Americus Times Recorder

HOME PREPAREDNESS NO.
FOUR---WHAT A MILLION
DOOR YARDS CAN DO

BY CARL VROOMAN,
Assistant Secretary
of Agriculture.
Member of the National Emergency
Food Garden Commission.

WASHINGTON,
April 7.---Without going beyond their own dooryards millions of American women can render real service to the nation. This service is as real as that rendered by the soldier on the field of battle. It is to plant and care for the little plot of land that lies back of the house---to make a home garden.

One million dooryard gardens planted in our suburbs and cities this spring would mean a national saving of possibly $50,000,000, a sum as large as that which President McKinley was given by Congress for the prosecution of the Spanish-American war. Growing vegetables for home consumption in these gardens would relieve the railroads of the necessity of carrying millions of pounds of bulky freight thus releasing thousands of cars and engines for hauling men and munitions.

Our experts have calculated that an average American family uses about 20 bushels of potatoes a year. It does not take but a fraction of an acre to produce this quantity of this important foodstuff since a fair yield of this crop is 200 bushels in a season, and it is not uncommon for potatoes to run to 400 or more bushels per acre.

Radishes, lettuce, early beets, beans, peas, tomatoes, spinach, and numerous easily cultivated vegetables can be raised in the back yard provided the soil is fertile and intelligence is employed in the process.

There is no reason in the world why 3,000,000 back yard gardens should not be planted this spring, planted as soon as the ground is warm enough and supply 3,000,000 families with good, cheap, nutritious foods all this summer, war or no war.

The hitherto wasted resources of our dooryard land should be utilized at once. It is no more work for woman to tend a vegetable garden than it is to tend a flower garden or a house plant. At present it is more patriotic to subordinate flowers to food.