Use and preparation of food

United States Department of Agriculture: Farmers' Bulletin No. 830. Marketing Esgs by Parcel Post. Farmers' Bulletin No. 703. Suggestions for Parcel Post Marketing. Department Bulletin No. 267. Methods of Wholesale Distribution of Fruits and Vegetables on Large Markets. Tear-Book Separate No. 738. Cooperative Marketing: Where? Whim? How? Lesson 6. Home Production of Food. AIM. To suggest ways in which women can aid in the home production of food, and encourage an increased production along the lines best suited to the community. USE AND PREPARATION OF FOOD. 263 4 rOINTS TO BE BROUGHT OUT. 1. Reasons why the home production of food should be encouraged : A. It offers a method of increasing- tha world's stock of food, especially those foods in which there is at the present time a great shortage. B. It usually means a reduction in the cost of food for the family. C. It aids in the matter of transportation. It is highly desirable that every home be as nearly self-supporting as possible. D. It frequently offers a method by which the housekeeper may add to the familj^ finances by selling any surplus products. 2. Suggested ways by which the housewife may increase the food supply : A. Home garden. — Waste ground may frequently be utilized for a home garden and with small outlay can furnish fresh vegetables for use in season and a surplus for canning, clrjdng, or storing. The importance of vegetables in the diet makes a home garden a most valuable source of food for the famil3% and assures vegetables in the freshest possible condition. B. Orchard or small fruit raising. — Valuable for the same reasons given above. A larger cash outlay is usuall}' necessary, but the in- vestment is permanent and the returns may be enjoyed year after year. C. Beekeeping. — Requires a comparatively slight initial invest- ment and little time and attention. Furnishes a splendid food which can be used to supplement the sugar in the diet or for canning and preserving. Any surplus can be sold at a good profit. D. Maple sugar or sirup. — Where there are sugar maple trees available, the making of sugar or sirup is practicable as a source of food for the famih^, and an}^ surplus finds a ready market at a good price. E. Poultry. — If properly handled, a flock of hens should furnish both meat and eggs at an economical cost. Poultry may be fed jDartly on waste scraps from the table, but they must be supplied w ith additional protein food. It is unwise to undertake poultry rais- ing on an extensive scale without some experience and study, but a small flock may be kept profitably even in a restricted space such as a back yard, wnth such help as may be had from Government and State bulletins. F. Piegons and squabs. — I*igeons are easy to care for, multiply ra])idly, and may be raised in sufficient quantities to add consider- ably to the food supply. In food value, they are similar to poultry. (t. Rabbits. — Rabbits thrixe well, multiply rapidly, and when full grown, furnish good meat at a small cost. They may be raised in a small space, and much of their food supplied from waste 264 USE AND PREPARATION OF FOOD. material, such as leaves and trimnungs of vegetables, lawn clippings, etc.