The record. (Greenville, Ky.) 1899-1???, 1917-09-20
TO SOIL"
IN KANSAS CITY
Vacant Lot Gardening Plan
Meets With Ready Response.
SCOPE OF THE CAMPAIGN

1t Is Expected That the Propaganda
Will Result In Placing More Than
Thousand Families on Garden Plots
Before the Planting Season Is Over
Owners Donate Land.
That ogre, high cost of living, is due
for a terrific jolt If the present plans
of the real estate board Of Kansas City,
Mo-, in the vacant lot gardening cam
paign are carried through to compile
ton, says Ward G. Clifford in the Town
Development Magazine
There is every reason to believe that
this propa ganda, which now has the
greatest promise Of success, will result
in placing more than 1000 families on
garden plots before the planting sea-
son is over Already more than 200
have been assigned to vacant property,
and the good work is going on.
With the help of the newspapers a
degree of enthusiasm has been aroused
that is bringing out the gardeners in
great numbers and also has aroused
property owners to the real merit Of
the propaganda which has resulted in
generous donations of land for garden
ing purposes.
Land which heretofore has been the
repository for cans, trash and ashes
or has been permitted to grow up in
weeds this year has been turned un-
der the ploW and a little later viii
shoot forth the first Indications of what
it is hoped will be Il bOuntiful harvest.
The thing that has made the campaign
this year genuine success is the in
fiuence OF strong civic organization
behind the movement to back up the
demand of the gardeners for the use
Of the vacant property. And with all
the success the plan is not nearly so
comprehensive as one that can be
worked out for future years. Such
campaign has great possibilities
Not Only mas The real estate board
been brought iayoraitI " iolusc Il Il : pub.
/ ifc exc, but tue at4!e OF tie campaign
has SDread TO 0thc. cities and has been
Chronicled in out of tow papers. Mo-
ton pictures have been taken CT the
starting Of the work and will be taken
later on as the gardens develop.
The real estate board i'll this cam
paign took entirely upon its own shoul
derS the burden of act .ng as clearing
house for the gardeners and the prop;
erty owners. 1t was the mission Of
the board to put these two in com.
munication with each other with the
ultimate object of placing the gardener
on the vacant lot.
The present high cost of living, Of
course, helped to bring out the gar.
deners. 1t is one of the things that
have given added int tentivc to success
full gardening, and many offered to pay
rent for the lots, but in no case would
the board handle lets on this basis.
A call for donations of property to
be used for gardening purposes was is
sued through the press and a circular
letter sent to each mGmber of the real
estate board. This request brought q
surprisingly prompt and bOuntiful re-
sponse. Vacant lots in all parts of tht
city were listed. and the only require
ments made by the property owners
was that in case of sale or improve.
ment of the property the gardening
privilege might be revoked.
The real estate board committee in
charge of the propaganda made q gen
eral rule III connection with all lots do
mated for gardening purposes that al
| least one line of flowers shoEld b,
| planted along the lot line fronting the
street. This regulation applied to al
lots except boulevard plots, where il
was required that ten feet of blue grasf
must be cultivated from the property
line back. At the point where the
blue grass ends the customary row OF
flowers was required.
1t is easy to see what large scope
the campaign is taking. The actua
estate board represent only small
per cent Of the real gardening that
is being stimulated by the propa
ganda. Back yards III all parts oi
the city suddenly are being cleaned
up. Many persons have obtained pri
vately the privilege to garden vacant
lots and have started work on them
and Of hundreds of these the board
has no record because the assignments
were not cleared through the boarG
office, although the garden was stim
ulated by the publicity attending tho
real estate boards work.