The Washington times., 1920-02-04
A Brilliant Film Romance With
MARION DA VLES
Saving Money in the Home
Little Tricks For Women
in Household Economics
Ru EIIZARETH IATTIMER
By ELIZABETH LATTIMER.


the East Potomac Park Gar
den Club paid themselves last year
30 cents an hour In vegetables as a
result OF their efforts on 40 by 100
foot garden plats. There were 500
OF these home gardens, producing
an average return or sS4 worth OF
vegetables, or at the rate OF $40 an
acre. Not half bad. when II Is con-
sidered that the average acre or
farm land in the United States
yields a gross return of a little less
than $40. The all-important point,
however, Ia that 300 families. or
800 people, were we'll fed with
fresh vegetables during the sum-
mer, and a supply was canned or
stored for winter use.
Thousands upon thousands OF
home gardens were an important
factor last year in supplying food,
and II is important that many
more thousands OF gardens be plant
ed in 1920. With food prices still
soaring. IL behooves every house,
holder to plant garden and grow
his own supply of vegetables. The
taken care OF by the farmers. but
the spare hours of Industrial work
ers are now needed to supplement
the efforts OF the farmers. The
man or woman who works In the
store, office, or factory cannot be
OF much direct assistance to the
farmer, but can at least spend one
or two hours every day In the cul-
- In
a back yard or a vacant lot.
Begin now to plan your garden,
because it is most important that
the right things be planted at the
right time. There Us no better way
TO cut your food bills.
Home gardens are especially need
ed in denseIy populated sections.
where the people are largely de-
pendent upon transportation facili-
ties for bringing their food TO them.
Every foot Of suitable land in and
around large cities should be made
TO produce its quota the coming
season.
Looking back over last seasons
garden experience, anybody can see
just where improvements could
been made in his methods. Most
home gardeners did not have def
mite garden plan TO begin with. and
simply raribled along through the
summer, doing things as they called
for attention.
This season there should be a
'.plan of work" for all garden oper-
ations. You may depart more or
less from this plan, but you should
start right, anyway. The winter Is
the proper time to make plans and
build castles. with a mental pic
ture of last years garden. proceed
with the aid of pencil, rule and pa
per. Plan just what you are going
TO DO in your garden this season.
First Of all, the plan must con-
form to the size and shape OF the
garden plat. II only a small piece
of land is available. careful plan
ming is necessary in order to pro-
vide for the crops that you want to
grow. Last year, perhaps, too much
space was devoted to lettuce and
raddishes and not enough to beets,
carrots, and beans. Some OF the crops
did very poorly because they were
shaded by she corn ad pole beans,
and the cucumbers and sQuashes
ran all over the late beets and car
rots. Now, with your pencil, rule.
and paper, work out a plan whereby
all, or most, of these difficulties
will be avoided. Provide for crops
and intercrops, also a succession OF
crops, SO that the little garden plat
III give maximum results.
After the garden plan is made, and
you know, or think you know. just
how the garden will look after 1T is
started, the next step will be to
formulate a schedule of work pro-
viding for doing things at the pro-
per time. This does not mean plant
ing certain crops at the right time
of the moon, but at the right sea-
son and when all conditions are
favorable. The best gardeners be-
lieve that moonshine is Just moon
shine, anyway, and that real su
shine and some other things, such
as fertilizers, good seeds, and plenty
of work, are the essential requires
ments for growing a good garden.
with the lengthening of the days,
IL will not be long until work can
be started in the garden. In the
meantime seeds should be procured,
a few tomato and cabbage plants
should be started in a window box.
and the first steps should be taken
toward the planting of a thrift gar
den.
All over the country various or