pittsburgh, 

 Pennsylvania, $250,000; Burlington, Iowa, $250,000; 

 Newark, New Jersey, $160,000; New Orleans, Louisiana, 

 $125,000; Atlanta, Georgia, $100,000. 



Another gain which comes to a city from war gar- 

 dening is the improvement in the appearance of the 

 place; and added beauty means added worth. The 

 poet who sang that "a thing of beauty is a joy for- 

 ever" might have written with equal truthfulness — 

 although, of course, we do not expect the minds of 

 poets to run in such practical and commercial channels 

 — that it is also a " thing of value forever. " In the long 

 run those improvements which add to the beauty of 

 a city or community add also to its material prosperity 

 and to its civic progress. 



For this reason chambers of commerce and other trade 

 organizations do good service for their communities 

 when they urge the cleaning-up of all vacant lots and 

 open spaces and their conversion into gardens. Travel- 

 ers have noted how much better many towns looked 

 during the past year or two because of the fact that 

 most of the back yards " fronting " on the railroad tracks 

 have been improved into clean, well-kept vegetable 

 plots. The average back yard is bare of flowers, as 

 these are reserved for the place of honor in front 

 of the house; and so a vegetable garden in the space 

 at the rear is highly to be commended as an attraction 



