The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-03
BROOKLYN CITY FARMERS.
sCENEs ON JHE TICdNT LOTS
TILLED ny mn tSa.uPLOTED.

impressed by tho fuCt thnt tNtr' Wv" NlN'NhCros
Of rich, tillnble soil lying wa,t'ir ETn"H' II AMI
it, suburbs. which, II properly cultivated, would
give numerous families srrrN s'rT ~" s"r--
and vegetable di, hos. H." TAXED TIE slljccs
over with Brooklyn citizens who wcrc cousricn-
Gus for their efforts to aid thr honest poor, and
the result was that Frederick rcmm and Il
+. Linton OF tao German american Improves
mrnt COMPANY offered for cultivation the
fifteen Square vacant blocks bounded IVY WvOrn
and pCnnAvllrn avenues. tho New Los rnNd.
and iivOuia street.
1t Is II uieasnut place to look upon. The other
dny, when n reporter di.m#untcl from Lis
wheel Mt the corner OF Pennsylvania md EIyCr-
dale avenues, after riding over the hot, dusty
road OF the unfinished Eastern boulevard. n
cool breeze was blowing IN from Jamaica Kay
over tho marshes and tho mile " new. growing
grass. Down u block further was the hg farm
house ot Mr.. Niece, aud a little way thIs sido
wcro harms and other outhOusns, such - nre TO
be seen about ANY respectable farm. 4 ncigl-
Dor lived down the New Lots ROAD thirty or
forty rods in another typical fa9mhonsc. and II
one could hut Lnvc FORGOTTEN the wCl-sct paving
blocks beneath his feet ard the tfass-grown
stone cutters he might easily have thought thnt
hc was forty mics further out on Long Island.
Eight or ten men were ut work In ;ho garden.
a baby was sitting In the dirt, while the father
houl the soil round The hills Of corn. Other chill
uTtn from UtIEllD|IIlE I'NNtN p'hN ''4
about. girls Of /" or IA years and baby sisters.
Fnrmer Niece sat in a whcclbarr,w looking
on As the men worked. II was noticeable TINT
the men did not have their sleeves rolled MP, that
some OF them handled the brauh.ncw hoes or
rakes n little awkwardly. and TINT there was
not the genuine farmer swing in the way 10y
threw on. the little stones. Plainly they we're
city. bred men, who had gone to farming. They
were men who Ind answered Secretary Nich"
d., ,,avtfo,a VnttafoptnrII- nnH Ind piypr
proper references. Secretary Nichols ia a mem-
Der OF tho committed which -ct ont to show
what could he done with Drooklyn's vacant lots,
and the novices were gardening nndor tho
guidance OF Farmer Mcticn and his foreman,
John A.. Ru.h. They had had little or no eYperi-
encc in such matters; they were of tho unem-
ployed claaaes of the big city over the ri'v".
one OF the men when approached rested his
chin on the handle of his hoe md answered n few
Questions. He was stockilv built. such n man as
one might see before a machine shop Mt aeon or
in Cana, street on TIE ft"pi OF q c"rr"r ra.%,n.
and hts hcarinp was'that OF n man who hal been
down in his luck and was just getting lack his
What have you been planting here" was
asked.
N"iiow often do Won come OUT here to work 2"
"Wheneyer ! have n chance-two or 'hroe
What did you do for n living before you came
on fNrh. hNl row wv YOU ~ Il hNlAl'- NV"
"iI"~ m,;eG i,,n'd Iave y"a, Fof, 70 tjlI?"
me seed. a hoe. n rake. and the ground was Al;
ready ylouched. That man there with n red
sweater on is foreman he'll, tell You more about
30 You like It ont here
Yes, you bet ! do. H. is pleasant work,
All along the man had shown a disposition to
he at work. He knocked a stone of n %cornh"i.
G Tntw !nTeT va /" f on, Of liza aT n%IrF F5"rs IRaG S f@s h%rI do.
Ing other little thinEs which men nrc not ant to
do r II they "h R,.h t.. tod ,t% that w9 mf bn, TWO or thr,.
of the men Lad families, which often came ous
with them. tho wife and the older children join
u" We give them two kinds Of potatoes" said
Mr.. Bush; "Eer.y Rose and Hebron, heS!!.s
nnd some carrots. If they want to they can
nrinG in seeds Of their own. We teach, tho1n
how to m"He Ills and burrows. Every man
gets y plot "5voOO feet. and, three or four last
as sickly y looktnE ohirc, as ever ! saw on, Of
4 bel, with thin whit" hands, neahcd %chr.I,,e,
seen that man after he'd br"n %grrhhing over
there on Ms hand. AMI knees for about three
week yon wouldn't have known him. There
wra blood In his cheeks and h~lis'or1 On his neck.
and his hards were hard and brown. When -
went away from here last f3II no was GOOD
wv M, chemical fertilizer into the ground.
and We keep tho plots as c!oan nsa rak"and hoe
and tth-nw ont the little stones. We hNv" trc
ares plouehrd and can have - murh, a: We
neel. THIS" at worl. ore hard NJ it rlont,Is
their truck in. regular Long lsl"nd form sityle.
When tie sun begins to ) Q worth dirrin", We
will put n Waterman here ut night :" guard 1t.
In, tnst E 1iS nH we att tnr t 10 thcir w@r,:. Tt"r"'s
none of them this year. We had some trnuh,e-
i a%" soMcT q AMI n 'H so theY don't send any mors
down TO us, After tho, trnck is rire the men
COM Sop1 nd dow" sSnu Tt'G for l' a 1Sn S"s OK At di sn '9@ Of S s1Ptdl
yegCtahirs. and 60 home wt'h IT, en-. 80 t. ~
] tlot - p,,rs Fpa pripllN and in tho nhEElCll hpD-
eft the men get from u n"N"hY touh'S. lwo
brother. who, cam" down nrr" i1Lt YER Tor INC
up in Connecticut and have cor" to work II"
snpSriG'cmaent Mc@S", WE H"r WeM w,s on Ior t." n2s9f
and got rich hy market gardening in the thirtv
years he has !hecn there, mid that it took HIM
what to do. lie believed thar a few Of the men
who came out knew tho difference between a
aud a rake, hut most nj them wcr" new 70 tho
bu moss. Mr.. Schieren's committee hired tho
twenty nj hand were turned over, bur mnre
coiid re plouQhcd If needed. The men lived IN
work. 1t takes eleven horses. tw"n'v.hv" ="
thirty mrn. aud tons OF 'nrm'nS t'ol> =" cnlti-
trur gardeners are taught that grass must nos
grow on a Lorc Island, farm,
are at work is II swamp wit. mu-ErG'% in u.
Occasionally n hawk comes irr. INK .,v"rN"rh hs
Vow AMI again n 'pos.um ,goc, nosIqs around
ne Zen coop. anil Is killed hy N" dog, The
few tIAnS In sight contain now ava l'"0 n hlTlS
nest. while beyond. in the salt marshes. can hs
found ~ variety ~ 'longshore birds and a few
edible fish.
his Office at 90 Schermrrh0Tn street, Rrnokirn,
said Tint this year he had sent nnt about thirty
fVo mon To SUPERINTENDENT Nctirr. lie elects
men whH have families md ara uuah'" 10
get work Mt their trades: stu. my man
with n good record can get n plot or Er,"nl
to tn. Men ~ many occupations have
worked on the farm n nrwena2cr innn,
clerk mnchiri~tS. lahUrcrs. sec, II is not desired
u reach thr lowest or criminal Classn since
these arc in nrCd or Immediate nd. tn" farm
! has Inuhlc purpose. One iS to show What may
he dhre with the thousGniS Of city lots that nro
lv'ng ilir. a doRI weight on tn" owners lnuds,
when they might l.. turned into prottGhl" Glr-
den p'ois. Tho other IL 30 teach "itv men " 10
are naturally adapted 20 farming how = dnihs
work. aud at the same timr - i've th"l n tnsto
OF fresh mir. Several of u o~e who trlel tho
wrrk last year are now on farms, ono ~ no
main obstacles In the way Of the committee Ilst
ycn- was trRnspnrtntinu tn aud from ~" flr'n.
This wear. however. the SECRETARY OF the brook