Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1885-10-13
PICKLE-P ARADISE.
THE 3AcK-AcHlN3 WORK or PLUG +
ING cUcUM5=RS F.oM THE VINE.
An oil Farmer Thinks There Il Tot
Enough Money In "Cukes" AT
Work In the FIeld-The
P.cElin. Business
ICor. New York Sun. |

Cor New YORK sun.
Some Of the cucunher fisliS Of Westches-
ter county are many acres in extent, while
there seal ms to be carCely farmer who has
not devoted at least an acre or two 10 Gu.
cumber growing. Where the ground planted
Is not too low the alternating showsry AMI
sunshiny day. Of the past few weeks have
greatly benefited this crop The hillsides
and meadow Slopes are every where patched
brightly with tn will gresn OF the close
clinging, luXuriantly.running vines, and
day after day, weather permitting, the
stopping II .ura, Of men and boys are TO be
seen crop NJ labOriouSy along, early and
late, thrUu ID the falls 1t is hard, back
aching work, too, requiring keen eye 10
select the appropriate sizes at glance,
while brushing tle concealing leave apart
with ons hanl aud plucking the vegetables
with tue other.
NOT VERY PROFITABLE.
AMI the worst OF II i that It is poorly
paid labor. Expert need youngster, can
not make more than 80 cents a day at il
with the hardest kind OF application, while
the grower, them Give, who this year
obtain only 81 u thousand from the sailing
establishments, have to get a great crop t.
be certain of anything like satisfactory re-
turns from their outlay aud labor.
IL have over and over gam said b my
self" observed an old farmer "that |
would never waste any mOrs time and
patience over 'cukeS' The price has
dropped so low that ii would b. almo't a.
we'll TO let the land 10 fallow, or sesl it
down for winter fodder. But then haven't
much stock 70 ksep on the fodder, and mere
am still puttsring at the cukss, an sup
pose next year will find me still at it
He stood in a lonely roadway, surrounded
by old barrels into which he was counting
aud packing cucumbsrS Soms OF the bar
rels were already full, with the contents
roughly chalked on their sides-l, $50 on this
one, l,2I5 on that, l., 800 on the next, and SO
on His four sons two young men grown
aud two urcbins. together with a German
farm laborsr, wers creeping gin seriy AMI in
bent attitude, bat with nimble hands, each
with a bushel basket at his side, among the
y.ne-tanglsd little mounds of a four acre
field just tbs other side Of the rua lsils fence.
The uel al % contained rude shed cover
ing several shelves and platform heaped
with cu,umDer,, where a broad-hatted.
pleasan featured young girl was asserting
NhtIl WI Nainlbl lDlt BIZ . Ahi
4 gable # tie farm,r's barn, re ldish brown
NJ nue., peepel over a rise in this road, aud
down tie rua another OF the farmers sons
was coming along with a double team to
carry fresh ljal to the mils.away station
on the Harlem railroad Tue sun was
nearly at meridian in a clouileSs sky, and
intensely hot
GATHERING THEM IN.
"Do you never try picking the cucumbers
on your own account asked the reporter;
mo; it wouldn't pay, or half pay" said
the Turner; besides, the Pickling l. never
done here in the country but only the salt
ing; and th Sc big factories you must have
noticed here aud there about the villages are
simply sailing houses, where the cukes are
put away in brine. They are nearly all
owned by great picking firms in New York,
where tue picking is done at their leisure
Dr. convenience Cukes ara big crop this
year We picked 5000 yesterday, tO-iay's
picking will 10 about the same, and we
shall pick 10000 or l2,OOO tomorrow. Then,
the next day being Sunday, on the Monday
following We ought to get out at least 2J,-
900, IL 1t DOESN'T rain.
"Ani 50 Il goes to the end o. the season,
which is short one Some raise nothing
but gherkin, small specie used exclu-
sively for picking. but they are more
trouble TO gr w than the ordinary cukss,
and don't believe they are worth any more
as a crop. But, for the reasons | have given
you, there's mighty little money in cukss Of
any sort. OF course, | mean for the grow
ers But suppose the market must 10 also
slow with the p.cklsrs themselves. or they'd
be willing 70 give more for the cukes'
When freshly picked and hesped together
in large quantitle, the cucumbers emit a
very agreeable oior, though it is insignifi-
can't compared with that OF the early APP
pies, whose perfume is very strong and
delicious Notwithstanding the ravages of
the apple worm, the early apples are now
being cent to New York in enormous guam
titles; and A. they are mostly shipped with
the heads OF the barrels uncovered, one can
scent wngon-load Of them on the lonely
country roads several rods away, while the
great heaps OF the gathered fruit lie under
the orchard trees ready for baTeling make
the air redolent with rich fragrance that
is especially fascinating TO city-brsd nos
trils. The winter apple crop promises to be
much better than was anticipated at The
blosso ming. 1t was feared then that the
miller worm hal badly damaged it.