WAR GARDENS. Among the pmblems which faced the world at the outbrmk of the World War there was none more vital than that of food supply. Substitutes were found for many of the articles needed to carry on the war. Inventive chemists discovered alloys or compositions which could be made to serve in place of metals which were indispensable. In some countries they began to make clothing from materials which had never before been used for that purpose. But for food there could be no substitutes and it became neces sary not only to keep up the usual supplies but if possible to increase the output. On this ac count efforts were made to discover hitherto undeveloped sources of food production. While every aid was given to the established farmer to speed up and add to the nation's food re sources, there was a limit to what he could do, due particularly to his increasing difficulties as the war progressed in getting help. Here then was the opportunity, in fact it amounted practi cally to a necessity, for the development of a new branch of agriculture. The result was the "dty farmer." Starting in 1917 when the entry of the United States into the war made the food situation acute, the war gardeners of the United States had increased by the following year into a grand total of 5,X5,000, which was an increase of 1,785,000, or 51 per cent over the number who went into the home food pro duction work in the first year of the National War Garden Commission's nation-wide cam paign. Before 1918, too, the message of °Food F.O.B. the Kitchen Door* had spread beyond the bounds of the United States, and other countries were coming here for information as to how much universal interest had been aroused in home gardening and what methods of instruction and assistance were given to the workers. The National War Garden Commis sion was organized early in the spring of 1917 for the purpose of stimulating and encourag ing the culttvation of all that land which was lying idle in the form of bacicyards and vacant lots by the millions in cities, towns and vil lages all over the country. Those who started
the movement realized that here was a great untapped source of food wealth; and that if all this "slacker land,* or even a large percentage of it, could be put to work there would be opened up an unlimited addition to the fight ing resources of America and her Allies. The results were remarkable and have far out stripped the early anticipations of the founders of the scheme. Like the forces of Roderick Dhu which rose unseen from the heather all over the mountain side at his whistle shrill, so the vast army of war gardeners all over the United States from coast to coast rose at the call to them to "Sow the Seeds of Victory.* They fortned a mighty force and added about $350,000,000 to the food wealth of the nation in 1917. In the following year they had in creased vastly in numbers and the product raised was valued at more than $500,000,0®. Co-operation was the means which made the war garden compaign a success. Patriotic and unselfish assistance was given to the commis sion in spreading widecast its call to the back yard and vacant lot farmer. Organizations of all kinds, committees and women's clubs; State, city and county officials; industrial and manu facturing concerns, big and small; banks and business houses; chambers of commerce and other trade bodies; railroads and mining com panies; school and college superintendents and instructors; city park departments, bureaus of municipal research, city improvement associa tions, even tenement-house inspection services in some cases: these and many others co operated loyally in getting the message home to the people, and through their local commit tees organized and started the good work. The war gardens of the United States proved their worth in many ways. They added a vast total to the food wealth of the nation. But they accoinplished much more. They resuhed in the saving of transportation facilities, and by making the consumer also a producer released thousands of freight cars for more essential war work. At the same time this also freed many workers for other service.