Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1882-12-28

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One ant merchant whom the author
know was . young woman named
Blanche. She Is described as present
: ing . terrible appearances. Her face
and hands are tanned s though they
had been prepared by some skillful tan.
ner. She Is clothed In buffalo skin, and
In spite Of this armor she Is devonred BY
her stock In trade. But her skin has
become so hardened and dinsensible from
long practice. that she can sleep sur.
rounded BY sacks full Of her merchan.
disc undisturbed by their stinging.
Mademoiselle Blanche has negotiantsin In
the departments where there arc exten.
sive forests; she pays her employees two
francs day. Her business extends
even as far rs Germany. She never
receives less than ten sacks (miller's
sacks) Of ants daily. The ants lay eggs,
and these are sold for feeding pheas.
ants. At the present moment Mademo
iselle Blanche Is on the road to fortune.
Another trade somewhat similar to
this is that Of the maggot merchants.
These supply the fisherman with then
bait, and number from eight to ten, do.
ing serious business. They are well
known to the fishing corporation, and
three are mentioned as being celebrities
in their profession. One In particular
LePere Yer deFerre--reckons that he
sells from thirty TO forty million maggots
every summer. This gentleman can
never part with one Of his loads of mag.
gots, whom he calls his children, with.
out emotion. s
A lucrative business Is the cooking Of
artichokes. There are but three or fouI
important retailers of cooked artichokes
In Paris. The information M. Grison
gives me on the subject he obtained
from Madame Pauline G., one of the
extensive dealers in that article at La
Halle, the largest market place in the
city. -To gain anything in this bust
ness, says our informant, 1T must be
conducted on large scale, for though
the cooking Of artichokes appears very
simple affair, 1t nevertheless demands
considerable outlay in proportion to the
price of selling. Before being put into
the copper the artichokes must be wash.
ed. Women employed for this work
earn three francs day. Others cut of
the stalks. This done, the artichokes
pass into the cooks hands, who earn
from four to five francs per diem. They
first assort them, and then pile them in
heaps according to their size in the cop
pers. The layers are separated by cloths.
This work, of course, takes some time
but 1t would not do to throw the arti.
chokes all in together, as some people
imagine to be the case. The largest
traders ID this line employ generally
two cutters and sorters, three cleaners,
and five or six cooks. The boiling is
done by night, and entirely finished by
o'clock in the morning. At a. m.
the frniterers and street vendors take
their stock for the day. The price va.
ries from a penny to three pence per ar.
tichoke. The chief part OF the artichokes
one sees at the fruit shops, kept warm
in large barkets by means of hot water,
come from LaHalle." Madame Pauline
earns on an average $1,000 year at
this business, and the season only lasts
four months. But the trades mentioned
are the three rich ones out of the petitis
metier Among the less renumerative
ones are the rat-catchers, egg-dyers for
Lent and Easter days, soup and coffee
itinerant merchants, the scale cleaners,
and lastly. in connection with Les Hal-
les, the caller whose business it is to
wake up the porters, carriers, and all
who have to begin work before daylight
The callers form large company, and
anyone walking in the vicinity of the
market place after midnight hears a
variety of strange cries and peculiar
sounding notes proceeding from whis.
ties. Each caller has his particular
note, known to his client, who opens
his window in reply. One of these men
well known in the market is Peter, sur.
named the ''Blackbird'' on account OF
the remarkable manner in which he