The News And Views

WASHINGTON (A) - More fortunate than most garden enthusiasts are employees of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, who have their own garden club. They have experts close at hand to give them the latest advice.

The club got started during the Victory Garden days of World War II when bosses, clerks, stenographers, researchers and specialists got to talking together about gardening over the luncheon table in the department cafeteria. Many had come from other parts of the country, lived in rooming houses and didn't even have a garden of their own here.

Finally M. L. Wilson, director of the extension service, who shared a community garden with his neighbors, suggested the Agriculture people meet in a special room for lunch once a month and get somebody in-the-know to talk to them.

The late Hans Hochbaum, division leader of the Victory Garden program, who had a garden of his own, helped with the organization. None of the club's members is engaged in the testing of seeds or growing of plants as part of his work, but all soon got hep to what goes on in a garden through talks on vegetable varieties, soil, fertilizers, how to fight bugs and plant diseases, propagation, landscaping of the home garden and even flower arrangements.

"It's a golden opportunity," says Wilbur H. Youngman, marketing specialist in seeds, who's been gardening for some years.

"We don't have super gardens," he said, "but we do have a lot more fun than most home gardeners because we got top advice from skilled garden people."

Mr. Youngman, who is president of the club is also garden editor of the Washington Star. With his wife Alice, he has written helpful garden textbooks for people living in this area. The Youngmans dabble in everything - vegetables, fruits and flowers - and have won prizes for their roses, dahlias, iris and tulips.

Cyrus Briggs, information specialist, and Harry Mileham, extension specialist, are other officers of the club, which now numbers more than 150 and keeps growing. Some join even though they do not have a garden. Others have only a patch of ground. There are as many women in the group as men. Occasionally the group puts on an exhibit of the vegetables, fruit, or flowers they're most proud of. These vie with anything the experts themselves produce, the experts tell them.