Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 92, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1917 — RECLAIM WASTE TOWN LANDS [ARTICLE]

RECLAIM WASTE TOWN LANDS

The question of using idle city lands for food production is joist now engaging the attention of the people of England, as it has already done those of Germany, and efforts are being made to conserve this potential source of wealth. It is estimated that in the city of London alone there are 14,000 acres of idle land, capable of producing annually >SOO worth of stuffs per acre —an amazing total of >7,000,000 yearly. In connection with the present high cost of living this item of news should carry a potent lesson for every town and city in our own country. The subject is full of possibilities for Rensselaer.

(Have you, reader, ever tried to estimate how many "acres of idle land there are in this city—in our town? Take a day off some time and count the vacant lots that are now producing nothing. Try to reduce this combined area to, acres. Calculate the possibilities of these acres, and then you will see what the people of Rensselaer are annually allowing to slip through their fingers for want of a little energy.

It is folly to protest against the high ?ost of living when we are neglecting the means lying right at our. do,ors of largely alleviating those conditions. Almost any family can cultivate from a, quarter to half an acre of ground, and a quarteY or half acre will produce vegetables and small fruits for most any family for the entire year. '-Loojc around you and locate the men who are loudest against the prevailing high prices. Are they the men who have cultivated good gardens and truck patches? No, indeed! These men have cellars well stored with vegetables, they have possibly raised and fattened a pig or two; they have fruits and vegetables canned and preserved, and are really living at home. And they don’t have nightmares near the end of the month over the grocery bill that must be paid on the first. Let us have a real revival of gardening interest in this city this year. Let’s every one of us who have a few square feet or yards of soil see to it that that soil produces this summer all of which it is capable. If we have no surplus ground of our own, then let’s rent a vacant lot from some neighbor and turn it into food for the family.

people in this city buy all of their groceries and provisions from the stores and from peddlers, paying out large sums in the run of a year, while they have ample land lying idle from which they could supply a majority of their wants in this line. This is not only poor economy, but it is rank extravagance. But that is the way of the average American citizen. He buys beans and raises cockle burrs. He trays potatoes and raises dog fennel. In short, he buys all he has to eat and raises h— generally over the prices he has to pay. - An important phase of the question lies in the splendid possibilities for health afforded by the congenial task of gardening. Every dweller in a city or small town should, if possible, acquire a pi&te of ground to work through the summer, be it ever so small. An hour or two of diligent work in the—soil is nature’s finest tonic. It will dissipate the worst case of grouch; it is a perfect liver regulator, ouers dyspepsia, is an excellent remedy for rheumatism, and makes you feel that life is really worth living.

Let’s get down to the business of conservation in earnest. a bushel of potatoes will yield as much nourishment and energy if raised in one’s own garden as if bought at the store. Beans and peas, cabbages, lettuce, radishes, strawberries, etc., coming fresh from your garden are not to be compared with the average dejected looking article usually found in the markets. So while we are urging the country to reclaim the waste lands, reclaim our own waste territory. It will conserve our health; it will, lighten the strain on our income; and last, but by no means least, it ~will aid -largely in beautifying our town.