Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-03
War Garden Campaign
Opens Now in u. S.
By Fred RE ]. HasIin

bility by the home garden propaganda.
With The winter just shutting down
IL may seem inopportune TO talk Of rakes
and hoes and garden sass, but the dar-
ing leaders OF the campaign for back
yard truck declare that this is Just the
time to plan 1pur garden. y will be
planting seas1 in the South within
six weeks. andover large part Of the
| country in eight Nov is the time to
pick out your vacant LOT and get your
permit to use IL; to study the nature
and temperament Of the early radish
and pour over illustrated seed cata-
logucs.
| II is absolutely necessary to get an
early start If you want To get into this
gardening game. Fertile real estate no
| longer goes begging for cultivators
| There were over five million war gardens
last year, and the Pershings OF the drive
| for city-bred vegetables assert that
there will be ten million peace gardens
| this year.
| NEED NEVER so GREAT.
And the need for gardening, they
| emphasize was never 80 great as now.
The struggle for liberty is over, put the
struggle for food is on. Your love Of
your fellow man is appealed TO. BY
| raising cabbage in your backyard
| Vpi IfWY tiIdGtoU1lS ttF'I efii SttAnfihfat
| infant, and for every bean that you
produce a Belgian is bean TO the good.
"The world wide war for food is now
on. says an official of the National
War Garden Commission. Famine must
| be conquered Uncle Sam has become
| the Joseph of the Modern World. The
| nations look to this country for sixty
| per cent Of their food deficit, which
must be made up. Plans and organi-
cations should be under way every
where right now for the big spring cam
paign which will soon be upon us. Get
| ready now for Victory Gardening
Numerous reports have been received
by the commission from various parts
Of the country stating that preparations
are under way, with committees appoint
ed, looking TO the planting season.
The 20, 600, 900 tons of food which
this country has promised to send 70
Europe in 1919, it is hoped, can be con-
siderably augmented as a result Of the
food grown by the home gardeners
By their large numbers they can work
wonders in this direction, as is shown
by the figures of their record gathered
by the National War Garden Commits
SION
n. II. BUREAU OPENS DRIVE.
Victory gardening is TO be encouraged
by every means possible The United
States Railroad Administration already
has started to spread the message along
many Of the lines under its control.
Through J. l.. Edwards, director Of the
agricultural section, the divisional agents
have been instructed 70 do what thew
can to promote the garden movement
throughout the country. Posters have
been sent by the commission to these
agricultural supervisors in many places
throughout the South. Many railroads
in the United States last season stimu-
lated gardening by furnishing land along
rights-of-Way to their employees, pro-
viding them with garden booklets and
putting up posters in stations and other
conspicuous places. They will do the
same in 1919.
Richardson Webster, register OF Kings
county, Brooklyn, who has been an
active booster Of war gardens during
the past two years, reports to the COM
mission that he has already issued more
than 900 permits for use OF vacant
lots for victory gardens" in 1919; and
only one owner who had given consent
for the use of his land withdrew IL after
the signing Of the armistiee. Every
body seems 10 understand. adds MIR.
Webster, that the food situation Will
be Just as acute in 1919, and the appll-
cations for war gardens are pouring
in Just as steadily as if the war were
still on Fortunately the owners OF va
cant land view the situation in the same
way.
I'VE have already begun to make
plans and get ready for another year,
saws a report from Crbana. Illinois.
which is typical of many received by
the National Garden Commission. Mrs.
William Maclay Hall, chairman OF the
garden committee, Pittsburg, has written
to tel of activities there; Newark. y. J.,
which has conducted very active cam
paigns during the past two years under
the leadership of Carl Bannwart, has
adopted the Victory Garden slogan for
1919 the gardeners are lining up in
Muncie, Indiana, reports W +. Rut-
ledge, head garden supervisor there;
and W ! Slogan. from Salt Lake City.
tells OF what they are doing in Utah to
raise food.
cRops WORTH $4,000.
They grew $4,000 worth there in
the 1918 war gardens, and Mr. Sloan
says.
There will be need for an additional
food supply for at least two years The
people OF the United States, at least r
majority of them, are just beginning
to learn what it means to raise their
own vegetables with the added value
OF reduced cost and better health. At
all times We should have no unsightly
back wards and vacant lots. Weeds are
a menace to health. So are empty cans
and garnagc in your back yard
There are many other similar expires
sions from different parts of the country
showing that the garden idea has taken
hold and that the war gardens will CON
tinue not only as victory gardens but
even after the war world for food shall
have been won.
Some handsome new posters have been
prepared by the commission this year
and will be widely distributed To call
upon the Victory Gardeners OF the ma
ton to turn their gardens into peace
plants" A new edition of the garden
ing booklet has been published BY the
commission. and lots of these will be
furnished TO various local committees
and distributed through other channels
free to anyone who wants them.
One of the commissioners S representa-
tives, Everett H. Kelley, is now ON
tour Of the country In the interest of
victory gardening. He IS advising with
various local committee chaiTmen and
other officials. such as Chamber of Com
merce secretaries and committees, who
will have charge of the garden campaigns
in their respective cities. His trip will
take him through the far West also.