The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-11-23
"CHINA CUCUMBERS."
Like wise Some Other Veueta-
bleS OF Oriental Cultivation.
What a Reporter Saw in a Tour Of New
York's Chinatown.

York Chinatown.
One of the attractions which draw a
crowd of Cinnamon to Mott street on
sundays at this season is tho opportunity
to buy several kinds of alleged vegetables
which can be purchased at no other
market in this part of the word and
which are sold there from street stands
and wagons.
Atall, gravc-looking Chinamap, whose
plgtall H'as of a finer fibre than that of
the average laundryman, and who was
presumed to possess superior Intelligence,
said that one of the baskets contained
"China cucumbcrs." They were about
six inches long, an inch thick, of Il vivid
cholera morbus green, and deeply
wrlnklcd, somewhat after the manner of
a dried pepper pod. They looked about
as much like a cucumber us a Chinaman
looks like II Yankee. They were selling
at the rather steep price for cucumbcrs
OF forty cents n pound. The vendors
were weighing them out on contrivances
made somewhat after the manner of
stcelyards, with Il tin scale pan at one
end of the rod, and n weight that hung
by a string loop. The rod was of wood, and
instead of notched divisions there were
clusters Of pin heads. If tho inspectors
and Scalers of Weights and Measures
would turn their attention to these scales
their places no longer would be sine
cures. The Chinaman with the intclli-
gent-looking pig-tail said that these hea-
then cucumbers were not sliced up raw
and eaten with salt, pepper, and vinegar,
and followed by anti-cholera mixture,
but were cooked before being eaten.
He did not know where they were
grown.
In another basket were some larger
vegetables, also of a %forbidding green.
They were of the size and shape of q
little brown jug without the handle.
These, the intelligent Chinaman said,
were Chinese squashcs. Still anothe,
basket held vegetables which can be
likened to nothing else hat exists. They
were suspicious-!ooking pods about a
loot long, tapering to n point, a little
less than Two inches through at the butt,
and futed from butt to point. They also
were intensely green. In his cndcavors
TO find out what these things were called
and what they were good for, the re-
porter awakened so much suspicion re.
garding himself that u riot seemed i'm.
minent, and he took a walk
down P rk street to give the heated
populace an opportunity to cool off.
When he came back on the other side Of
Mott street a Caucasian youngstcr was
helping a Chinaman to sell vegetables
such as have been inadequately de-
scribcd, and others, out of a covered
wagon.
"What are these, and these, and
these9" asked the reporter, pointing to
the contents of various baskets.
"Dunno, dunno, dunno" were the
youngsters replies. to tho questions, re.
spectiyely.
One of the baskets contained vcge-
tables-or fruit-which looked like nina
ture, crook-nccked squashes. In their
color there was a yellowish and pleasing
departure from tho prevailing green.
"Whcre arc those things raiscd2" the
boy was asked.
'Long Island" said he, and he seemed
to be sorry that he knew that much.
The Cinnamon were buying briskly, at
prices which, from an unlearned CON-
parison of price with the quantity OBJ
tanned, seemed in violation of every prin-
ciple of domestic economy.-New York
Sun.