Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-09-12
IN THE PEACn SEASON.
MEN. WOMEN AND CH'LrEEN AT woRK-rHE WAGES
PAlD-rHE PROCESS or cANNIxa-IIGHr-
HEARTED PEELEES-CooNrNG ruE FRUIT IN
cANs--A GOOD rAcKIxa SEASON.
Correspondents Of The Esea.n. star.


Correspondence Of The Eyeu.n. star.
BLriMoEr, september TO- 1891.
Inc peach wharyes are seeing lively times
this season with the imm-nse tide of fruit that
Ho"s steadily mp the river from the lower
: counties. Everything in the WY Of a steamer
. mas Seen pressed into the freight service from
the rusty-!ooking. barnaclcd-bot.om ''tramus'
/ To TRIM excursion boats. which find they can
carry more IN peaches than in passengers. So
lar me largest receipts for one day reached
about 100000 crates the best OF which could be
oodSht Tor 80 cents. The poorer quality sold
ior 10 cents a crate. the mere cost OF freight
iea'iHS tho farmer TO settle with the commits
! sion man out of his own pocket So the
poor farmer. III sii'c Of the alliance sal Las
/ to pocket the short eud vi the account
But the packing houses are reaplnE . harvest
/ There are about forty OF them In town giving
! more or less steady work to hNarms of ucl,roes
anu to poor whites OF ali nationalities though
mostly German. Nearly all tins mass il un-
skilled labor "A few intelligent ioremen Leave
nin6 the who.e lump.
TEE DAYS WORK
commences about sunrise and from that time
until evening nondescript train Of wagons
plies steadily between wharf and hacking house
Win crates of fruit. which are delivered ON
their arrival at the door to a group OF negroes
who pick out the bad specimens AND send the
fest down the long low room 20 the measuring
table. MS Is an inclined plane with raised
sides hike hagatelle board and in the lower
end a gate, through which rolls n continuous
stream OF fruit into the standard two-peck
basket below. The presiding genius of ,he
table Is an automatically moving negro. with
long check apron and girls straw hat stuck
aoseft-nilndediy on the back OF his head. He
is surrounded by constant crowd Of children,
who take the measured fruit III baskets to their
friends or relatives among the peclers. / am
sorry TO say The most of these children look
large eyed and oyerworked. but they are factors
OF economy, every three or four peelors having
a child who empties cuttings ana kceps them
supplied with fresh fruit With eaen
basket OF irult he Of the plaid apron sends a
tln cheeh apu tn Is Is cashable al the end OF the
uay 10y various amounts. according 10 the
grade OF fruit prepared. Table peaches nav 10
cents per twC-pocA basket. for thew have TO be
peeled ana cut. but pie peaches" which are
merely opened to remove the stone, lay but
cents.
THE WAGES.
At this rate an expert can earn as much as SO
DAY, but the average is much lower. A fam
lly-that Is, woman and several children-cau
turn IN about =l5 week provided they get
steady work, which they seldom do But not
WlthstanGing this uncertainty the wages are
higA enough TO tempt many who might have
steady employment and a home OUT to prefer
the paek ln; house. and this contributes largely
10 the dearth OF 'Eelp" all over Inc city.
TIE PEELERs,
who form the bulk OF the hands work in LONG
sheds. whites in one and blacks in another. OF
The latter there all sorts and shades from,
the original polished ebony stock to the light
est yaIler. which the true black { yes with Sc
cret envy, bnt assumed contempt They are
scattered lrregulCrly over the floor seated on
dry goods boxes or backess benches with mar
row paSsageways between them. through which
go me h'tle bare-iooted llckaninuics. rcmov-
ing waste and finished peaches. The lacaiest
are the wall flowers. who have something 40
lean back on. while the others sit with elbows
on their knees. laughing and taking bus
steadily dropping the cut peaches into the bas-
ket between their feet.
The whites are a marked contrast AMI b,va
more Old and shIttless-lockiuC men among
ther They gather ciannishly INTO groups aud
work silently, having none OF the good-n..tureJ
hght- heartedness of the negroes. Mothers have
with them babies OF all ages
CANNING THE PEACHES.
The peaches, cut and pared clean. are taken
from the sheds to the tables in tho main
building. These are long. waist-high structures
with RAISED edges. each with = row of women
standing round it. A small boy kceps ;bem
supplIod with empty cans from a huge pile on
the Aoor and the women iii them with that
lightning speed characteristic of piece work
The workers themselves are sights. Nearly all
juice and Precipitation TO the elbows. One
woman at each table weighs the full cans and
brings them To standard. From the uncertain
look Of the balances and the speed of the
Weighing one would Judge this TO be a mere
matter OF form.
COOKING TIE PEACHES.
The full cans are carried by the tray load to
a brick fioored. whitewashcd room. where the
cooking is done at lightning speed that keeps
pace with the rest of the work. Large water
watts are kept constantly boiling b. steam from
submerged pipes. Jolly shining negroes rash
about through the clouds of steam, loading
tray after tray OF cans, still omen. upon the
elevators over the boilers. When 40 cans are
III place they are lowered beneath the surface
the steam turned on airesh and In two mn, u,,s
and "A half they are hoisted out cooked Now
comes the quickest part of the work. The still
steaming cans are carried. dozen and half AZ
a time, TO the seidere,s. who cap them before
they get half Al Chance TO cool. These men are
regular sleight-o.-nand artists.
SOLDERING. Erc.
Their soldering iron is Ike a pair of co,,-
passes, which trace circle the size of the ton
to be scldered on. The workman picks M,
eighteen can tops and strews them with a ouick
patter over the eighteen cans and with another
dextrous wave drops on each a little triangle of
soft solder. A single twist OF the hot iron runs
tie solder into place and tine tray of cans ia
shot gaily up the elevator to the second floor
where girls put on the labels and men boz them
for shipment Some OF these girls are said TO
handle 6,OO0 cans per day. This finishes the
operation and the packing boxes are dropped
down another elevator shaft to the storage door
ready for tie farmer to buy back next winter
at starvation prices.
COED PACKING SEASON.
The packing season this year has been a re-
markabiy good one for ali classes of goods.
The season opens with the breaking up OF the
ice in spring and oysters are canned until warm
weather. when their place is taken by peas.
Then comes short season of pineapples from
the West Indies, and they are followed by all
the small frufls and string beans. The peach
season, of course, closes out everything else
until tomatoes come in, and they give way later
on to oysters, which stop with the winter
freeze, and then the house takes a recess until
the next season. The tomato crop promised
splendidly this year. but few untmely show
ers have ruined whole fields OF nearly ripe
vegetables and there will be but little to do In
that line now.
Some houses which preserve instead OF can
ming their peaches are taking advantage of
the unusual crop to barrel immense Quantities
Of half-cooked fruit, which will be put aside
for the next scsnt year. Peaches treated IN
this way will keep for several years and then
work up into preserves, jam and marmalsde.
and u ives this practice that tided MANY mach