The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-05-20

The weather has been bereft of it's im- portance. As you meet the people the
 first question that pops into your mind 1 is: Have you a garden?"
 The high cost of living has been a fad with us; today it is a stern fact. The
 wolf is lurking around somewhere and
 the guns of greedy nation are pointed
 at US.
 This terrible situation has awakened
 us to our natural possibilities. We have | been too content to buy our vegetables,
 our fruits, chickens, eggs, meat and bread from our sister states-Alabama has been | sleeping on Its agricultural rights The lesson we are learning today may
 be a severe one, but it is opportune. our people are just as capable as any else where, We folks just have been living a
 good, easy old-time Alabama has been
 taken literally "here we rest" But, be- lieve me. the folks have started to dig sing, and they are very much in earnest, they are determined to meet the needs of
 these precarious times, not only with our men, but our muscles.
 We have found in addition to wasting time that we have been wasting food. We have been careless in buying. Today is to market to market to buy fat pig" and personal attention is given more closely to the buying of materials most vital to our health and finances. If we
 have no back yard to plant we should go to market at least three times a week and bring home with us selected food stuffs. When the man at the counter realizes you know what you want and can appreciate quality and have a knowledge of market values and quantities, he Is sure to want your business, and you re- ceive more intelligent and satisfactory service. When you carry the purchases home with you you save the cost of de- ! livery and are certain you have received | the selected articles-there will be no
 mix-up in deliveries Our country folks
 have a wonderful advantage in giving us 1 cheaper and fresher markets. but the | hindrance to this method of reciprocity 1 is the lack of systematic shipper knows l little of packing and the purchaser pays | too little attention to 8 cash proposition, l thus a good business is retarded which | otherwise would build up the industrial 1 interests of the state.
 | Think of getting our rutabaga turnips l from Canada and the bulk of our Irish 1 potatoes from abroad--is 1t a wonder l that we are on the verge of hunger today ? i, Mrs Mathis is doing a wonderful work
 among the people-she is practical | evangelist-she has converted the men and
 it always takes the men to stir the | women up.
 | We have talked about planting and we are going to plant, but We have | not touched upon a routine planting. There Is no reason why we cannot have very nearly all the vegetables | for family use growing in the garden 1 the year round. or until a late fall. | Plant every three weeks little of l everything in order to have the new supply coming in all the time, and l then each day while you are preparing your vegetables for your daily meals, | reserve the amount over that for your 1 present need for winter use-can a i little every day and it will be pleas ure and not a burden.
 With the view of laying in a winter
 store of home products it Is well to consider an extra quantity of such
 vegetables well adopted to preserva- | ton, okra. tomatoes, corn, snap beans
 and butter beans, peas and beets. | Cabbage can be packed at home for kraut, but without sugar. It Is won
 derful the quantity and variety which can be successfully and plentifully