1 8 THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 
range and intensive in method. As an educator of the 
masses there is no power equal to the public press; and 
from the start, the Commission, had the cordial cooper- 
ation of thenewspapers and periodicalsof theentire coun- 
try. Inspiration and detailed instruction were furnished 
through the columns of the daily newspapers. Articles 
and feature stories which dealt with various phases of 
war gardening and sought to stimulate the movement 
to the utmost were also prepared and sent broadcast. 
These appeals soon bore fruit. Requests for instruc- 
tion in gardening and in the organization of community 
gardening movements poured in from all sides. To 
the requests the Commission responded with carefully 
prepared pamphlets which gave the information de- 
sired. In addition, representatives of the Commission 
visited innumerable cities and towns to confer with the 
local chambers of commerce or other organizations 
which were directing gardening campaigns. As a re- 
sult of this propaganda, war gardens sprang up as 
though by magic. Gardening came to be the thing. 
In order that all this enthusiasm might be trans- 
muted into substantial accomplishment, it was neces- 
sary that the army of would-be gardeners should have 
instruction, for many of them had never before handled 
a hoe or wielded a fork. Daily garden lessons were 
prepared therefore for the daily press. These lessons 
were short and simple, shorn of useless technicalities, 
but carefully prepared by experts. They were lack- 
ing in nothing essential. They gave the fundamentals of 
good garden practice, which would enable even a be- 
