Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-08-28
WOMEN "PL0TTERs" GREW
ADDITIONAL FOOD SUPPLY
STORY OF Last Year When England
Was Really Threatened
With Starvation.
"ALLOTN1ENTs" WERE WORKED
Germany Was Sinking Ship Loads OF
Meat and Grain Faster Than They
Could Be Replaced-Gentler scs
to RLscue.

Gould Be Replaced--Gentler Scs
to Rescue.
ny Z. MARY GOODMAN.
LONDON. August 27-In 1017. when
England had food reserve sufficient
Tor only a few weeks and Germany
was sinking shiploads of meat and
grain faster than the worlds ship
yards could build tho ships or the
worlds harvests replace the food, the
~omen's land army played its great
part In the effort to make England
selt-sufiicing for her food, and women
crowded into the shipyards to do work
which, through the long years and CEN
turtles that England has been sea-
1aring nation. they had never attempt
Cd They helped to build food ships.
they worked on steel warships and
cruisers to convoy them. This we
knew. but we have waited year to
learn that Scottish fsherwomen also
a1d navy y, work at rr new naval base,
memper of Parliament. now tells us.
the heaviest Of the biast-furnace and
excavation work"
But these proud deeds were not for
the many. Yet women who could not
40 this were not content to sit down
true, no one talked Of starvation. but
London streets were full or women
and children waiting outside shops in
long queues for the chance oil buying
a few pounds of potatoes. The win
nearly az coid y as Gnt IL ooa
cd as though nothing, would ever
grow again. and y et we knew that me me
maakins preparations for u harvest on
which SO much depended. Here comes
gardens-.a story Of little Efforts BY
psopIe who did no, know how TO set
story from some points OF view. The
new allotment holders or pIotters.
not by any means ali Somen, but wom-
en- formed an ever-larger proportion
Of ths% as the army ~ and navy slowly
Allotments are plots OF ground Tor
growing vegetables. Before the war
suburban artisans and a few eccentric
schooim astcrs and college professors.
bo bore So grew We Vegetables anywhere but
in their own gardens. 1ownspeopie
border OF flowers. There were less
,han 10000 ail9'ments at9 ss,a rst IN
pretty well neglected.
LIZ THEY COULD NOT BUY,
WOULD GROW POTATOES
But when the U-boat campaign
threatened. us with defeat BY s,arva,
ton. 100000 more British men a1r. ana
wOrRins i'i napde lA- than sS' tae
lives before, and made up their minds
that II potatoes wede not TO some BE o them
sion Of Little pieces OF waste Erqqyg,nd.
E iand: shey We're We're allowed TO dig Us
parts OF the public parks. near or NJ
E tSf' links and tennis groundsi .h;y
fired pasture land and dug 1t hastily
while 'ns5e s wss ? yet a"s and 5arnips
parsnips and Deets. they we're co hn;
army OF farmers sse ana dhd ,hsre fu are nearly
three times as many allotments now
as there we're before rat the s, War; and
wdrxed in Them in the evenings. and
clerks went solcmniy TO lectures on
potato growing al Grg T,na Of outs the
most unpromising ".piotters were .Wo
friends OF mine. One was a aeit ,sa,h
~o iaree house, a c0mfort-loving nus
AM. and "A maid servant who mad
weak heart fhe other ,son' was reviews Views
Working long and late hours living an
hours journey by train; car an, anu mais
Spilding land promised them would
only grow one potato they would nave
their potato or perish In the attehPt'
FRIENDS CAME TO HELP
ron FIRST AND LAST TIME
The hrst Saturday afternoon hve
friends came TO help then-ior me NET a,s
tant from London ana the ground 100
hard When the succeeding SATURDAYS
and Sundays were not wet they Wiz
scorching hot. or so 1t seemed to those
slow. tired. awkward p!otters, An
Other friend. man. yoiunteerte , netp,
but he WIS delieate' ana 9n inie5 IHe
ground seemed TO consist entirely OF
stringy turf, brickbats. hints and wire.
heavy. and sympathetic cottagers
paused and remarked on the barren
ness of the land. The late fros s., were
and most seeds refused to gerininate.
Sy the end of May few potatoes were
planted, and then cheerful story be
factors who grubbed up seed potatoes
and boiled them. The ground g9t
vanced, but the plotters' muscles be-
gan TO respond to the claims made upon
them. Facetions young s. soia lar, from rom
they passed, "Iiulio, Ma. digging your
graveT were no longer regarded as
a aelaa!e Pft to the plottsrs that il they
affected to Get. great store by the heap
of bricks dug from their vegetable gar
and save the plotters much labor-and
the scheme worked like a charm. BY
the time the potatoes were harvested ed
land. The carrots aud parsnips were
triumph and $50 cabbages were planted
ready for the. spring. The soldiers left
their reproachful chorus to six days
shalt thou labor!' But these two ell
land full spit deep and pick out
couch grass and Kill wire-worms and
get wet and dry again until their plot
was half-an-acre big.
This spring the soldiers say. You're
making good job on It," And the cot
tagers say. mo one amt got spring
green's like them there" The plotters
7of course, counting their chickens be-
fore they are hatched). foresee po-
tato harvest reckoned in tons. and eat
their own green peas for Sunday din
ner and present cabbages to the Mill
tary hospital four dozen at time.
They are now assisted by third re-
cruit who has no knowledge of garden
ing and has recently broken her arm.
This is one of the 100000 fresh al
lot,nents cultivated since 1916, and IL
will give Its quota to the 100000 addi-