82 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
February, 1918 
What One City Accomplished in 
War Garden Work 
Anna A. Ihrig, Oshkosh 
Presented at Annual Convention, 
Madison, Dec. 12th, 1917 
I am glad to tell you of the 
measure of success we have se- 
cured in Oshkosh the past season. 
While we deplore the cause, we 
can but rejoice in the impetus 
givn to our home gardens by our 
war gardens. 
We who are familiar with gar- 
dens, who know their worth not 
alone from an economic stand- 
point, but as an indispensable ad- 
junct to all home life, to individ- 
ual character and to normal 
growth from childhood to old age, 
can only be glad that we are what 
we are. That we were ready 
when the need came and are do- 
ing our bit. The Rotary Club of 
Oshkosh started a movement for 
a more beautiful and efficient city 
early in the year. When the war 
garden cry was heard simultane- 
ously all over the land, emphasis 
was placed on efficiency. The 
Rotary Club voted $400 to finance 
the garden movement and placed 
this sum with their Garden Club 
committee. This committee was 
ably seconded by every available 
force in Oshkosh, the people 
the press, the commission council, 
the school boai’d instructors in 
both city and normal schools, the 
various business clubs and social 
societies, including our local Hor- 
ticultural society. This commit- 
tee of the Rotary club, with the 
able assistance of Mr. A. S. Hotch- 
kiss, directory of recreation, and 
Mr. T. W. Garry, director of the 
Community club, perfected a plan 
of work which has given Oshkosh 
an excellent season’s work, 
aroused the enthusiasm of the en- 
tire city and placed it in a posi- 
tion to continue the work next 
season without the handicap of in- 
ertia in any vital point. There 
are four classes of members in the 
Oshkosh Garden club, junior mem- 
bership, limited to children under 
sixteen years of age; home gar- 
den membership and plotted va- 
cant lot garden membership, each 
without any limit and entire va- 
cant lot membership, limited to 
adults. A fee of ten cents was re- 
quired of junior members upon 
payment of which they received a 
membership ticket and were guar- 
anteed, 1st, one book garden in- 
structions; 2nd, visitation, advice 
and supervision during the sea- 
son ; 3rd, the right of entry into 
contests for prizes in district and 
final contest ; 5th, packages of 
seeds as follows: Two flowers, 
three vegetables and five tomato 
plants. They agreed to cultivate 
not less than 100 square feet of 
gai’den during the season at home. 
Home garden members' fee was 
25c and they received five vege- 
table seed packets and were re- 
quired to cultivate at least 200 
square feet of garden, other con- 
ditions being the same as for jun- 
iors. 
The Rotary club offered the 
following prizes to juniors: Five 
prizes of fifty cents each at each 
of two preliminary exhibits to be 
held in each of ten centers during 
the season. Five prizes at each of 
two .final exhibits at the City Hall 
as follows: 1st, $2.00; 2nd, $1.50; 
3rd, $1.00; 4th, 75c; 5th, 50c. 
Prizes for best junior gardens 
during the entire season: 1st, 
$5.00; 2nd, $3.00; 3rd, $2.00; 4th, 
$2.00, and 5th, $2.00. Total 
prizes to juniors $75.50. 
Home gardeners’ prizes were 
also offered, but as there were 
only a small number of the lat- 
ter, they were classed with the 
juniors. The club caused to be 
printed one book of instructions, 
of which 1 have a sample. It con- 
tains Instructions for Planning, 
Rotation of Crops, Planting, 
Transplanting, Cultivation, Irri- 
gation, Thinning, Spraying and 
miscellaneous advice. A page is 
allotted to each important vege- 
table, giving a brief history of the 
plant, soil preferred, time and 
manner of planting, quantity of 
plant, culture, enemies, and season 
of maturity. In the preparation 
of this book the committee Avas as- 
sisted by members of the local 
Horticultural society. A thousand 
copies were printed at a total cost 
of $90, which Avas paid by the ad- 
vertising matter which it con- 
tained. 
Besides the book of instructions 
the printed matter used consisted 
of membership blanks. A card 
containing the rules and regula- 
tions of the club and the prizes 
offered, together Avith a printed 
blank application for member- 
ship. A card for the use of su- 
pervisors in grading the gardens 
and a cordial invitation to attend 
the exhibits. There AA T ere 445 
gardens in these tAvo classes, 
435 juniors’ and 10 home gardens. 
These were divided into ten dis- 
tricts and supervised by the direc- 
tors of the various Playground 
centers, 1,347 visits being made. 
The gardens Avere scored on the 
folloAving points : General Im- 
pression, Drainage, Cultivation, 
Lack of Plant pests, Healthy 
GroAvth of Plants and Weeding. 
A card index of each garden 
shoAving the score for each Adsit 
was kept and the final aAvard Avent 
to the one having the highest 
score. Two brothers Aver^ tied 
for this honor, having 5^9 p ints 
