Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-05-06
.Erftttttg Glrat.

SfAoSeeN~seASAA
ment in Harrisburg are that there
are between $500 and 5000 war
gardens" in this city and its imme-
diate environs, without counting in
Steelton which has hundreds of its
own. Donald Mccormick, the fed
eral food administrator for Dauphin
county, made a recent tour of in
spection of the public plots and was
surprised at the number of gardens
on vacant lots, while reports made
by wards have shown many gardens
in backyards and even some in front
yards. Last year people in Harris
burg were astonished at the manner
in which the war garden" -four
ished, but this year there has been
notable increase in interest and in
plots. Shirley B. Watts, who is in
charge of the supervision of the gar
dens on ground donated through the
Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce,
which did the plowing and fertiliz-
ing, has about $50 lots on his list,
which have just been assigned and
which will be industriously culti-
waited, while John P. Guyer, who is
in charge of such work for the Har-
risburg Benevolent Association, has
about $40 on his list. There are
many plots which are handled by
men who go direct from their work
to the garden and have their evening
meals brought to them, while the
number of persons who have lots 81
Paxtang or up in the Fourteenth
ward and even in Cumberland county
and go to them in automobiles is in
teresting to those who are encourag-
ing the garden work.
Some experiments in checking
loss of soil on hillside farms in Dau-
phin county, some of them near
Harrisburg, are to be undertaken
by state experts. There are num-
ber of farms in the section where
the soil is full of shale which have
been badly washed and gullies have
been formed which have caused
much loss of valuable soil. Plans
suggested at the Capitol will be
tried out and reports made on the
various systems. The loss of soil is
reported by farm agents to be grow
ing in many counties because of lack
of care.
One thing that the war garden
ers" and truck patch owners can be
thankful for this spring is that there
is an unusual number of insect-eat-
ing birds such as robins and blue
birds about. The late spring prob
ably caused more than usual to lin
ger in the Susquehanna valley, but
! the fact remains that not for years
have as many robins been seen about
the city. The parks have numerous
redbreasts and in the suburbs and
outlying districts, where the war
garden is being developed there are
many of the bug-eating variety to
be seen. At first many feared that
the late April snow would cause
heavy loss of life among the valu-
able birds, but the city seems to have
| taken good care of its feathered
| friends although in the country
many were lost through inability to
get food. AS result there is no
lack and they will prove their worth
this summer. On probably dozen
| farms within a few miles of Harris
burg there are coveys of quail which
| farmers have watched with jealous
eyes and have even protected from
sportsmen because of the work they
| do in ridding potato patches of the
bug which is peculiar to them.
One woman lives in Harrisburg
who believes she has solved the
problem arising out of thes Harris
burg railways order to make
| charge of q nickel for more than
one market basket. This woman has
been going with two baskets and
when she ran afoul of the extra
nickel order she announced that she
was going to market with the clothes
basket.
"How are you going to carry
that?" asked a conductor.
zone big broad strap and you will
wish you had never seen me come
along" she replied.
"And 1 hope I don't" was the
answer. of the conductor.
The fact that within the next forty
days additional draft calls may be
made which will send the number
Of men summoned under the draft
! from Pennsylvania over 10000 has
! caused considerable speculation what
the population of the state will be
shown to be If the war continues
into the census year. This state has
furnished over $4,000 men through
the National Guard and thousands to
the regular Army and Navy, ambu-
lance and other services in war until
II is believed that by July 1 there
will be q material drop in number
of male residents. State health otf1-
cials some time ago called attention
to the increase in marriages during
| 1917, directly attributed to the war,
while the birth rate last year was
27.7 per thousand, higher rate than
for some time. In 1917 the number
of living births was almost 225,000.
The normal increase in population
in Pennsylvania in recent years has
been around $4,000. This has been
due to labor coming into the state,
immigration, removals to Pennsyl-
vania and natural causes. The next
census will be taken within two
years.