The Dawson journal. (Dawson, Ga.) 1878-18??, 1884-06-05
CHATS WITH ARP.
what are the Poor Girls of the
Country to do?

fathers ask that question. don't
mean rich fathers who have no anxi-
ETY. about their daughters, but l al
luce to folks lii the middle walks If
HE whose daughters have Ina an
education aud the father has nothing
else to give them. What is poor
girl to DO when sac quits scaool or
comes home from college. Ii is
right hard for her 10 descend from
the beautiful heights of ASTRONOMY
AID The fields OF history aal b.lany
and the chambers Of music down to
the dr"dgery of house keeping and
sewing and darniog and patching Old
clothes. But suppose she is good
dutifnl girl and is willing to do that
and more, the question is what does
1t amount to and can't she do better.
Can't she take hold of something
that will excite her ambition and in
terest her and make her some mon
ey. Girls are just human and they
want to do something. Girls who
do not marry and whose fathers are
poor will need some money after
while when the roses begin to fade,
the roses on their cheeks. Some are
independent enough to 90 to milne
~ and dress making. but this gives
employment to but a few. Some
paint flowers and 10 fancy work and
sell what they make, but not many
have the gift Of genius in that line
and so the question still comes up
what can the clever country girls do
to make living for themselves and
feel Independent.
Not long ago l was over in eastern
North Carolina aud | found the
question answered i'll some places, l
found some nice well educated girls
cultivatlng small fruits and vegeta-
bles for market. They didn't pIow
the ground but they planted and
hoed and weeded and gathered the
crop. | saw an acre of strawberries
that two sisters had planted aud
they made frolic of it, that is they
went at it with q will and took a
very lively, happy interest in it and
they gathered 400 quarts and said
they would get Il thousand more and
they packed them in the little bask-
els and the baskets into crates AID
sent them north and their sales had
averaged 80 cents a quart. Their
total expense for lire aud help aud
cost uf baskets and fret .ht 10 market
VAS 500 AID this lett Il Thousand
for their work and watching an coli
slant care. Well tLose girls are
proud AID independent. Thair father
had FIVE acres and he WAS making
money! good daal OF money. l
never saw uicey business nor one
SO simple aud sure, Land was poor
and sandy. The rows three feet
apart, when the plants get well set a
pillow opens furrow close by on
each side and this furrow is nearly
filled with cotton seed and then the
earth is thrown back on the cotton
seed, after that the vines are mulch
ed with pine straw and that is all. |
never saw vines as small or berries
as Numerous, counted 240 on one
plant. They laid on one another.
This vine had been picked three
times and there were 240 left. They
frequently picked quart from three
plants and left many not ripe. They
pick till s O'Clock in the morning and
the girls averaged Is quarts by that
time. They begin again at 4 in the
afternoon and get Is quarts more.
When they hire pickers they pay q
cents u quart to girls and 2 cents to
boys for the girls are more careful
and do not mash the berries nor
spill them and do not eat every big
nice one they come across.
But this is not all. These girls
have got crop Of raspberries just
behind and they will make two or
three hundred dollars off of them
and they are growing currents and
gooseberries and talk about going
into potatoes and beans and grapes
and all that, well why not? Fruit
growing is nice business for girls,
aud so is raising vegetables. Those
girls have the advantage of ours for
the market is nearer, hut l have
never seen the time that nice straw,
berries couldn't be sold at home for
20 cents and that will make lots of
money. And then again the exsr-
else is so good tor their health and
the occupation is so clearly and deli
Gaze and suits their nimble and deli
cate fingers SO well. Woman wa.