Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-11-07

Hundreds of hitherto unused acres
throughout a large portion of the south
are being made by
Winter Gardens school children to
=; A. cu produce winter crops
LII Inc ooutu. of garden truck this
season. The work is progressing under
an extension of. the children's back
yard-garden plan fostered by the
United States bureau of education, and.
taken with the spring and summer
work, will, officials of the bureau be-
lieve. constitute an epoch-making fac
tor in the social, educational and eco
nomic development of the south.
The winter garden work in the south
ern schools is a direct outgrowth OF
the summer work which was started
there just year ago. and when, In
turn. developed from the widely differ
ent school plot" garden work that
first originated in the northern states.
The winter work which the bureau is
doing is now confined, because of small
funds, to Virginia, North and South
Carolina, Georgia and a portion OF
Tennessee, but it is hoped before long
to carry on the activities in all OF the
territory in which winter grown Is
possible The school garden work IN
the south, both in winter ana IN lne
usual growing seasons. is all IN e1aIs
of one agent of the bureau, MISS Ethei
Gewans For it's northern and north-
eastern work in summer. however the
bureau has two other agents
The gardening projects were taken
up when Congress, in 1914, authorlzed
the establishment of the nome ana
school gardening division in the bureau
and appropriated $500 for beginning
work. How good an investment this
has been may be gathered, from the
fact that while there was then hardly
any school garden work IN progress
in the south, and, therefore, negl1gi-
BILE production from this source. the
school children of Chattanooga, Tenn,
alone, by May of the growing season
of 1915 had sold over $1,000 worth or
vegetables besides furnishing their
families with a goodly portion.
When it began it's southern activities
the bureau of education Immediately
put into operation the home-garden
plan All children who had back yards
available were encouraged to set to
work cleaning them up and putting the
soil into shape. For children without
back yards vacant lots were secured
near their homes and similar opera
lions were begun there. In some places,
where sufficient land could not be Sc
cured in either of these ways, relative
ly large tracts of land have been leased
in the outskirts of towns and generous
gardens laid off for each child.
The bureau of education believes,
from the results secured, even in the
short period of it's activities, that the
garden plan it has adopted is an eff
fective means for giving the children
a better and more constructive educa.
ton. It's organization work has pro-
crossed most satisfactorily. Numerous
communities have followed its sugges-
lions and have, in turn, become enthu-
siastic over the possibilities. School
superintendent. boards of education,
women's clubs, business mems associa-
tions and other organizations have
taken up the work of extending the
assistance in scores of communities.
The work has been developed princi-
pally for children between ten and fif-
teen years of age, and this age, it is
pointed out by DIR. p. z. Claxton, United
States commissioner of education, is
that at which the few pennies that
may be contributed by the average
parents cease to satisfy, and the chill
dren are glad of an opportunity to ac-
tually earn substantial amounts Of
money. DIR. Claxton and the educa-
tional experts directly in charge of the
work call attention to the fact that the
work also inculcates thrift and fur
nishes business experience, Nitalizes
the ordinary school work, puts many
children, because of their earnings in
a position to continue in school, when
out, tends to turn toward the soil those
children who have natural love of
and aptitude for farming or gardening.
and, In addition to all this, furnishes
as we'll a wholesome, constructive
recreational activity.