The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-08-14
rOWS AND COUNTRY.


every year becoming inoe expensive. Mar
keting IL on the most cxtruyagant scale.
Rents have fenrfnlly risen, and tenants are
practically working for their landlords in.
stead Of for themselves. Economical
housekeeping seems to be impossible and,
rs for boarding, many families 10 New
York are said TO pay ten thousand dollars
annually for board alone. In nil our crowd.
ed commercial centres there arc thousands
Of idle men vain!y seeking employment,
and thousands Of others to whom existence
is but one long hitter struggle against the
demon Of starvation. That people 80 Sit
uated ,lo not disperse into the country
seems very strange. Many, indeed, DO 50
every year but Il Is long road to wander
back from the wrctchedness Of city power
~ to the patient, plodding industry which
crowns agricultural labor with success.
The ugmutfin, dragged from the sluins Of
grent metropolis aud set on his feet In tho
open fields, face to face with nature, Is
spectacle which would he intensely iudi.
crous If II were not always profanely sal.
Even men above the condition Of sbject
poverty, tearing themselves AWAY from the
city, are often disappointed in what they
expect of the country. Some begin their
r,irul life with insufficient means. Others,
with more abundant resources, have every.
thing to learn. Lacking experience which
makes one capable, they lose time and op-
portunily, get dishenrtened, and fail TO ac-
complish anything. Others, again, arc too
ambitious, undertake too much, and lose
by having too great variety oil sgricultur.
al business on their hands.
The following closing part Of commu.
nication on this subject, In the April num-
ber OF Tilton 4 Co.'s excellent American
Journal Of Horticulture, will bc found int
resting:
Every one who proposes coming out OF
the great city to reside upon farm. partic.
ulariy he who desires thus to support his
family. should determine beforehand what
no intends 10 do whether to go into gene.
raj farming, into fruit.growing, or into
'truck" or market gardening. In choos
ing, he should consult his taste as well an
his means. lf his Object he grain farming,
he should 90 where land is to be had al low
rates. II his tastes SHOULD lead him to pre-
fer the fruit culture, lie should hug the av.
cnues that lead directly To the great mar
kets. In these crowded cities, though hun.
drcds may he daily driven out to seek homes
in the country, yet thous inds remain there
whom the severest monetary structure never
reaches. They know ofhard times only by
hearsay. Sucl, always have money where.
with to CRAFTY their appetites for whatever
luxuries the market may present. They
keep the opera in full play, no matter how
many hungry thousands may be around
them. At their grand parties tho floral dec.
orutions alone cost more than the value ot
a small farm. Tho winter strawberries on
their tables cost ten dollars quart. On
these avenues he may buy land with safety
Population Is crowding into the regions
which they traverse. Unless 1t has been
unduly inflated by speculalion,. such land
must annually become moro valuable.
The first charge on agricultural products
il for transportation to market. Hence
whatever one may have to sell, the neureI
he may be to it the less will be the charge
This IL one reason why the great market
gardeners plant themselves sqnear the cit
les. Their products being bulky, and hes,
valuable than fruit, cannot 30 we'll afford q
high charge for freight. All these essential
points must be considered by those who
are about leaving the city, as well as 10y
others who are about changing from one
style of farming TO another. The producer
Of berries on a large scale must locate
where the population Is sufiicientto furnish
hands to pick the fruit in season. Strangers
to New Jersey horticulture often wonder
how we find pickers enough 10 gather the
great quantities Of berries which are cult.
vated among us. But the pickers seem to
have multiplied rs tho berry culture has ex-
tended, until the two branches Of q
really great trnde now work " perfect hnr.
mony.
When the fruit ripcns an nrmy Of pickes
seem to spring up out OF OF tho ground.
Every town and village sends It's swarms
Of women and children into The strawberry
field. The country schoolhouses are aband-
oned, that the children may share IN the
profits uf the fruit harvest. An ordinarily
smart girl will pick hundred quarts per
day, and 20 home long before nightfall with
two dollars in her pocket. Such pay for
oil this class Of help will empty every
sclloolhouse IN The country. Then follow
the raspberry and blackberry, thus giving
long and profitable employment TO q body
of trained pickers, whose numbers and
skill insure the prompt harvesting Of tho
crops. The vast quantity OF early filled
peas grown in New Jersey, the pickles, the
tomatoes, eveifthe tiirnips, arc gathered by
the same Industrious class Of people. The
whole picking business is known and GOV
eted as profitable one. Where frtiit.grow.
ing has long been established, there all the
essentials for conducting il profiably will
be found within reach; and therefore !, Is TO
such locations that the prospective irult.
grower should direct his attention.
in every human enterprise there Is some
hazard of failure. business IN the city Is
indefinitely more uncertain thnn in the
country. II is true that lucky hit 10 cot.
ton or in stocks may make one wealthy in
a day. compared to which all horticulture
is very slow coach. The next turn how
ever, mny strip the millionaire Of his last
dollar; but our slow coaches move steadi.
" on. safely ana comfortably, because we
10 not make haste to get rich. Failure Is
not peculiar to country occupation. The
earth contains within ils bosom sure liv'
ing for all who industriously and intellf
gently labor to exact il. lfthey fail in do.
ing 80, they must not accuse the soil, but
themselves. The failure springs from some
fault exclusively their own. but u 10 well
that bad luck, whether In town or county
seems to produce no discourngemens 10
others. Where ono drops out Of tbs rsoSs
fresh candidate is ready to take bis place.
The stock exchanges Of tho great ci!'es
have thrown out innumerab|e peeun'ary
wrecks; hut ars they not moro crowded
with fresh adveniurers than. everf so
country lie may have iis disaPPointmenis ;
bu. mono r,hem are absolute wrecks.
In choosing land, where immediate in.
come Is desirable. il will be cheaper. to pay
what may feem high price for an scre
we'll filed with hearing fruits than much
less for one in which tho plants must be
set and tended until they como to yield .
crop. Such land will pay interest and
profit from stan. A beginner may be
embarrassed by his want ofezperiencc. bat