HOM 

XS: 
A mound of buttered potato balls surrounded by shoestring beets and buttered cabbage and carrot 
balls — a treat to the eye as well as to the tummy 
sx To win this globular war and 
achieve victory now and in the peace 
and reconstruction period to follow, 
we must have unbounded national 
vitality. The vitality of our nation is 
only the sum total of the vitality of 
all the individuals who make up the 
AKERS NOTEBOOR 
Edited by Ida Fisher 

nation. We must not only maintain 
our present level of vitality, but also 
must materially raise it. Forty per- 
cent of our young men who have been 
examined for military service have 
been rejected because of physical 
handicaps or weaknesses. It has been 
estimated that at least one-third of 
these rejects were due to malnutri- 
tion. If this is the condition of our 
young men, what are the facts re- 
garding the rest of our people? 
In this “‘land of plenty,’ starvation 
has been going on for many years. 
Not starvation as in China and many 
European countries, but a creeping, 
insidious, unappreciated shortage of 
certain vital, health-giving factors 
which results in nervousness, colds, 
failing eyesight and lack of vigor and 
energy. In recent years this hunger 
has been recognized to some extent 
and an effort made to satisfy it by 
pills and potions of many kinds. Over 
100 million dollars was spent last 
year on vitamin pills, making them 
the third greatest item sold over the 
counters of drugstores. 
Many of these shortages in our diet 
and the need for drug store vitamins 
and minerals can be overcome by a 
more extensive use and proper prepa- 
ration of vegetables. A garden changes 
a family’s diet — there’s no doubt 
about it. A recent survey found the 
following average consumption per 
person per week: 
Families Families 
Without With 
Gardens Gardens 
Fresh Vegetablessee) (4.02, 28 'oz: 
Root Vegetabless. 2 16:9 0z, ~~ 1207, 
Fresh Fruit aes 6 OZ eA. SIOZ: 
But it is not enough just to have a 
garden and eat lots of the vegetables 
it produces. Care must be given to 
growing and eating the kinds of 
vegetables richest in vitamins and 
minerals and in using them so that 
essential factors are not lost. 
This means green leafy vegetables, 
yellow vegetables and tomatoes. It 
means growing them well and har- 
vesting them when in prime condi- 
tion. It means eating as many as 
possible fresh and raw, and when 
cooking is necessary, cooking quickly 
and only as much as is actually 
needed. It means using very little 
water, cooking in a pan with a tight- 
fitting cover and making gravy from 
the cooking water and juices. 
The accompanying table suggests 
the relative nutritive merits of some 
vegetables. Study it and the rest of 
this vegetable seed issue of the Co- 
OPERATOR, and plan this spring to 
raise more vegetables for the sake of 
your family’s health and well-being. 
