no THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 



which this war has demonstrated to be of value and 

 benefit to mankind, it will last. 



War gardening will permanently establish itself be- 

 cause its peace-time value will fully equal its war-time 

 worth. This will be true at all times, but more partic- 

 ularly during the first five or ten years of the great 

 reconstruction period. During that period the matter 

 of food production will be of the most pressing im- 

 portance. It will be on a par with many of the other 

 enormous reconstruction problems which face the world. 

 It will require the continued application of broad 

 thought and effort. There will be no decrease in the 

 demand for food; in fact that demand will really be 

 greater, much greater, than it was during the days of 

 actual conflict. 



This will be true because the coming of peace means 

 the restoration of the freedom of the seas, and freedom 

 of the seas means a restored commerce. German sav- 

 agery and the frightfulness of unrestrained subma- 

 rine warfare have largely driven the world's ordinary 

 commerce from the seas; and much of that commerce 

 was traffic in foodstuffs. For decades, even centuries, 

 Europe has been dependent upon the remainder of the 

 world for food to eke out its own inadequate supplies. 

 Before the war, for example, England, according to 

 the United States Food Administration, produced but 

 one-fifth of her own foodstuffs, while France raised one- 

 half of hers, and Italy produced perhaps two-thirds of 

 what she consumed. What was true of these nations 

 was true of the remainder of Europe. Unless food could 



