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

| nunuredS OF hitherto unused acres
Throughout a large portion of the south
are being made by
Winter Gardens school children to
| :, produce winter crops
III 'no ooutu. of garden truck this
|season. The work is progressing under
an extension of the children's back
tyard-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 which, In
turn, developed from the widely dlner-
emit 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 the
usual growing seasons, is all IN charge
of one agent of the bureau MISS LIZ
IGowans. For it's northern and nortn-
eastern work in summer, however 'he
| bureau has two other agents
| The gardening projects were taken
up when Congress, in 1914, authorlzeo
the establishment of the home and
school gardening division in the bureau
and appropriated $500 for beginning
work. How good an investment TINS
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, negigl-
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 OF
vegetables besides furnishing their
families with 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
tions 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
| ldlQ OIL 1OT edCn Cnllu
| The bureau of education believes,
| from the results secured, even in the
short period of it's activities, that the
! garden plan 1t 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 it's sugges-
lions and have, in turn. become enthu-
siastic over the possibilities. School
GU ,f1,, HOO, I1 80 11,1o ftoy,
women's clubs. business mems associa-
lions and other organizations have
taken up the work of extending the
| movement and are giving it financial
assistance in scores Of communities.
| The work has been developed princi-
paliy for children between ten and fif-
teen years of age, and this age, it is
pointed out by DR.. P. P. Claxton, United
| States commissioner of education. is
| that at which the few pennies that
may be contributed by the avera ge
parents cease to satisfy, and the chill
dren are glad of an opportunity to &C
| tually earn substantial amounts OF
money. DR.. 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, Witalizes
! the ordinary school work, puts many
children, because of their earnings, in
a position to continue in school, when,
ordinarily, they would have to drop
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 well a wholesome, constructive,
irrational activity
| Clubs, the value of which in the or
ganization of specific activities among
| farmers and in
Women's Clubs and the building cup
| poo1o4: of rural COM
eeA0aAo 'ion' munity life In
general has been recognized by the
! Department Of Agriculture. are also
| being fostered by the reclamation serv-
ice on its projects where people gath
| cred from the four corners of the coun-
| try are engaged in the new pioneer
ling-subjugating the desert with
water. The reclamation service Is rec
ognizing that the feminine factor is
| important in the building of the new
| communities and is interesting itself
| ord, a government periodical publish
! ed in the interest of project residents,
| in seeking to extend the various WON
| ems organizations.
| The possibility of having in farmin G
| districts strong and active women s
| clubs that compare favorably with
| those in cities is not understood by
| fasteners, the Reclamation Record
| points out, for in the east farms are
large and rural population is scatter
| ed. Many of the western irrigation
| projects, however, are practically cit
| les of farms. the units on some prof.
| ects being as small as twenty and
| even five acres. This situation brings
about concentration of population
| that makes all sorts of community &C
| tvities easily possible, and on a num-
Der of the projects the women have
made the most Of their opportunities
and have organized associations of such
varied character as canning clubs
| teacher organizations and clubs for va
has reacted so favorably on the gen.
eral life on the projects that the Rec
lamation RECORD has thrown its col
umns open to the women for the pub
LEGATION of general directory of prof.
| ect women's clubs and will act also
as a clearing house for the exchange
| of experiences and helpful hints among
| the clubs and club declarations on the
various reclaimed areas.
Through his scientific agencies Uncle
Sam is not content merely to issue
| direction as to how
Popularizing things should be done. He
| n., is not afraid to roll up
AiAeAsA. his sleeves. SO to speak,
and to lead the way. whether 1t be into
| a new industry or a new phase of an