Bismarck weekly tribune., 1888-12-28
AZ is7sti '4
HOPPERS HOLIDAY.
DESCRIPTION or THE ANNUAL OUT.
ING OF oNDoN's POOR.
Taking the Midnight Train mona the Me-
tropolis-Th Hop Pickers and Their
Employers Beauties Of an Enslish
LAnascape-At Work.

are every year appropriated Tor her missions
and relief societies, Englands poor impress
me as the poorest, the most degraded, and
pitiable wretches have seen in all Europe.
One realizes the cause and effect Of Social
list rising in London better when he has
witnessed the want and penury which drives
these men to any alternative whose result
may be other than that which is already
theirs. However. it is not my purpose to prate
Of social reform or the thousand and one arpu-
ments pro and con. Any reform seemed quite
impossible tome the other night as watched
Z crowd Of London poor pushing one another
around the corner leading toward the Lon
don bridge railway station. paused in
amazement. .Who are theyi What are
theya Where are they goingr'1 asked ono
standing near. "Hoppers, was hisreply. and
this was all that he vouchesafed to answer me.
. listened to one Of them, gaunt, un-
washed, unshaven fellow, holding child In
bis arms, while another clung around his
knee to avoid being swept away with the
passing crowd
Me and the little uns can pick up from
thirty to forty bushels day, and this littlest
un hops like any growed up folk"
BOUND FOR THE GARDENS.
Then knew they were a party Of hop
pickers bound for the gardens which have
made the south Of England SO famous for her
hops. They were making their way by
thousands to take the midnight train from
London. Kept back by line of police, who
made vigorous use of stout arm and club as
the crowd pressed forward, each anxious to
precede his neighbor lest the little round
window of the booking Office should be closed
before he got chance to secure the shilling
excursion" in lieu of the "four shilling regu-
lar" fare to county Kent
This is one of the sights of London at this
season-'the annual outing of the slums"-
10000 Of London's miserable poor off for
their yearly harvest, their luggage consist
ing of tin kettle, a saucepan, cup and
saucer. and ragged cover, which they dig
nifty by the name of blanket, while any
added luxury in the way of knife or fork
may be begged, borrowed or stolen at their
earliest convenience. There were whole
families huddled together, some asleep on
the sidewalks, Others arranging the family
properties, while the head Of the house
pushed his way with the others to the ticket
Office to buy, most likely, two tickets for
himself and wife, while a family of twelve
will be smuggled in as "under age," and to
the credit Of the railway officials let it be
said that the ages of these children are never
questioned provided ticket for some men,
Der of the family be found among them. At
midnight sharp the train starts, leaving such
as have not arrived in time, or such as can
not afford to pay the small fare, to tramp it,
and l am told that Of the 10000 who 20
down $4,000 go by train, l4,Oo0 s.tramp it,n
and about 1000 find their way down b,
N0nuovanoo of ono bind ~. o,,o+l,on
Although few start on what is known as
ga spec hop" the majority of these pickers
know exactly to what garden they are going.
as each year they try to return to the master
they were under the previous season. At the
beginning of each season the shoppers' write
around to the various farmers, one man
often being the secretary for hundred or
more who can only sign their epistles with
the time honored cross, and, although they
are of such rowing disposition, they never
fail to let their address be known when hop
ping season approaches. They are replied
to on postal card. telling them the date to
appear, and it is worthy of note that many
have been in the same garden from ten to
twenty years, often living the entire eleven
months upon the savings from this one
profitable month Of September. One old
woman has gathered the blossoms for over
forty-seven years, and tells me that q good
season will produce over 65, 1000, QUO pounds
Of blossoms from the fields of Kent
SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS
It is pretty sight, the soft changing fields
of autumn growing indistinct where that
haze peculiar to English landscape makes
changing lights and shadows over the green.
There begin the hop gardens, the long lines
of vines dotted with the figures of the work.
ers, while all around may be seen the white
tents cleaning in the sunlight. These are
the sleeping accommodations of the hoppers,
far preferable to the stuffy brick houses,
which are still to be seen, bat which have
been more or less deserted owing to their
overcrowded condition, for these people seem
to avoid all that savors Of their London life,
and prefer the open air, with straw for beds
and pine boughs for pillows, to sleeping
twelve in room scarcely large enough for six.
Each man on entering receives his number
stamped on piece of tin, which is usually
hung about his neck, as it becomes a precious
boon as time wears on, for by it the owner
can obtain food, faggots and doctors aid
when necessary.
Work begins at the blowing Of the a. m.
horn and ceases at p. M, and as systematic
q sequence of work is followed as in any fac
tory. The men cut the hop vines close to the
ground, pull up the long poles to which they
are tied and lay them across the .horse,n q
kind Of binn, at suitable height for the
women and children to pull of the hops.
Underneath hangs sack into which the
blossoms are dropped, which is emptied at
intervals by the italy man, who measures
the amount picked, notes it in his book to the
credit Of the hopper or throws it back upon
his hands to be repicked, that is, sifted from
the leaves. "a tally mans life is not a happy
one" Berated on all sides, he must be stout
both Of body and nerve to carry out his
orders, and lucky is the ''tally' who can bear
the brunt Of it. A good picker can earn
from IS. to 4s. a day. His allowance is Cd.
until the end Of the week, when the remain.
der is booked to his credit. The wise man
will avoid the pewter beer pot and village
bar, and return to London with q good e5 or
210; but, alas! they are few indeed.
We inquired the use Of the odd stove pipes
which are SO noticeable among the gardens,
and were told they were 'oast houses. The
curious extinguisher like ventilators are
kind Of kiln used for drying the hops Large