16 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



August, 1918 



made in plants that our present civilization 

 has been made possible. 



TT WAS becoming evident ten years or so 

 ■*■ ago to every American with a clear 

 vision of the trend of events that the con- 

 stantly accelerating movement of the pro- 

 ducers of food from the farms to the cities 

 must result sooner or later in greatly increased 

 prices and the consequent suffering which 

 always accompanies a loss of balance between 

 production and consumption. The war 

 greatly accentuated this. 



This menacing condition was realized by a 

 number of people, particularly by those who 

 had been giving close study to the subject. 

 This awful war into which most of the world 

 has been plunged made the condition all too 

 evident to everybody. What was to be done? 

 Starvation was paralyzing the arms and taking 

 the lives of our allies over the seas; and the 

 owners of gardens, orchards and farms were 

 called upon to quicken every nerve to meet the 

 deficiency, while those who were most able 

 and who had been of most assistance in the 

 production of food were called to the aid of 

 our allies who were defending the right to live 

 in peace upon the earth. 



HpHOSE who cultivated the soil could 

 ■*■ hardly do much more than they were al- 

 ready doing; and it was becoming evident 

 that food which before had been taken as a 

 matter of course was in reality the foundation 

 of all life, all knowledge, all progress. What 

 could be done? It became necessary to con- 

 serve carefully what already had been pro- 

 duced; and then to produce more. Agriculture 

 and horticulture had not generally been taught 

 in the schools and the old "hit or miss" plan of 

 farming was all too common; the home garden 

 was neglected and the school garden was a 

 novelty. Both in the call to conservation 

 and to increased production the American 

 people have responded nobly. How quickly 

 they have changed their attitude, how splen- 

 didly they have made good by adapting them- 

 selves to the new conditions! There is not a 

 class of American citizen, not a branch of 

 industry or commerce, not an occupation or 

 business that is not represented in this effort 

 to help win the war through adding some- 

 thing to the nation's food supply. Men, 

 women, and children have gone into the home 

 food production work with equal enthusiasm 

 and determination. 



And a fine example has been set to the 

 American people by the lads in khaki who are 

 preparing to fight the battles of democracy. 

 And they have planted war gardens at their 

 camps. The first of these "real war gardens" 

 was planted by the Commission at Camp Dix, 

 New Jersey. When everything was ready 

 for the planting nine big truck loads of seeds, 

 fertilizer, machinery and other supplies were 

 rushed over from Philadelphia and in short 

 order the ground was made ready. It is 

 estimated that more than a million pounds of 

 potatoes will be grown this season. There 

 are thirty acres of onions and the same area 

 of each of the following: Peas, beets, beans, 

 sweet corn. Lieut. -Col. Edmond Tompkins, 

 quartermaster at the camp, has as many as 

 48,000 men at his table some days; 

 and the assistance which the big 400 acre war 

 garden is going to be to the larder is greatly 

 appreciated. The saving in transportation 

 of food is another factor which had much con- 

 sideration in starting this work. Lieut. John 

 F. Bonner, because of his practical knowledge 

 of farming, was placed in active charge of 

 the work. One hundred and fifty men were 

 assigned to this service. They consisted of 

 alien enemies, Germans, Austrians, Turks and 

 others who could not be taken into the active 



duty; "conscientious objectors" and men who 

 were not physically fit for overseas service. 



The example of the soldiers helping to feed 

 themselves is one which must serve as a further 

 inspiration to the American people. If any 

 added spur were needed, this would furnish 

 the incentive. 



The inauguration of the war garden plan 

 at Camp Dix quickly led to its spread to other 

 camps. At many of them there was land 

 available for food production purposes, at 

 Camp Funston this amounting to as much as 

 20,000 acres. Plans were made to have as 

 much of this as possible worked this summer. 

 At Camp Grant, near Rockford, 111., 300 acres 

 of the 1,000 available was promptly planted, 

 with the promise that the balance would be 

 used before the season was over. At Camp 

 Devens, near Ayer, Mass., there was 250 acres 

 turned over for war garden purposes. In this 

 case a group of 100 enemy prisoners were 

 taken from Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., to do the 

 farming. At Camp Dodge, near Des Moines, 

 Iowa, 100 acres were planted in corn, beans, 

 onions and other vegetables for the men. 



Luther Burbank, whose name is quite familiar to gardeners 

 as a plant breeder and introducer of novelties, is an active 

 member of the National War Garden Commission 



Similar work was done at many of the other 

 military establishments throughout the coun- 

 try. 



The army must be fed. That is the prime 

 purpose in all the efforts being put forth for 

 increased food production. If the army could 

 not be maintained there would soon be noth- 

 ing but destruction ahead. The civilian pop- 

 ulations must also be fed; but they must back 

 the armies both by their work and by produc- 

 tion and conservation of food. 



"^TOT one ounce of garden produce should 

 ■*~ ^ be allowed to go to waste. The need 

 for conservation has not been brought home 

 to the people of the United States as deeply 

 as to the inhabitants of some other countries, 

 England, for instance, where they sell bones 

 at the butcher shops at five pounds for a 

 shilling. In this country these still go into 

 the garbage pails; and with them too often 

 precious scraps of meats which it would be 

 thought a crime to throw away in France or 

 Italy or any other European country. Every 

 bit of food that is raised should be used. 

 If it cannot be consumed at the time it ripens, 

 it should be canned or dried for future use. 



T"*HE value of home canning and drying 

 as a patriotic service increases with every 

 day the war is prolonged. Every added day 

 sees the world's food stock lowered, for the 

 number of people engaged in producing food 

 decreases in proportion to the number who 

 are merely consumers. The only way this 

 increasing shortage can be overcome is 

 through the stimulation of garden production 

 and the conservation of every particle of per- 

 ishable food grown there. The cupboards of 

 those nations which have been longest in the 

 struggle are already bare. Left to them- 

 selves, our allies would speedily starve to 

 death. Preeminently America's part in 

 the war is to feed her allies. This is 

 a herculean task. There is no doubt, 

 however, that the American republic will 

 live up to the high traditions and pur- 

 poses which have impelled it to enter this 

 struggle for right and liberty and that it will 

 accomplish in food production and conserva- 

 tion, as in the other tasks assigned to it, all 

 that is expected of it and more. 



AS PRESIDENT WILSON said of the 

 ■^*- size of the army — "no limit" must be 

 placed upon its numbers; it must be large 

 enough to beat the enemy — so the American 

 people must not limit themselves in any way 

 in their food production and conservation 

 work. They must raise and save every bit 

 possible. If they cannot use it all themselves 

 there will be someone else who will need it. 

 For instance, to can only for one's self when 

 other vegetables and fruits were going to 

 waste, would be like a man in a munition 

 plant refusing to make a gun for any one but a 

 relative. If there is a surplus in any commun- 

 ity beyond that community's need, the bal- 

 ance should be canned or saved for use in some 

 other community where there is not enough. 



It is only by this close cooperation of a 

 united people that our food supply can be 

 made ample to supply our needs and those of 

 our allies until victory comes and peace and 

 righteousness once more reign on the earth. 



Thirty-six thousand canning and drying 

 booklets were sent throughout New York 

 to the county demonstration agents of the 

 agricultural college at Ithaca. The National 

 War Garden Commission cooperated similarly 

 in many other states in home food conserva- 

 tion work. 



Songs of the Garden Warrior 



By M. G. Kains 

 Camouflage ? 



Have I caught a little thief, 



Little bug? 

 Underneath this curly leaf, 



Calm and snug? 

 What? You're playing hide and seek? 

 Wanted me to stoop and peek? 

 In the leaf I see a leak 



Little bug. 



You were boring for some food, 



Little bug? 

 Knew it was there and knew it was good 



So you dug? 

 Don't you know the plant is mine 

 Roots and fruits and leafage fine? 

 I did not call you to dine, 



Little bug. 



Oh, you have an equal right, 



Little bug, 

 Which you now, with all your might 



Mean to hug? 

 Don't you do it, bug, beware; 

 Here comes nicotine, take care 

 Requiescat in pace! — there — 



Little bug. 



