Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1917-07-26
TRAINING YOUTH =
IN GARDENING
School Children Could Work
Back Yards and Vacant Lots.
ADD TO THE FOOD SUPPLY

With Intelligent Direction Boys and
Girls, as Well as Men and Women,
Could Be Shown How to Raise Veg
etabIes and Fruits on. Small Plots
and Gardens.
The high cost of living is on the lips
of people in all cities, towns, suburban
communities and manufacturing and
mining villages in the United States,
writes Dr.. p. P. ClaXton, commissioner
Of education, department of the int :.
rior, in the American City. 1t has
many causes Two of these are the un-
usual lack of food and the fact that
most of the food is consumed far from
the place Of production, which makes
the consumer pay the cost of storage
and transportation and the profits Of
the middlemen, many of whom in times
lik these take advantage of the wants
of the people to make profits larger
than they should.
Is there q remedy? There is a par
tial remedy at least, but not wholly in
investigations or legislation. This rem
edy is so simple and close at hand that,
as is so frequently the case, it is over
looked. In the schools of the cities.
towns, suburban communities and man.
ufacturing and mining villages of the
United States there are approximately
100000 boys and girls between the
ages Of nine and sixteen. Most OF
them are idle more than half of the
year. They are in school less than a
thousand hours in the year and, allow
ing ten hours q day for sleep, are out
Of school more than 1000 waking hours,
more than an average of nine hours q
day, not counting Sundays. National
and state laws make it impossible for
most Of them to do any profitable work
in mill, mine or shop, and many ssof
them are forming habits of idleness
and falling into vice. Even during the.
vacation months only about 10 per cent
have any profitable employment. Only
about 5 per cent of them so away from
their homes except for a few days.
Still they must live and be fed and
clothed.
For 100000 of these there is access;
to back yards, side yards, front yards
and vacant lots, which might be cult
waited as small gardens for the growth
of vegetables and small fruits. Many
live where space could be easily had
for chickens, ducks OF pigeons. And
there are not less than 100000 older
boys and girls and adult men and wo-
men for whom an hour or two Of work
each day in a garden would be the best
form Of recreation and rest from the
routine of their daily labor in Office or
shop or mill or mine and who might
easily find the time for it.
With some intelligent direction these
school children and older boys and girls
and men and women might easily pro-
duce on the available land an average
of $75 each in vegetables and fruits for
their W tables Or for sale in their
immediate neighborhood, fresh and
crisp through all the growing months
and wholesomely canned and preserved
for use in winter. This would add
$75O,000,OOO to the best form Of food
supply of the country without cost Of
transportation or storage and without
profits of middlemen. The estimate is
very conservative, as has been shown
by many experiments.
In addition to the economic profits,
there would be for the children health
and strength, removal from temptation
to vice and education of the best type,
and for older persons rest and recrea-
ton in the open air and the joy Of
watching things grow.
This might all be attained at COM
paratively little cost by putting into
the public schools for every hundred
children between the ages of nine and
sixteen one teacher skilled in garden
ing and paid for all the year. One
such teacher could easily direct the
work Of a hundred children and of the
$50 older persons belonging to the
families of these children living in
their community. Thus 10000 teachers
of this kind would be sufficient for the
entire country. These teachers might
easily be had for an average additional
NAAAAJ VI PooS Va u LoI01 III G-O,OOO,OJO.
There would be some cost for seeds
ind some for fertilizers and tools, but
after the first year the cost Of these
last two items would be comparatively
little. The proceeds would represent
profits to a greater extent than many
other kind Of production. The miracle
OF it is In bringing together idle land
on the one hand and idle children and
tired people on the other. Alone nei-
Their is productive, but all would be
benefited by the combination even if
the vegetables and fruits produced had
no value-the land by the cultivation,
the children by the health giving, edu-
cational labor and the older people by
the hours outdoors and the contact
with the soil.
Raising Garden Produce In Kansas.
Garden produce will this summer
take the Mace Of willows on n thraa