Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1917-12-14
SCHOOL CHILDREN GARDENING
Food Production and COnser-
walton Campaign as Conducted
by Education Department of
Vermont for the State Commit
tee of Public Safety.

Reports of the food campaign by the
Educational Department of Vermont have
been received from 81 of the 66 superin-
tendents of the State and show the follow
ing remarkable results: Sixty-one superin-
tendents report 929 boys and girls
excused from High School to work on the
farms during the Spring and Fall Of 1917.
The pubils engaged in gardening raised
57546 bushels fpotatoes and 1925 bushels
of beans, At present market prices, this
has value of over 100000. Garden
vegetables we're extensively raised, the
earest estimate basel on reports being
considerably over 10000 bushels. Report
as to canning done by the pupils show that
in "a districts, boys and girls, principally
girls, putup 34,723 quart cans Of vegetables
and fruit. This was actually exceeded
because the remaining 80 districts had
kept no record, but reported extensive
canning done.
The actual number of pupils engaged in
gardening as result Of the appeal 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 to the State, food to the value
of over $50, 900 involving money e1pen-
diture ON the part of the State Committee
of $1,000 to which must be added the
sum 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 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 superin-
tendents of the State. Every one of
these superintendent returned from the
meeting at Montpelier, called by Com
missioner Hllegas and devoted himself
ungrudgingly to this especial task of help
ing to win the war. These superin-
tendents have toiled day and night, gone
without vacations, paid their own expen-
ses and produced results SecOnding the
efforts of these superintendent were
faithful teachers of our schools. They
have invariably responded to every call.
Many of them have been acting as super
visors of garden during the summer, such
supervision being largely responsible for
the excellent work that has been done.
Much credit must also be given to local
committees and boards of citizen who
financed plots, purchased seed and
fertilizers, paid the salaries of garden
supervisors, offered prizes for good work
and gave unstinted aid in every possible
way.
The value OF this work cannot be wholly
estimated in dollars and cents or even
in bushels of food when food is scarce.
1t has brought the boys and girls close to
the vital side of life. AS an example of
this, one boy nine years old sold from a
garden Of 480 SO. it. vegetables to
the amout of $1OS2. Another boy
raised from single potato 81 pounds Of
potatoes. In one district 46 boys from
the High School earned as farm laborers
the sum of s3,36S.21 and 81 High School
girls earned in farm homes $530.25 IL
another part Of the State, a school garder
of u of an acre was planted and from
it there was harvested Az bushels Of
potatoes sou OTIS. of beans and 10
bushels Of other vegetables. In this
school are some poor children who are
underfed. The teacher is using thu
products of the school garden to provide
warm lunches for these children, tn
cooking to be done in the school room
on an oil stove. One district reports tina
only two absolute failures were founC
among the 297 pupils who enrolled fol
gardening last Spring.
In several districts Pig Clubs wer
organized under the patronage of loca
banks which furnished the money for The
purchase Of the pig and offered prizes tt
the children having the best success il
raising their pigs In another distric
two High School girls worked on tn
farm during the summer to supplement
the shortage of labor. This is typica
of what was done very generally through
out the State. In still another distric
Y the boys and girls we're paid for their ser
vices in the school garden with mea
D tickets for school luncheons. The pro
ducts of the garden were sufficient t.
8 largely supply the school lunches for tn
year. In another part of the State,
lad of twelve years, victim of polio
myelitis, limped to his gardens of hal
acre each and excelled in the care Of then
even though they were nearly mil'
from his home