1920.] Allotments in England and Wales. 



265 



may be termed the keys to the doors of the otherwise closed 

 food stores. These substances have been called vitamines, 

 but it is preferable not to speculate about them and to call 

 them simply accessory food factors. Of these, three at least 

 have been distinguished : — (i) the so-called fat-soluble factor, 

 promoting growth and preventing rickets in young animals 

 and maintaining health in adults ; (2) the anti-neuritic factor, 

 in the absence of which disease like beri-beri occurs ; (3) the 

 anti-scorbutic factor, that guards against scurvy. 



The important feature of these vitamines is that although 

 they occur more or less in certain animal foods, they are manu- 

 factured only by living plants. They have the power of 

 keeping oft " deficiency " diseases, such as rickets, imperfections 

 of teeth and certain skin diseases. Hence one of the great 

 values of the allotment, especially where conditions of food 

 supply are difficult, is that it provides all classes of the com- 

 , munity with sufficient material rich in vitamines. But for 

 the allotment, these essential elements might be hard to obtain, 

 and it is to be feared that before the War they were abnormally 

 short in the diet of many classes of the population. 



The benefits of the allotment to the community from a purely 

 social point of view were next emphasised. The individual' 

 can never be satisfied with purely passive amusements ; he must 

 be an active participant in the game. There is no more deeply- 

 seated desire or delight than that which men associate with 

 growing things, and this primitive instinct finds its highest 

 expression in the fancier's pleasure of introducing specially 

 beautiful or finely-developed specimens. In this he realises 

 the joy of the creator and artist. This touch of nature was 

 well exemphfied in the early years of the 19th century by the 

 working-men florists of the northern and midland manufacturing 

 towns. It is unfortunate that they are dying out, for to their 

 efforts we owe the most beautiful varieties of carnations, tuHps, 

 chrysanthemums and pansies, and also the best varieties of 

 gooseberries. 



The growing of flowers, fruits and vegetables, the quickened 

 interest of competitions, made life very real and vivid, and lent 

 a glimpse of poetry and nature-worship to men whose lot was 

 otherwise cast in grey and even sordid surroundings. Similarly, 

 the growth of the allotment movement will once again provide 

 the majority of men with a plot of land they can call their own, 

 and will not only put them in a sounder economic position and 

 help to ensure the health of their families, but it will also pro- 

 vide an indispensable element of active and stimulating 

 interest in Hfe. 



