CHAPTER XIV 
CONSERVING THE GARDEN SURPLUS 
How Housewives Turned Their Reserves into Preserves 
F ROM the governments of the Entente Allies and 
the associated nations, whose territory girdled 
the earth, came the cry for conservation. There 
was need for this cry. Never in the world’s history was 
material of all kinds used up in such quantities. More 
than once, in a three-hour preparation for a short ad- 
vance, a greater number of shells had to be employed 
than were fired in the entire Franco-Prussian War. 
Shells are but a type. Everything was used in unheard- 
of quantities. This was particularly true of food, the 
basic material upon which the entire structure of vic- 
tory rested. Speedily it became apparent that every- 
thing possible must be saved — old cartridge cases, old 
shoes, old shells, old clothes, old materials of every 
sort— and particularly food. This was especially true 
of food because material like old shoes or old shells 
could be used repeatedly; but food once eaten was 
gone forever. As the world’s food supply became more 
inadequate the cry for conservation grew more and 
more insistent. 
“Turn your reserves into preserves!” became the 
order of the day among the women all over the country. 
With this as their slogan they made ready by the mil- 
lion to build up a second line of defense which would 
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