New-York tribune., 1912-03-04
An Opportunity for Club
Women in Prevent
ing the Waste
of Land.
BY Martha McCuIIoch Williams.

Some way am driven to a fresh preach
ment on gardens. Many things conspire
in the driving One Is, the results in the
city of Minneapolis. Last year, for a spe
cial end, under special auspices. some part
Of Its vacant land was planted TO garden
truck, also TO flowers. A seed house helped
by putting in prominent window a model
garden, eight feet by three. and offering
free seed to whoever in the city would
duplicate it on a bigger scale There was
no rent to pay-owners Of vacant lots were
but too glad to have them made present
able. / forgot the exact area planted, but
the crops from 1t suf1ced in the months
from midsummer forward 10 cut vegetable
prices in half and rouse the grocers to
angry protest. Now there has been q
stock taking which shows within easy
walking range OF the city five thousand
acres Of productive land lying waste. Re
turns from Il. on the basis of last years
yield. would give enough vegetables Of
sorts to feed not merely the city, but the
whole state. through several months IN
the year.
Another factor is my home paper Here
are sundry prices from its market report.
Understand, 1t is not published in Way
Back, rather in a town OF four railroads,
FIVE banks, a university and huge trade
in an export staple. Yet its retail grocers
sell white potatoes at 80 cents the peck,
sweet ones at IS, eating apples at 40 cents,
sundried apples and peaches at 10 IL
cents the pound. dried beans, peas hominy
and grit. 20 TO 80 cents the gallon. In
other foods the showing is as good. Lard,
for instance. country rendered, 12l2 cents
the pound; butter, % cents; old ham, 20
cents; new ham. Il cents; new sausages,
Is cents a pound; turkeys. IS to 20 cents;
rabbits, fresh killed. 1912 cents each.
What has all this to do with gardens
do you ask? Just this. II is an object les
son in the saving inevitable when the con-
sumner lives elbow neighbor to the pro-
ducer The people Of my home town do
not ask and receive such prices because
Of gutted markets. There are firms MAX
ing a speciality of getting together and
shipping market stuff. and also. am glad
TO record. making money at the business.
Local rates represent a reasonable profit
on first cost. The difference between them
and big city rates represents the share of
the middlemen and the bigger share OF the
carriers. II is self-evident where many
people are SdlneT6o lOBttNcT IHeEe Is plOuI
in carrying food 10 them. II by any de-
vice the food can be grown at their doors
or even in the next block or the next
township inevitably there is an appreci-
able saving.
Real estate round about New York town,
both within the state and New Jersey,
has been better than a gold mine or even
fairy godmother in the way Of rolling up
fortunes. Consequently, pretty near two
thirds of market farms. once great sources
Of city supply, have become develop
ments' instead-are plated and plotted.
peppered with small white stakes. the
evidence Of things hoped for the substance
of things not seen. What the developers
hope for is settlers-settlers with money
to buy plots and build on them. Even
with acre prices up in the thousands, the
returns are tempting, sometimes all but
fabulous. Meantime, while settlement is
laggard, the land lies idea sheer waste.