The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-11-28
vt. BOYS AND GIRLS
RAISED SI5O,O0O CROPS
Total of 1892 School Pupils Engaged in
the Work During the Past Season
Under the Direction of School
Superintendents.

Reports of the results of the food cam
paign conducted by the educational de
partment OF Vermont have been received
from 81 of the GO superintendent OF the
state and show the following remarkable
results. Sixty-one superintendent re.
port 1892 pupils engaged in successful
gardening Forty-nine superintendent
report 929 boys and girls excused from
! high school to work on the farms during
I the spring and fall of 1877. The pupils
engaged in gardening raised 57546 bush.
/ els of potatoes and 1925 bushels OF
/ beans. At present market prices, this
has a value of over 100000. Garden
vegetables were extensively raised, the
nearest estimate based on reports being
considerably over 10000 bushels. Reports
as to canning done by the pupils, show
that in "a districts, the boys and girls,
principally the girls, put up 34,723 quart
cans OF vegetables and fruit, This was
actually exceeded because the remaining
32 districts had kept no record, but re-
ported extensive canning done.
The actual number of pupils engaged
in gardening as result OF the appeal of
the state committee Of public safety and
under the supervision of the state de-
partment of education was over $4,000,
but the above report is based only upon
known results
The efforts Of the boys and girls have
brought to the state, food 10 the value
Of over Sl50,000, involving money ex-
penditure on the part of the state com
mittee of $4,000, to which must be added
the sums of money raised by local com
mittees. and devoted to the work of the
bows and girls This sum was also sup
plemented by Miss Proctor. who paid the
expenses OF woman demonstration in
canning.
The credit for the fine achievement of
the boys and girls of Vermont lies, next
to themselves, to the school superintend-
ents of the state. Every one OF these
returned from the meet
ing at MONTPELIER, called by Commissioner
IIilIegas and devoted himself ungrudg-
inglv to this especial task OF helping to
win the war These superintendent
have toiled day and night gone without
paid their own expenses. and
produced results Seconding the efforts
of these superintendent were the faith
full teachers of our schools. They have
invariably responded to every call. Many
of them have been acting as supervisors
of gardens during the summer, such su
pervision being largely responsible for
the excellent work that has been done, |
Much credit must also be given to local
and boards of citizens who
financed garden plots purchased seed and |
fertilizers, paid the salaries of garden
offered prizes for good work, |
and gave unstinted aid in every possible
way.
The value of this work cannot be Who'll
" estimated in dollars and cents or even
in bushels of food when food is scarce.
It has brought the boys and girls close
10 the vital side Of life. As an example I
If this, one boy nine years old sold from
/ garden of $50 square feet vegetables to
The amount of $l0S2. Another boy
.aised from a single potato q pounds of
potatoes. In one district 46 boys from
he high school earned as farm laborers
he sum of S3,36S.S2 and 81 high school
iris earned in farm homes S530,25. In
mother part of the state, a school gar
len of one-third Of an acre was planted
md from it there was harvested 47A
bushels of potatoes, 50h quarts of beans
md 10 bushels of other vegetables In
his school are some poor children who
re underfed. The teacher is using the
PRODUCTS of the school garden to provide
warm lunches for these children, the
ooking to be done in the school on an oil
tove. One district reports that only
wo absolute failures were found among
he 297 pupils who enrolled for war gar
ening last spring.
In several districts pig clubs were or
anized under the patronage of local
anks which furnished the money for the
urche Of the pig and offered prizes
o the ildren having the best success in
aising their pigs. In another district
wo high school girls worked on the farm
uring the summer TO supplement the
hortage Of labor. This is typical of
that was done very generally through
ut the state In still another district
he boys and girls were paid for their
ervices in the school gardens with meal
ckets for school luncheons. The prod
cts of the garden were sufficient TO
lrgely supply the school lunches for the
ear. In another part Of the state. a
ID of IL years, victim Of poliomyelitis,
mped to his gardens of half acre each
nd exeelled in the care Of them even
Rough they were nearly mile from his
ONE.
Instances Of this sort Of service rem
cred largely in a spirit Of patriotism
,uld be cited by the score. One Of the 2
ltstaudinq features is the repeatedly
4 4 L. 3 81