| Show school children by means of gardens on vacant lots can cut living cost by PROF P P CLAXTON CLAX rON untied united states stale cornu of education high cost of living is on the lips of all people all cities towns and suburban communities and manufacturing fac turing and mining villages villa gep in tho the united states tor for tile high cost of living there are many causes two of these are the unusual lack of food and tho the fact that most of the food is consumed far from tho the place of production which makes tb the e consumer pay tho the cost of and transportation and the profits of tho the middlemen many of whom in times lilze like these talce take advantage of tile the wants of the people to make profits larger than they should Is ie there a remedy there is a partial remedy at least but not wholly in invests investigations actions or legislation this remedy is so BO simple and close at hand that as is so frequently the case it is overlooked in the schools of the cities towns suburban communities and manufacturing and mining villages of the united states there are approximately boys boy borsand sand and girls between the ages of nine nine and sixteen most of them are idle more than half of the year they are in school less than 1000 hours a year and allowing ten hours a day for sleep are out of school more than waking hours more than an average of nine hours a day not counting sun days SOT of these there is access to back yards side yards front yards and vacant lots which might be cultivated as small gardens tor for the growth of vegetables and small fruits many live where space could bo be easily had for chickens ducks or pigeons and there are not mot fewer than older boys and girls and adult men and women for whom an hour or two of work each day in a garden would be the best form of recreation and rest from the routine of their dally daily labor in office or shop or mill or mine and who might easily find tho the time for it with some intelligent direction these school children and older boys and girls and men and women might easily produce on the available land an average of 75 each in vegetables and fruits for their ow own tables or for sale pale in their immediate neighborhood fresh and crisp through all the growing months and wholesomely canned and preserved for use in winter this would add worth to the bestford best form of 0 food supply of the country without cost of transportation or storage and without profits of middlemen the estimate is very conservative as has been shown by many experiments peri ments |
