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Show . PRSON TRUCK FARN f Jorforson City, Mo. Warden Mnlt II W. Hall, of tho MUsourl penitentiary, Is a gardener on quite nu extensive icalo. This year ho has devoted a 'a part or tho state farm, located Just I east of tho prUon, to "gardun truck," and Is Just beginning to renllzo somo of or tho results that follow enroful and rj Intelligent tilling or tho soil, In tho 19 way or palatable and healthy addl- ft tions to tho prison menu, aud at a H minimum or oxpenso to tho stato. , It Tho farm In In chnrgo of John V. II Brunor, who works sovornl convicts In caring for thu place Just now tho I "snap bean" crop Is In full bearing. fg Tho benn patch covorH Bovornl acros L.j of ground, and tho crop on tho state J (arm Is unusually prollllc. , I Tho soil on top or tho hill seems I to bo ospeclally adapted to tho beau, and thoro will bo sovoral "mossos" ' for all bands In the warden's family of 2,600 persons. Somo Idea of what It takes to go ''. round In tho prison is gained when It " Is known that It requires 75 bUBhels of snap beans for ono meal, llocontly . that amount of beans wns turned ovor ' to tho prison kitchen, aud It reculrod all of It to give ench convict all tho beans ho could eat Sovoral hundred vM. pounds or bacon worn required to v cook them properly and give tho right I Havor. I Kndlshos wore grown In great quan- I titles carllor In the season, and onions have been sorved sovoral tlmos rrom I tho rarm. Thoro Is a great quantity 1 or tho onions utlll In tho ground. m This healthful, If somewhat odorlfer- J ous, vegetable Is oagorly wolcomed by (I tho convicts as, In fact, Is all tho gar- - V den truck. 1 "John," said Mr. Hall, to Brunor, the man in chargo of the farm, "wo mus V bavo a llttlo slaw for tho Fourth of l' July dlnnor. How many heads of cab- m bago can yon let Uowon havo for that 1 day?" I "About 1.100 or l.EOOheads," was tho reply, TIh-bo cabbages will aver-ago aver-ago perhaps two pounds to thu boad, so It will bu observed that sovoral thousand pounds of raw material en-tors en-tors Into the problem of providing thu prison population with tho ono Item of a llttlo cold slaw for tholr holiday dinner. Tho cabbago patch on tho state rarm Includes 18,000 growing plants, nnd tho crop' Is flourishing, but big ns thu patch Is n few rounds or "cold slaw" will mako heavy Inroads on It. There nro several ncres or potatoes, a roasting ear patch or two or three ncri'H. hut tho crowning glory or tho big garden Is thu tomato Hold, whom thoro nro t3,000 or 14,000 flourishing plants growing that give promlso of a groat yield or this most delightful or all vegetables. Somo or tho vines are loaded with tomatoes thnt will bo ready for use In a few weeks, while others have Just reached thu blooming stngo. If nothing noth-ing happens to injure tho vines there will be an abundance of this crop, for the vines will continue to produco until un-til frost kills thorn. Warden Hall and Mr. Brunor figure that nftor tho season Is ovor thoy will havo unripe tomatoes enough on hand whon the frost comos to make sevornl hogsheads of chochow. It is worth a trip to tho stato rarm to see tho gardening on a largo scale that Warden Hall has Inaugurated. Ills theory Is that whatevor oxponso Is Involved In growing tho vegetables for uso or tho convicts Is muro than offset by tho diminution or tho sick list Tho land has dotorlorntod somewhat during tho Inst fow yenrs, when It was leased by tho atnto to private Individuals, In-dividuals, and Mr. Hall will by systematic sys-tematic offort seek to build It up and restore It to a high degree of productiveness. produc-tiveness. To this end much of It will bo sown In cowpcan this summer, and this will be turned under early In tho fall. |