The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-05-22
SEEING BUSY NEW YORK WITH DOLLY DALRYMPLE DURING THE WAR TIMES|
 Mrs Henry Activities in Agriculture

do this form of work, because there are a great many women who have to work at their vacations and attend to their own affairs, but 1t does mean that many women could go out on farms who now hold positions in cities and take up farm
 Ing for it would be far better for them not only from patriotic standpoint but rom remunerative standpoint, and it would mean tremendous help to the men drawn into munition work and the army and navy; thus the women could supply the shortage
 An objection that men have raised from time to time about suffrage is that
 1t takes the woman out of the home. Mrs. Rogers said. If she gets the vote she will neglect home duties and want to go out in the world and engage in oc- equations that belong to men, Now here is the solution of the problem: If wom- an farms. then she is always at home: she can carry on her business and still spend all her time with her husband and children. Besides farming is wholesome, sane, interesting and fine occupation for women. Agricultural colleges should be established for women in the larger cities of every state where practical farm ing should be taught: unfortunately now they go no further than teaching domes- tic science. Your Mrs. Mathis, your splen- did Alabama woman, should be put in charge of such things in your state and she should be on all the national com- mittees. She is a wonderful woman-a national character
 What should be done to put it up to the women to go back to the farm as a form of patriotic service'' Mrs Rogers continued While the hardship of the fathers and the husbands and the sons in going to the front Is very great it Is nothing in comparison to the hardship of enlistment which is open to the women who are left behind-but every woman should be willing to enlist in this patriotic form of service for her country.
 ITO quote Mir. Carl Vrooman," Mrs. Rogers said in conclusion, Every avail able backyard in the city or suburbs should be converted into vegetable gar den Half an acre properly prepared, planted and cared for will supply fam fly with exercise for several months and with vegetables for a year. These vege- tables will not only cut down the high cost of living. but will improve the health of the family by insuring essential food products always clean and fresh.
 'I cannot too strongly recommend that the individual go in for home garden ing but it is necessary to issue two inn portant storm warnings: Do not plant larger garden than you can cultivate well, and remember that all back lots can not be made into good gardens. Growing vegetables involves a chemical process, and unless the earth has the proper chemical clements in it, there will be no results. Particularly is this apt to be the case in city back lots, for very often the soil of cities is muck soil, composed of rubbish, street dust and cinders, with out the necessary humus or decayed veg etable matter which is essential to plant growth.
 "The nome garden will teach the city man or suburbanite a lot of things about nature and human life of which he is apt to be ignorant. Through the agency of the home garden l hope to see spread an interest in the agricultural problems of this country. Individual food prepared ness in several ways is vital part of any successful policy of national food preparedness"