Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-04-22
NATIONAL FOOD PROBLEM
AND POSSIBLE SOLUTION
How One School Answered Grave
Question and Set Example
for Others.
COMBINE LABOR AND SCIENCE
Twenty Million Children in United
States Who May Share I'm Patriotic
Task OF Gardening and Helping
Nation to Win War.

learned that war Is service war Is
work. They have learned that this
work and service is not alone for the
men behind tho guns. but for women
and girls In the shops. for men and
boys on the farm and even for chill
dren In the home garden patch.
The school children of Europe are
learning now history. From keen
experience and observation they are
discovering that the destiny OF ma
tons may he determined not so much
in the storm OF battle as in the silent
miracle of field of potatoes.
1t is hard lesson. this OF the dig
nifty OF hard, manual labor done in
the auietude OF farm life. Boys and
young men thrill at tho thought OF
battle line and aeroplane. and face
chcerfutly the long drcary marchings
through slush and snow. helping drag
cannon II need he.
hut pulling weeds, only in Europe
has tho war against weeds assumed
vital proportions. and only there the
tragic Importance of gardening has
been driven home hard and sure.
America faces a food problem. II
may never become a tragedy. as II
has In some sections OF Europe. hut
its gravity is bound to increase stead
lily from now until some time after
the great war ends,
a mobilization OF our available
agricultural resources will at best
mitigate and render actual danger less
acute. Hunger always stalks in the
wake of war; and while America may
not starve. large share OF America
will have to pull in its best. How can
We help to lessen want and distress?
Work for School Children.
There are some 2o,0oo,ooo school
children in the United states. ma
jority of these children arc OF garden
ing age. All Of them would be whole
somely benefited by work at organized
gardening. There is potential enough
in these millions OF children TO do
very appreciable share In the feeding
OF our nation. while they may feel
themselves definite part OF our see
ond line OF defense.
How can this be done: Can tho rails
ing OF vegetables and cereals supple
ment school work, or must the children
sacrifice school training in such a
cause?
] TO not propose to answer these
questions. but here Is tho story Of an
experiment successfully carried out in
corrclating garden and school work In
each other admirably. an experiment
which. II duplicated and reduplicated
on large scale, would not only help
solve our national food problem, but
the great question of how to humanize
and make practically Interesting tho
routine work OF our common schools.
This experiment. conducted in the
spring OF 1914. and serving as tho basis
for n similar experiment this spring,
was directed by the teacher OF mathe-
MATES aud his wife AT the Interlaken
Preparatory School for Boy.. near La
Forte, Ind.
The pupils arc the sons 81 profess
sional and business men who In their
homes have never been accustomed to
work.
This teacher thought II practicable
TO correlatc his grade work I'm arith-
metic with the practical outdoor farm
work which the boys were called on
To perform as a regular part OF their
school duties.
Boys" he said 10 his pupils in
council assembled how would YOU
like TO garden this spring and learn
arithmetic by measuring boards for
the hotbeds. counting and Weighing
seeds. calculating the number OF
seeds YOU need for certain sized
plot. and working out all the prob
making OF first-class garden"
These ffty-twO boys ranging from
nine TO fourteen years OF age vel
coined the proposal with acclamation
First came debates as 10 the major
proposals involved. II was decided
that before any work was begun re-
search must' he made Comr ittees
were appointed TO visit ncighhorinC
farms to observe gardening methods
Committees wrote letters to the gov
eminent and 10 seed and garden nipple
ment manufacturers for fullest infor-
nation on gardening. The woods were
explored for their deepest beds OF
humus. Then the boys turned car
penterS.
Making hotheds meant learning OF
hoard measure, for every step In their
making was TO I've gone through very
thoroughly by each boy.
Immediately the hoys we're con-
fronted with the measurement Of
traDezoids. for tho ends OF the hot
beds must slant. There was the cal
culation of the number Of board feet
needed for the frames. the number Of
nails needed to put them together.
the amount OF glass and putty needed
for glazing. Orders for materials
must be drafted and approved by the
teacher.
as did this. their practical jub:
The cooperation OF the woodshop,
mechanical drawing department and
farm was next enlisted. and plans were
drawn up In class time for final opera
lions.
The boyE dug the pits sorted and
sifted the fertilizers built the bases
for the frames. made new frames. re-
paired old ones. cut glass, put In panes
and painted their finished work. Then
they set seed for early garden produce
and returned to their jor work on
the gardens.
The Gardens.
A field was selected back Of wood
land lot. orders were obtained from
the farm for itS'plowing with the big
tractor on which some of the older
boys might learn engineering lessons,
and the triEonometry class was re-
quested TO survey the field In accord
with plans furnished by the grade
boys. The seniors had their smile at