New-York tribune., 1913-07-27

calf to en-doar gold piece, and knew that here was
the girl who would illustrate what her sex was doing IN
cubwork throughout the United States
So | asked the specialist for the story Of this girl
Here it is:
The government and the State started this girls,
ga den and canning cubwork in Kentucky The State
Fair business organizations md private Individual;
jumped in and welcomed II effort by offering many
prizes to girls who complied with the governments
official outlines for this work.
Everybody was talking about it. Many wondered
if anv girl on the farm could make such showing as
people said would be made when the prizes award
ed And among thoce VINO heard OF this work little
Mertie Hardin, who lives near Camden. She believed
that she could raise tomatoes and other vegetables lust
as well as a man could. And as to canning and pre-.
serving things-we, Mertie had her own ideas as to
what she could do.
"Irn going into this work" she told the home folks
"Don't worry about how III get the time for It. lust
let me do it in my own way
So with will she set to- She had TO have cold frames
to start her tomato plants. There were none that she
might use; so she built her own frames She made her
own seedbed She pruned and staked all the vines with
her own hands And she cultivated the patch too
Onetenh OF an acre it was Each step She took in &C.
cordance with the printed instructions furnished her by
the Department Of Agriculture.
Pretty soon people began TO stop on their way past
her garden and wonder just how much Of yield the
qrl would make; for the vines didn't look ike ordinary
tomato vines There was something altogether too
thrifty strong and heavily laden with fruit about them
But Mertie said nothing
And when she had harvested her crop, sod it, and
canned the surplus, she showed what a little woman
with will and way could DO. What did she do' This
Made a net profit of Sl07.I0 from this 10 acre Of
tomatoes And because she made such profit and
Weld she won the prize trip to Columbia South Caro-
lima during the time when the National Corn Show
in full blast One week she stayed there, with all her
expenses paid.
ming but she tried herself in this case She sent TO the
State Fair Of Kentucky the best exhibit Of fresh and
canned vegetables displayed there. For this the fair
gave her a thoroughbred Jersey calf. In addition she
gave them the whole story Of her work with the Oma
foes in daintily prepared manuscript entitled How
| Made Ny Crop" Her canned tomato pTo-lc,s num-
bered sixty SIX
Altogether She had one hundred and tweu.y-six df.
ferent kinds Of canned food products on cE..1ition
and she did them all herself She wasn't a. all selfish
She even prepared some little manuscripts giving away
tho whole secret Of her success. One entitled "The
Life History Of the Tomato; another, Garden and
Canning Arithmetic; then, Tomato Rcli,er They
cave her cut glass bowl for Of these manuscripts
lust to show them that her fingers were as quick as
her BRAIN and accurate, she entered contest IN
labelling tin cans filed with food product In ten
minutes she had the largest number lalSe and took
bacl; home with her pair Of Indian runner ducks for
her trouble The State Fair also gave her tireess
cooker for her exhibit Of canned products, which was the
best and for which this cooker was offered. and
am not mistaken there were some tcndCa- gold pieces
She took as prizes with her ducks, cooker cali, bowl
Other girls have done nearly as well as Alcre Other
bows have done as well as Lester Bryant. ..e move
r1cnt grows each day; the ranks are swelling. Give
them chance, these boys and girls TO show e stuff
that's in them All they ask IS chance. BE-aearted
Uncle Sam has read this in their faces and arts. He
pats them on the back, and doesn't lie a"aE. nights
wondering what is 20 become OF his "a5ani.1t 'arInS
For his faith IS Dlantel in the new generation.