Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-07-23
Strange Ways Of Making Living.


Said witness under cross examination :
Il am an early caller. ! calls different
tradesmen at early hours, from 3 to $50
Ill the morning, and that is how | gets my
living. l gets up between Il and :;
goes to bed at and sleeps till the after
noon l calls bakers between and .
the bakers are the earliest of all" What
sort Of living he made is not recorded.
A pound week, We would say, would be
the outside figure, and to earn that he
would need a couple Of scores Of custo-
mers The early callers fee is well earn
ed, since but for his intervention his
clients would often lose Il days pay, if
! not thrown ont Of work altogether by
failing to keep time Not SO deserving
Of encouragement are the ''tup-pennies, "
carrying on their vocation i'll those quar-
ters of London where pawnbrokers and
poor people abound. They are feminine
Intermediates between the pawnbroker
and folks ANXIOUS To raise a loan On their
belongings, who, rather than transac.
such business for themselves, are willing
to pay two pence for every parcel CON
veyed to everybody's uncle" or redeem
them from his clutches. These go-be-
tweens, it is averred, also receive quar-
terly commission from the trldesmen
they favor with their patronage ; and 50
one way and another contriye Ia make IL
comfortable living out Of their neigh
bors' necessities.
There are men in Paris, birds of
feather with the cliilonier, who 60 from
! hospital to hospital collecting the linseed
plasters that have served the turn of doc
tor and patient afterward pressing the
/ oil from the linsccd, and disposing of the
linen, after bleaching it. to the paper
maker. Others make couple of francs
Il day by collecting old corks, which be-
ing cleaned and pared, fetch, it is said,
half II franc per hundred.
\ lady resident of the FGubour3 St
Gcrmnin Is credited with earning II good
income by Matching red brown and black
ants Tor pheasant preserves. One Pari-
sian gets his living 10y breeding maggots
out of the foul meats he buys OF the chif-
fonicrs, and fnttening them up i'll tin
boxes. Another breeds maggots for the
special behoof of nightingales and II
third marchnnd d'asticots boasts of sell
ing between 30 and 40 millions of worms
every season for piscatorial purposes. He
owns great pit at Montmartre, wherein
he keeps his store. Every day his scouts
bring him fresh stock, for which he pays
them from 3 to 10 pence per pound, ac-
cordinG to quality resellinS them to an
glers nt Just double those rates, and clear
ing thereby something over GOO year,
This curious uvocation is rot unknown
in England. Some ~ years ago, we are
told. Mr.. Wells, fishing tackle maker
of Noting ham, III order to insure II con
stunt supply Of bait for his customers.
started II farm for the rearing of lob
worms, cockspurs, ring-tailed br,ndlinGs,
and other worms i'll demand among the
disciples Of Walton, who abound in the
old lace town To keep his farm stocked,
men md boys go ont at night collecting
worms i'll the meadows and pastures, II
moist, warm night yielding from 1000 To
5000 worms. As soon as they are brought
III they are placed III properly selected
moss, field moss for choice, 10 scour until
they become little more than skin-fresh-
ly caught worms being too tender for the
anglers to handle while "when worm
is properly educated, he is as tough as
bit of india rubber, and behaves as II
worm should do when put upon the
hook. When this condition il attained,
the worms are packed i'll moss and put up
in light canvas bags for tho market. This
worm merchant does not entirely depend
upon the industry of his collectors, but
breeds large quantities himself III his
own garden the component parts of his
breeding heap being II secret he not un-
naturally keeps to himself.