M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1856-07-17
From Life Illustrated.
An hour with the Strawberry
PiClkeHS.

This morning wife and joined the Straw
berry pickers, by way of recreation, and
spent an hour very pleasantly in filling with
the delicious fruit some Of the little baskets
which tomorrow may be hawked about
your streets, or served up with sweet cream
and sugar at the Astor, ST. Nicholas, or Me-
tropolitan.
Your city readers know how strawber'
ries are sold in your markets, in the streets
and at the restaurants and dining-saloons,
and how they taste on reaching the table
(not always so fresh as is desirable), but
few of them know how they are picked,
packed, and transported to your wharves
and railway depots.
Now, as you wish 10 "illustrato life and
all its phases" perhaps a brief account of
what / saw and heard to-day in the straw
berry plot may prove acceptable.
The greater number OF the pickers had
been on the ground several hours when we
reached the plot, which was two or three
acres in extent. Crates, baskets. coats,
shawls, over-shoes, etc, were observed scat
tered along the side of the field and under
the trees and bushes. There were fifty
pickers already engaged, and most pictur-
esque groups they formed They are most
ly yjuvenile "natives"-Jersey boys and girls,
Of all ages and sizes, and in every variety of
costume. In some cases their mothers are
with them, thus forming true family groups
Some Of the boys are fine looking little fell
lows. They wear straw or palm-leaf hats,
and thick, heavy shoes, or, oltener, none at
nil a shirt ponfoloons oY,l lInr,n
orally complete their personal adornments.
The girls seem to be universally homely
and coarse-looking, awkward in gait and
manners, and slovenly in attire. With these
people there is occasionally q mingling of
Phalanx women and children, who are dis
tiDguishable at glance from the "outside
bur5arians," by more elegant and refined
personnel, more tasteful and fitting cos
tune, and more graceful bearing. The
women and girls wear a short dress, reach.
ing about the knee, pantaloons of the same
material, and broad-brimed hat. This is
the working and walking costume of the
place. Here, at least, dress reform is prac.
ticaRy carried out /; though the graceful flow
ing drapery Of the long skirts holds its prop
er place in the parlor.
The contractor of the strawberry picking
-"Chief of the Group" he would have been
styled under the associative organization
welcomed US to the field, and bade US, if W.
had mind to try our hands at picking, t
take some baskets and commence at once
We observed that each picker was provided
with number of baskets, strung upon |
cord, fastened around the waist, from whicl
they are taken as wanted. Each has alsC
u large basket, in which the small ones are
deposited when filled. We equipped our
selves like the rest, and entered our "row.'
The vines had been allowed to occupy the
whole plot, and the rows in which they were
originally planted had become entirely OBJ
liberated. The "rows" to which pickers are
confined, or by which they are guided, are
arbitrary divisions of about six feet in width
marked by cords stretched across the plot
from side to side. Two or three picker:
usually occupy one Of these rows,