The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1880-08-14
cmrcAoo Is 4 rnuIr NNnNrr.

and her 100 railroad trains whicl
ramify in every direction is no doub
one of the best fruit markets in tn
United States outside of New York
4 The following article from the Chicago
Tribune gives some idea of the magni
| tude of the fruit trade in that city.
1T may be taken for granted that on,
OF Chicago's individual propensities il
Il tooth for fruit Chicago will buckle
right down to fruit season, and make
away with more assorted lusciousness
in proportion than any city in the
| Union. She eats bannas from TuXpan
| Honolulu, and Guyamas, cocoanuts
from Brazil and Central America.
! pincapples from Vera Cruz, oranges
| from Sicily and Havana, lines from
the Azores, lemons from Mcasalina,
figs from smyrna, citron from Cairo,
dates from Arabia, and tamarinds
from Syria, while every state in the
Union, from Vermont to Louisiana
and Massachusetts to Oregon, sends
her carloads and ship-lOads of straw
berries, raspberries, hucklebeTies,
gooseberrics, blackberries, blueberries,
currants, cherries, apricots, nectarines,
peaches, pears, apples, ounces, grapes,
melons, plums, citrOn and figs, not to
speak of dozen varieties Of nuts
There is scarcely Il spot on the civ
lied globe that doesn't raise some
dainty for her, and doesn't send it by
the ton, and still her appetite is so
fresh and uncloyed that she just takes
it Ill in and asks for more.
Take the one particular item Of
berries. How many pounds of berries
does it take to satisfy Chicago in the
brief season they ripen?
To answer this conundrum, Mr..
Horace Tucker, General Freight Agent
of the Illsnois Central, was inter
viewed
Cherries ," he echoed, in his brisk,
cheerful way; "tell you in Il minute"
He glanced at book and said:
"Three million five hundred and
fifteen thousand six hundred and
twenty-nine pounds is our total for
this season so far" Then he sub
mittcd tables which gave the receipts
IN details as follows. There were
from
Cobden-l, 732, 42O pounds straw
berries, $50 pounds raspberries, and
l $50 pounds blackberrics. Total, |,
734, 445 pounds.
Richview-StrawberLies, $3.50; cher
ries, 1926 ; goosebcrries, 1910. Total,
/, 1856.
Onarga-Strawberries 1913; goose
berries, APO; cherries, 20,305. Total,
1900.
Carbondale Strawberries, 1850
260. Total, S,210.
Du Quoin-Gooseberries, $40.
Arna-Strawberries, 32l go.
Ullin-Strawberries, 564.
Observation-Disclosures, Ass.
Observation-Disclosures, 81 ,055; black !
berries, 12O; raspberries, so; goose
berries, 80.
Observation-Disclosures, 35O,040.
Villa Observation-Disclosures, 700;
1lackberries, 2,4O0; raspberries, 1850;
strawberries, 243,72O. Total, 254, 800.
Observation-Disclosures, 100.
Centralia Strawberries. 75S, 1850.
Du Observation-Disclosures, G,505; goose
berries, 800.
The figures are for berries consigned |
% Chicago, and destined for this
market only.
RECEIPTS BY LAKE.
A visit to the Goodrich Steamship
was then made. This cor
,oration handles an average of 1000
asses of assorted berries per day
Turing the present season, which lasts
tx weeks. There are twenty-five
pounds to the case, making about .,
00, 600 to be added to the number of
Ounds Of berries voracious Chicago
onsumes. Seventy-fve per cent of
hese come from Muskegon, and the
principally from Grand
faVen.
How many pleasant thoughts, men,
ries, and suggestions may arise in
ne progress of this simple statistical
asearch Miles and miles away lie
ne berry-tields-cool, and green and
'esh. There the slug crawls and
,aves his glistening trail; The grass
Upper fiddles and chews up leaves
18th astonishing glee and celebrity;
lit; the hairy caterpillar humps him l
If over his path or curls up and pre- ;
.nts knob Of hair to all intruuers; I
nd there, too, thousands of clear
lroated birds MARBLE and fight and {
ave no end Of fuss and feathers
their little lives, and skirmish |
'Ound morning, noon and night in t
lie unceasing proWl for grub-de- t
ding the farmer into the belief that t
ley are scavenging for worms, but /
ally chewing up more berries than C
| the slugs and caterpillars, black a
Orms, and lady-bugs put together. v
What a wonder it is that any ber- fl
IS ever do get to the market. First,
e frost nips half Of them in the bud. t
len the slugs and worms go for d
EN-. Then the birds pitch in and a
laTel for the remainder. Finally v
me the gatherers, who, as rule, are
ildren or merry-eyed girls with an Ii
lmense native talent for berries, and Il
ely II
EAT TWO FOR EVERY ONE il
ey put in the basket. Then oceans y
them spOi in getting to the station,
d millions are discarded in sorting,
d lots are crushed 10y accident, and
yriads get Over-ripe and liquify and
oil other myriads on the way, and ~
en- then, after escaping all these NOV Il
: accidents by food and field, 10 per w
ut. of these successfully landed at 81
lst fall dead weight on the pur- "
aser'S hands for divers reasons. h,
here, they nearly all go to ii
nth Water street. Thence in drays, fl,
nd-carts and barrows, and by hand, or
over the mighty city, and up and II
WI every street, and appear on the
lie Of the millionaire, and mechanic
Ike, for no one in Chicago is SO poor bC
1t he cannot have his berries. til
low much money they circulate, IN
W much employment they give, ri'
W much pleasure bestOw-these lit sill
fruits that are 50 small an item in W
. mighty trade of the metropolis ht
w much misery too, they engender. su
ten to that small boy next door, sh
with his double-twist in
Iywobble. The doctor diagnoses it
berries. They came all the way Gil
m North Michigan, have passed te,
ough a dozen hands, have been en- an
I'd in twenty books, have figured in So
rket reports and made their little or
in the financial world, and now m,
settling down to the real business
he berry, and giving that boy the