Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-03-09
Matter of Gardening This
Season of More Import
ance Than to Keep Boys
And Girls From Spending
Summer in Idleness.
CROPS RAISED
CUT RAIL HAUL
Food Stuffs Produced F. 0. B. Kitchen
Door in Million Gardens Will Re-
lease Many Freight Cars for Work
of War.

Organization work for school gar
1918 was started early this week
and it is desirous that parents will
take part in the garden work by en-
couraging their children in all pos
sible ways to produce at least a small
amount of foodstuff during the com
ing season.
The gain of the nation from the
home garden has changed within the
past year Formerly there was plen-
ty of production for the whole world
and the garden was only a means of
teaching industry and business, but
now, when we are involved in war,
the Importance of the home garden
is greatly increased. Every small
amount of food raised at home, re-
lease that much to be sent to the
starving people of Europe and re-
leases transportation facilities for
war use.
Volume is not the sole require
ment for food production in this
time of emergency. Conservation of
transportation is equally important
So far as possible all food should be
grown in the immediate neighbor-
hood of its place of ultimate use. 1t
is imperative to the national welfare
that no avoidable strain be placed
on the transportation facilities of the
country Shipments of foodstuffs re-
quire freight cars which are urgently
needed for shipments of munitions,
needs of a nation at war. Unneces-
sary shipments must be eliminated.
This means production Of food where
it is to be used. This involves the
cultivation of food gardens at every
home and on every inch of vacant
land in the neighborhood of cities,
towns and villages. Last year the
National War Garden Commission re-
ported the existence of nearly three
million gardens in yards and vacant
lots. This year there should be five
million This added increase will be
none too great to meet the increased
needs of a situation immeasurably
more serious than was that of 1917.
The coming season should see the
re-cultivation of every garden culti-
waited in 1917 and the addition of all
the other garden planting area avail
able During three and half years
of warfare the Allied nations have
drained their agricultural resources
to a point where productive possi-
bilities are now at minimum. The
worlds shipping facilities are so in
adequate that the European food
supply must necessarily come from
America as the land from which ship
ments can be made with the least tax
on the ships left available by subma-
Ilut WhIldlt. ut llluO lCquliS
ments for shipments from Australia
and other remote countries are such
as to be prohibitive. America is the
one place upon which the Allies may
depend for the feeding of their arm
les and populations. To enable
America to do it's share, our Home
Gardeners must recognize that they
are War Gardeners and therefore
vital to the success of the armies
They must produce foodstuffs on a
tremendous scale, with the central
thought that eternal industry on the
part of their gardens is the price OF
world wide freedom.
Let us plant gardens as never be
fore and grow munitions at home tC
help win the war.