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Show UTAH GOING OVER TOP IN BACK LGT GAM Vouched For by Record-Breaking Record-Breaking Amount of Seeds Being Purchased. Urging widespread cultivation of front and back yards as well as all vacant lots for the production of vegetables and green stuff, the food administration avers that every garden is a munitions plant. Taking this as a cue, Salt Lake residents resi-dents of all ages have started 'in earnest the building of "munitions plants" on a decidedly wider scale than was attempted attempt-ed even last year, when Utah people established es-tablished a record for back lot cultivation. cultiva-tion. This is vouched for by local seed commission com-mission men, who declare that at the expense ex-pense of flower seeds and plants about 30 per cent more vegetable seeds and sprouts are being purchased than were demanded in the rercord-breaklng spring of 1917. But while the percentage of small vegetables vege-tables sown and planted will be greater than last year, there will be a material reduction in the planting of potatoes, onions and carrots. The decrease of these essential vegetables will be noted in the larger cultivated areas, however, rather than in the back lots where they will be tended for personal use of the resident himself instead of for marketing. In the spring of 1917 the Increase of area throughout the stale platted to general lines of vegetables was 30 per cent over the year preceding. The planting this year will be 20 per cent over 1917. Carrots, Car-rots, beets, squash, tomatoes, peas, beans, pumpkins, lettuce, raddish and young onions will be most extensively cultivated in town gardens. Potatoes and onions for sale will not be given material consideration con-sideration by the town lot horticulturist. Local seed dealers declare that never in their recollection has the demand for general gen-eral lines of garden seeds been as heavy as this year. They admit that little attention atten-tion is being paid to the cultivation of garden flowers, other than perennials, and in many instances these are being turned under in favor of lettuce and raddish rad-dish growing. The more extensive cultivation culti-vation of waste land in Salt Lake is compatible com-patible with patriotism as well as with economy and health. Experts allege that the area in Utah' devoted to the cultivation of potatoes and onions will decrease this year at least 50 per cent. They base this contention upon the advance call for seed, which is always al-ways taken as an index. In 1917 LTtah's acreage of potatoes planted surpassed any ever suggested in this state, and the production pro-duction was far in excess of expectations. Lack of transportation facilities forced an embargo on the Utah product early last fall, and countless thousands of bushels of both potatoes and onions were placed in storage awaiting a change of conditions. The change never came, and these vegetables vege-tables today are being dumped on refuse piles, except where they can be fed to livestock. A Salt Lake seed commission merchant relates the following instance which will serve to explain the condition as It relates re-lates to potatoes. Last fall a prominent local commission merchant leased the basement of a large storage warehouse and stored 12.000 sacks of potatoes for which he could not find a market. He stored in the hope that sooner or later the transportation situation would clarify and movement of Utah products to an eastern market would be permitted. January Janu-ary came and the embargo had not lifted. The merchant employed sixteen men at $4 per day for a period of thirty days to sort over the 12,000 sacks of potatoes and throw out the decaying ones. April 1 this operation was repeated, on the latter sorting the loss being one-third of the entire amount stored. Today he has men employed carrying out the fast rotting rot-ting potatoes. They are being given free to stockgrowers for feed, the commissioner commission-er having only the sacks left. In the spring of 1917 potatoes in Salt Take sold for from $6 to $S per hundredweight, hundred-weight, and dry onions 16 to 18 cents per pound, according to I'-cal commission dealers. The reduced nrreagc this year doubtless spells higher general prices for potatoes and onions this fall, especially if rail service to eastern markets is available. |