The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-30
FORM HUGE ARMY TO BEAUTIFY CAMP Townspeople Near Canton ments Will Be Asked to Give Plants, Flowers
 And Shrubs.

dIu lLldl IS Ine dEuly OL NdAlIp DSdO- tifiers" which has it's headquarters at 70 Fifth avenue, and devotes itself under the auspices of the National Pant, Flower and Fruit Guild, to the l task of furnishing plants for the de- velopnlent of gardens around the Ma tional Army cantonments. The move ment Is meeting with the co-opera- tion of the Y. M. c. A, the Red | Cross, the Jewish Welfare, the i Knights of Columbus and other so- eletIes, and only recently, Major Gen. Bell voiced his approval of the | 'tbeautifications'' of the camps in the 1 following letter to Mrs. Laura Stew art, president of the guild, which | read as follows: T am very glad to endorse the movement started by the National Plant, Flower and Fruit, Guild to fur nish plants to the various army cam comments. The idea is splendid and would have great effect toward beau- tffying camps and making fife in them more cheerful. '"The piunts sent by you to Camp Upton have been received and distri- buted and as a Cantonmept c m nlaudei'. l wish to thank You for what you have done, and to offer you all encouragement for what you may do in the future."
 The guild Is writing the command ing. officer of each of the canton ments in the country, requesting that he appoint a comittee composed of the permanent organizations of his camp, such as the Y. M. ;. A., Red
 
 duty it shall be to form a planting plan and prepare the ground to re- ceive the plants and see to it that they are properly planted and cared for. On receipt of the name of the chairman of the comittee the guild writes to the governing authorities of a, sufficient number of towns within driving distance of the camp and forms a committee in each, which will undertake the assistance of every gar den owner in the town. Meanwhile the guild has circulated an appeal to the public, which reads in part as fol- lows:
 We want you to enlist your garden and give generously from it's surplus. If every one does this, we shall have an abundant supply of material. We do not wish you to rob your garden nor to sacrifice any of the plants dear to your heart, but there is a way of making your garden do it's bit to the betterment of itself,
 No doubt you have iris, peonies, phloxes, and other hardy plants growing, which would prosper more if they were lifted and divided. Sep tember and October are the right months to do it in. The plants thus stimulated will produce better results next year than if they were left alone and you will not miss what you have given away.
 And then, you will find that your holyhocks have seeded themselves anC that you have hundreds of your plants growing which always perish because you have not cared for them. Why moi transplant and protect them this win. ter ,and so make fine plants by spring We can use millions of hollyhocks The same is true of fox gloves ant many others.
 And then you have some shrubs ol ! bushes which have grown too large O. t>you have more roses than you car for, or you want to get some newe
 
 can use it by thousands of yards. O course, we will be grateful for eve! a. small amount.
 Have you a cold frame? Why no SOW some seeds of hardy plants, sue as pansies, forget larkspul foxglove, holyhock, etc. We will b glad to have them next spring, an then we want your surplus of dahlias cannas, gladioH, lilies or any othe root which you keep through the wir ter and of which you have alway more than you know what to do witl
 We want you to prepare for ne1 spring and get enough seeds when yo send your list to the seedsman, s you can spare us thousa9ds of aster zinnias, marigold, phlox,, drommond ca1liopsis, petunias, or any other zoe annuals. Save your geraniums tn fall; lift them, tie them together bundles of six, and hang them by u roots on the ceiling of a frost-pro, cellar. Give them to your villai committee in the spring and they wi dc the rest.
 If you are not within driving di tance of any camp send to us yol name and the name of your neare camp, and we will send you a can garden label. Pack and ship u plants and we will refund the mon, you pay for expressage or postage.
 Many horticulturists, florists, nur erymen, seedsmen have already co tributed generously to the movemer A large seed firm gave lot of 10 gladioll bulbs for every camp in | country. Another florist filled hu1 dreds of wipdow boxes and deliver them to Camp Upton. Others ga geraniun1s by the thousands. NJ Stewart made this statement on t movement:
 Whoever has visited soldie camp must depart with a feeling
 pity that in this land of bounty Fcannot offer our boys more cheerf more attractive and more homeli surroundings. It may not be t duty of the authorities, perhaps 1t not pre-essential, but 1t is the du of the folks at home to help in movement which will express to c fighters our appreciation of what tn are doing and our desire to ma their camps a pleasant place to l in.
 "Impeued by these considerable this guild is calling for every m
 woman. and child to join the army camp beautiners and our goal shall
 to see every camp blossom forth fl a spot of beauty, where trees shru
 and flowers give forth the mess;
 that is surging in our hearts g