The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-06-05
BILL ARP.
What are the roor Girls of tho Countr,
to do.
Atlanta C6nstitution.

that question. don't mean rich fathers
who have no anxiety about their daugh.
ters, but allude to folks in the middle
walks of life whose daughters have had
an education and the father has nothing
else to give them. What is a poor girl
to do when she quits school or comes
home from college. II is right hard for
her to descend from the beautiful heights
of astronomy and the fields of history
and botany and the chambers of music
down to the drudgery of housekeeping
and sewing and darning and patching
| old clothes. Bus suppose che is good
dutiful girl and is willing to do that and
more, the question is what does it amount
to aud can't she do better? Can't she
take hold of something that will excite
her ambition and interest her and make
her some money! Girls are just tIman
and they want to do something. Girls
who do not marry and whose fathers are
poor will need some money after awhile
when the roses begin to fade, the roses
on their checks. Some are independent
enough to go to millinery and dressmak.
ing but this gives employment to but @
few. Some paint flowers and do fancy
work and sell what they make, but not
many have the gift of genius in that line
aud 30 the question still comes up what
can the clover country girls do to make o
living for themselves and feel iudepen-
dent7
Nc! loeg sgo I was over ia Eastern
North Carolina and found the question
answered in some places. 1 found some
! Lice we'll educated girls cnltiya!ing small
fruits and vegetables for market. They
didn't plow the ground but they planted
and hoed and weeded and gathered the
crop. / aaw an acre Of strawberries that
two sisters had planted and they made a
frolic of it, that is, they went at it with q
will and took lively happy interest in
it, and they gathered 1000 quarts aud
said they would get thousand more,
and they packed them in the little baskets
and the baskets into crates aud sent them
North and their sales had averaged 80
cents quart. Their total expenses for
hire of help and cost of baskets and
freight to market was 5000 and this LETT
thousand for their work and watching
and constant care. Well those girls arc
proud and independent. Their father
had five acres and he was making money
"a good desi of money. l never saw O
nicer business nor one SO simple aud sure
The land was poor and sandy The
rows three feet apart, when the plants
get we'll set plow opens furrrow 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 mulched with pine
straw and that is all. never saw vines
az small or berries as numerous. count
ed 24O on one plaut. They laid on one
another. This vine had been picked
three times and there were 240 left. They
frequently picked quart from plants
and LETT many not ripe. They pick till
8 O'Clock in the morning and the girls
averaged Is quarts by that time. They
begin at in the afternoon and get Is
quarts more. When they hire pickers
they pay "a cents quart to girls and 2
cents to boys for the girls are more care.
full and do not mash the berries nor spill
them and do not eat every big nice one
they come across. i ..t
But this is not all. These girls have got
q crop of raspberries just behind and they
vii! make two Or three hundred iel!ars
OF OF them, and they are growing cur.
rants and gooseberries and talk about go.
ing into potatoes and beans and grapes
aud all that. Well, why not. Fruit
growing is nice business for girls and
80 is raising vegetables. Those girls
have the advantage of ours for the mar.
ket is nearer, butI have never seen the
time that nice strawberries couldn't be
sold at home for 20 cents, and that will
make lots of money. And then again the
exercise is 80 good for their health, and
the occupation is 80 cleanly and delicate
| and quits their nimble and delicate fingers
80 we'll. Woman was the first gardener
We read about, that is to say, che was the
first to pick the fruit and l have always
thought she ought TO have been forgiven,
for her first thought when she found the
fruit good was to give her husband some.
But he like an old rascal went aud laid
all the blame on her and tried to get out
Of .hs s:rspe. Now there is chance for
our girls 10 make some money. Let
them s.y a small patch, say one. fourth of
an acre. Plant out In August and have
2 good crop of fruit next spring. 1t can
be done. l heard Nashville man say
business around Nashville as growing
berries for Northern markets but now
there was 150 bushels shipped day from
one town, the town of Franklin, and they
netted 20 ceuts o quart, or ak dollars q
| bushel, and she giEi5 did most Of the work.
wish the dear creatures were all rich
enough to live without work and only
had, to work when they felt like it, and
never see ladies of culture and refine
ment doing drudgery but what II shocks
my humanity and want society estab.
lished for the prevention of cruelty to
angels. But work is the common lot for
man and for woman too, and ! reckon
they are happier for it.
was ruminating over these things to.
day when met Sanford Bell on the train
Sanford, the old reliable conductor whom
everybody knows and everybody loves
and we got TO talking about the timea
and the crops, and when I mentioned
John III. James and his bust up, Sanford
said yes, that is mighty bad on James and
bad on the poor fellows who had their
money in his bank. He had thousand
dollars there he said, thousand dollars
the savings of ten years, and now he had
to take a new start, aud his plans and
his hopes were broken up, for he wa,
going TO take 5000 of that money and
send Clifford to Moore's business college
and the $500 was for his daughter who
had been 80 good and 80 kind to him and
her mother and worked 80 willingly anG
faithfully at home, and he had picked
out nice little place TO buy for her ant
let her enjoy the rents, but the money
was gone and the prospect was bad, very
bad. i:
! After telling me of the dark eide h,
Frightened up and said, "Well, I won
give up too soon for Mr.. James failed Il
1873 and he owed me 500 dollars thel
aud he paid itin full with interest ant
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