The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-06-27
Uncle Sans Tomato Clubs
Three Thousand Southern Girls Are1'
the Boy Corn Ruisers

r,,cx Have Garden Patches Of One
Trath OF An Acre and Work Under
the Agricultural Experimentation
nnc Girl Made $50 and j12 Cans
How the Farms Are Managed
Canning Clubs and Preserving Pic
ni,S-Tests for Prizes-Marketing
the Iroduct-County Fairs and Club
para,lee-Poultry Clubs for Women
-yncle SANS Ideal COOk-A Re
ming.
(copyrjght 1911, by Frank G. Car
penter.)
Washington, d. G.
Uncle Sam, patriarch, is beginning
f. work for the girls. You have
heard of the boys corn clubs which,
have been organized throughout the
South TlIey have already more
than 100, 900 members and they Will
number more than 100000 before the
wear closes That work is carried OF,
under the direction Of Secretary Will
son. and it is backed up by the states,
tha governors of which are offering
prizes and giving diplomas.
Girls Tomato Clubs.
similar movement has now be
gun in order to wake up the girls.
1t originated last January, with the
starting OF d SIlS IOI1dtO C1uU III
Aiken. S C. The Agricultural De-
partment is backing it and there are
now more than 5000 girls, in diff
ferent parts Of the South, who are
each raising patch Of tomatoes,
under directions sent them from
Washington. The agents of the de-
partment are travelling over the cOun-
try establishing tomato clubs in three
counties of each Southern State, and
u. H. >1fn
South into a market garden. This
is one Of the most radical Of the new
schemes of Uncle Sam, patriarch. It
means the bringing Of woman into
our great industrial revolution, and
the creation of race of business
women on the farms Of the South.
Want to Compete With the Boys.
The idea came from the corn clubs
IN them each boy was given one acre
by his father. He was to plow and
plant it himself, and to have all the
profit. ] have already written Of the
snighty results. In certain cases the
boys made several hundred dollars
off their respective acres, and this
year one of them expects to net one
thousand dollars from a f1ve-acre
tract. That money is to send him
through school.
Since the organization of the corn
which they were established. have
been writing the Agricultural Depart
ment whether there was not some
thing for them to do They nave
been allowed to compete with the
boys in the corn clubs, and in num-
Der of instances, Notwithstanding tnen
Sex. they have produced corn above
the average OF the clubs to which they
belonged In South Carolina corn
fnp
girls who each raised more than one
hundred bushels of corn off one acre,
doing all the cultivation themselves.
One of them raised 12O bushels on
her acre. This was Miss Hanna
PtoW den. of Clarendon county. She
belonged to club Of one hundred and
1orty-two, of whom one hundred and
forty were boys. There were only
three boys who raised more than she
did, and the average Of the club was
sixly-tWo bushels per acre.
The First Girls Clnb
was the envy Of their sisters. The
boys clubs were organized through
The schools, and the girls discussed
this matter with their teachers. There
upon one of them, Miss Marie S
tromer, started the tomato club
movement. She had the assistance
OF the county superintendent and OF
department
IN Aiken county the boys corn club
had sixty members and their success
MISS Cromer devoted her evenings
70 writing letters to girls in differen,
parts of the county and her SATURDAYS
|" securing members. As a result a
cub Of fort. six little girls was or
SanlZed ana a list of valuable prizes
secured for those who did the best
Of a
money and alf hers norea hooks One