The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-11-30
About $1,000 Vermont Chill
dren Raised S156,000 of
Produce in 1917
CHILDREN CLOSE TO
VITAL SIDE OF LIFE
One District Reports Only Two .Abso-
lutte Failures Among the 297 Pupils
Enrolled for Gardening-Pig Clubs
Also Did Good Work.

AuIC 4 <AluOll5 bAC SV' uPAAo
Enrolled for Gardening Clubs
Also Did Good Work.
MONTPELIER, Nov. 30.-Rcports Of
results of the food campaign conducted |
10y the educational department Of Yer
mont have been received from 81 of the /
G6 superintendent Of the state and I
snow the following remarkable results. !
Sixty-one superintendcnts report d. |
952 pupil, engaged in successful garden /
ing.
Forty-nine supcrintcndcnts report !
929 boys and girls excused from high
school to work on the farms during the
spring and fall Of 1911 The pupils
engaged i'll gardening raised 1916
bushels Of potatoes and 5,925 bushels
of beans. At present market prices,
this has a value of over 100000. Gar
den vegetables were extensively raised,
the nearest estimate based on reports
being considerably over 10000 bushels.
Reports as to canning done by tle
pupils, show that in 81 districts, the
boys and girls, principally girls, put up
3i,123 quart cans or vegetables and
fruiI. This was actually exceeded be.
cause the remaining 50 districts had
kept no record, but reported extensive
canning done.
The actual number OF pupils engaged
in gardening as q result of the ap-
peal of the state committee of public
safety and under the supervision of
the state department 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 10 the state. food to the
value Of over S15o,00O involving a
| money expenditure on tAc part of the
state committee OF 10000 to which
must be added the sums of money
| raised by local committees. and devoted
to the work OF the boys and girls. This
/ sum was also supplemented by Miss
| Proctor, who paid the expenses of a
| woman demonstration in canning.
| The credit for the fine achievement
/ of the boys and girls OF Vermont lies,
| next to themselves. to the school su-
/ pcrintendcntS of the state Everyone
| Of these superintendent returned from
the meeting at Montpelier, called by
! Commissioner Hillegas and devoted
himself ungrudginglv to this especial
task Of helping 70 win the war. These
| supcrintcndcnts have, toiled day and
night gone without vacations, paid
| their own expenses, and produced re
| suits
Sccondng the efforts OF these super
! intendents were the faithful teachers
Of orr schools. The have invariably
responded TO every call. Many of
them have been acting as supervisors
of gardens during the summer, suca
supervision being largely responsible
for the excellent work that has been
done.
Much credit must also be given to
local committees and boards of citi
zens who financed garden plots, pur
chased seed and fertilizers. paid the
salaries Of garden supervisors, offered
prizes for good work, and gave unstint
ed aid in every possible way.
The value Of this work cannot bt
wholly estimated in dollars and cents
or even in bushels of food when foot
is scarce. 1t has brought the boys ant
girls close TO the vital side of life. a.
an example OF this, one boy nine year.
old sold from garden of $50 81. it
| vegetables TO tac amount of so. 80
Another boy raised from u single pota
70 u pounds Of potatoes. In one dis
tfict 10 boys from the high schoo
earned as farm laborcrs the sum o,
S3,@GN.2l, and u high school girl
earned in farm homes SJ3025. In an
other part of the state, a school car
den OF Is of an acre was planted anC
from it there was harvested ara bush
els Of potatoes, 5Ola quarts of bean
and lO bushels of other vegetables. Ii
; tais school are some poor children VIII
are undcrfed. The teacher is using
the products of the school garden (,
provide warm lunches for these chill
drcn, the cooking to he done in tn
school on an oil stove. One distric
reports that ouv two absolute fail
ures were found among the 2g7 pupil
: who enrolled for gardening last spring
In several districts pig clubs were or
! ganlzcd under the patronage of loca
banks which furnished tie money 70
the purchase of the pigs and offerct
prizes to the children having the bes
success in raising their pigs. In an
!, other district two high school girl
worked on farm during the sum