The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-09-22
HOME HEALTH CLUB
(Edited by Dr. David II. Reeder.
 Chicago.)

(Edited by Dr. David II. Reeder.
 Chicago.)
 GETTING READY: Yes. I plead guilty, it's only another way of say ing preparedness" the big word with a bigger meaning that has been used so much of late but what l started out to ask about is this: How many fam ihes of the present day are prepared to feed themselves for a few weeks even, some of them a few days, to say nothing of months in case of pro- longed railroad tieup or an invasion of any kind. even a rigid quarantine, blockade or a failure of wheat or corn crop. Just stop and think over the many possibilities. l am not an alarmist nor g. pessimist, on the con- trary I am rather an extreme of the American type of optimist. We are all inclined to say T should worry" and then let worry go hang.
 The people on the farms are in much safer position than the people of the cities. It is a lamentable fact, however, that the farmers of the en- tire country as well as the city dwell- CTS have come to depend upon an al- most daily supply of food products that are carried from point to point on the railroads. Any great calam- ity that would suddenly stop that transportation would cause widespread suffering. I believe heartily in the d-fashioned way of storing up g. supply sufficient for emergencies and this should be done by the individual as we'll as the nation.
 Last year this country produced a most bountiful crop of all cereals and at once we began to sell and ex- port it. The present crop is barely sufficient for the needs of our own country but selling for export Is go- ing on just the same. The people that look beyond the days supply for their own commdssary as well as that of the nation are the ones that realize fully the tremendous waste that is constantly going on in this country In the cities and even in some parts Of the country many chil- dren hunger for the fruit and vege- ta ables that rot in the, fields on the farms. Great piles of manure lie wasting near the barns while the care less farmer complains that his land is worn out. Disease breeding flies come from this fertile breeding place to plague the careless farmer and his stock When his cows fail to give the desired flow of milk he complains about that and when his family is stricken through the activity of the typhoid fly he planes the doctor.
 The careless farmer lets the weeds grow rank where he should grow food. Many thousands of acres of most excellent land, which if cultivat- ed would supply the needed surplus of fruits, grains and vegetables. are turned over to weeds and their seeds increase the difficulty and labor of growing crops on the cultivated land.
 In order to get ready for the ever increasing demand for more food by our steadily increasing population there must be more and smalhor farms, more intensive cultivation of the land and less food allowed to go to waste. Surplus potatoes should be dessicated during the years of abundant crops and used when the crop is light, also the surplus fruits should be evaporated and thus easily kept over the lean years. Above all, however, from the Home Health Club standpoint. lay in an abundant sup ply of good health. Treasure it as the most valuable possession of a human being. Incidentally don't for- get that the Home Health Club is al- ways ready to help you.