The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-09-03
THE BOY SCOUTS FARM
THE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
By Frederic J. Haskin, Director.
Washington. ID. G.

washington. ID. C.
Washington, D. c., Sept. Sin the
midst of the neat green shrubbery, the
flower beds, the tennis courts and the
smooth asphalt speedways of Potomac
park, you suddenly come upon 1lne
field of corn. Thirteen feet tall 1t
stands, with long graceful leaves ana
yellow tassels fluttering in the breeze.
This is the boy scout farm IL is
propaganda, but it is also more than
that 1t represents the triumph OF
number of boys over number OF very
formidable difficulties.
The boy scouts of Washington want,
ed to do their bit to help the food
situation along, and their commits
sioner decided that they should be
given the opportunity. He went 10
see Colonel Harris of the war depart
ment, who is in charge of the parks
of the national capital and lald the
proposition before him.
Colonel Harris, being a very pup
lic-spirited man and interested IN the
boy scout movement, immediately
placed three hundred acres OF land IN
Potomac park at the disposal OF the
organization. The various scout mas
tiers called their troops of boys to-
gether and told them that at last they
were going to be allowed to demon
strate their patriotism, and at the
I
cation. For the proceeds from the
sale of the crops are to be placed in
the boy scout fund, which heretofore
has always been raised by tagselling.
On the appointed day last spring,
two thousand boy scouts, shouldering
rakes and hoes and mattocks, pa
raded down to their prospective farm
to the martial tunes of the scout
band. They marched proudly, their
heads erect their little chests swell
inc ri 50
| luted the president in his reviewing
stand and realized what important
| public figures they had suddenly be-
come.
But Eater in the day they came to
understand that despite so much evil
dence to the contrary, patriotism was
not an emotion but a plain and often
| a painful fact. The land which they
had come to farm was not at all what
| they expected. In the first place, it
was covered with stumps-at least
five hundred of them-and all of these
had to be unearthed before any farm
ing activities could be started. So the
| boys 1abOriOuSly set to work to uproot
these stubborn obstacles to agricul-
ture. At the end of three hours they
| were also struggling with a series of
fine red blisters on their hands; their
backs ached, and they had discovered
an amazing number of muscles in
their legs.
All of them, with the possible ex-
ception of three or four, were city
bred. Many of them had been on
farms, but only in the capacity of
visitors. The first night they camped
bed after hot camp supper, many of
them too tired to sleep.
After this came a long month of
blowing. This required skillful orr
ganiZation on the part of the scout
master because after the first. week
nd he
turned to their homes. The public
health department forbade them
camping on the grounds of their prof.
ect on account of the great danger of
malaria But the scouts were loyal.
| They gave every bit of their spare
time to the work, and even paid their.
own carfare and brought their own
| lunches while doing it.
| /, The land in Potomac park is all
remade land That is, it is really land
sucked up from the river and it is
kept in place by a stone wall which
| is built along the river front AS
| might be expected, the soil is very
| black and rich. Almost anything
would grow in it-even Mexican corn
and as a consequence, the scouts
soon found out that everything did
After they had plowed it up with a
tractor donated by Henry Ford, they
| sowed 120 acres in corn, planted beans
and peas and asparagus in the rest,
|
| they did. including a hundred differ
| ent kinds of weeds, aided by the
heavy rains that deluged the country
at that particular time.
| The hardest farming struggle was
still before them All day long boys
worked laboriously, pulling up weeds.
and as fast as they pulled them up.
new ones seemed to take their places.
| The situation became so desperate
that everybody had to work-even the
officials of the boy scout organiza-
| ton
Today the farm is a huge success.
There are 120 acres of fine corn con-
| corning which the Maryland Agricul-
tural Experiment Station says: 1T
| is the largest yield to the acre and the
best grade of white corn that this
station has ever seen" The organi-
zation expects to sell it at from 81. rs
to $1.75 bushel, and there are from
seventy-five to eighty bushels to the
acre. The other products-the beans,
the peas and asparagus-have already
sold at attractive profit.
| But the greatest success of the farm
is the boys themselves Their physi-
cal development since they started
farming has been remarkable. Two
boys who were going to be kept out OF
school this winter on account of their
precarious health have become so ro-
bust that their parents no longer con-
slider it necessary. Moreover, it has
brought the boys into actual touch
with life. They have done a real and
valuable service both for their own
organization, and their country, the
effect of which has been to make
them more self-reliant and more
thoughtful
Questions on the above or any sub
ject upon which the reader desires in
formation should be addressed the To
peka State Journal Information Blu
reau. Frederic J. Haskin. Director
Washington, D. c.. with 2-cent STAMP
enclosed for reply
Side It ALM S