The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-07
DEMAND NORTHERN FOOD.
Korthern Markets Feeding Florida and
The West Indies.

xz.-berjs Experiences There-keep-
-, House in the Tropios-5o, 900
- from the New York Market.
..Tbis is the time of year when New
vi, bepins to feed Florida and the West
ladies'. ,, West Indian commission mer-
' Dbant said to reporter yesterday. TIT
Us an appreciabie difference in our
,-l-ets. feeding $1,000 persons or more
a. FLORIDA through the winter, and nearly
e many in the West Indies.
-rbis is a moderate estimate he con-
.;rvad "of the number of people in those
.rro nIaces who are fed directly from this
market all winter. There are not only
,isitors from the north, but the natives
a. well. If you go to either Florida or
tha West Indies in summer, you find the
residents eating native food as far as they
can hut in winter, when the tourist
hotels are full and business is lively,
there is more money in circulation and
s7-ervbody eats New York food who can
get IT, am shipping quantities of pota-
Toes and other staple vegetables to the
West Indies by every steamer now"
DIS it not an anomaly he was asked,
$40 he shipping vegetables from frozen
countries to islands where they would
grow at any time of year9"
at is an anomaly" he replied, "but it
&c also a very substantial and profitable
fact There are no white potatoes raised
in the West Indies, and none to speak of
IN Florida. Grow there2 Of course they
would grow there; particularly in the
West Indies, where the soil is richer than
IN Florida. But it is not the custom of
the country to raise them and when
that's said alls said. When it is not the
custom TO do thing there is no use talk
ing about it, l saw an American plant
about an acre in white potatoes in Nassau
several years ago, and raise two beautiful
crops in one winter. You will appreciate
the scarcity of fresh vegetables in the
south when l tell you that a hotel man
from Florida went over to Nassau ex-
pressly to buy vegetables, and that he
bought this mans entire crop at Sl3 a
barrel. But the American moved away,
and the West Indians are still buying
northern potatoes by the checks worth.
Checks worthF
eyes, check, cents, the great West In
dian market coin. There is no such coin,
but they make the amount with "a big
copper and a little one penny ha'penny
English, or three American cents
Nearly everything in the West India
markets, particularly in Nassau, is sold
bv the checks worth For instance, |
send barrel of potatoes, ten barrels, fifty
barrels, down to one of the Nassau inn
porting firms. They sell one of the bar
rels to a marketman, and he lays them
out on his stan all divided into little
heaps, three or four potatoes in heap,
according to size. That's the only way
you can buy them a check heap, If the
customer wants half bushel, the mar
ketman counts the number of heaps 1t
takes to fill the measure, and still charges
check heap. 1t is so with all vegeta-
blesn
Such a system must make housekeep-
ing in the West Indies rather an intricate
matter, it was suggested,
"lntricate?" he replied; 'to a north
erner it is productive of insanity. kept
house for three winters in Nassau, and it
has shortened my life. Everything is
done on such different plan from our
own ways that it is very confusing. At
first you cannot help laughing at the nov
city, but you soon feel more like growl-
ing. 1t is the hot climate that makes the
difference. No food can be kept any
length Of time, so the custom is to send
to the market every morning and buy
supplies for the day. When night comes
not one mouthful; and there is no break
fast until the cook, who is never in a
hurry, has time to go 10 the market
You've no idea what a luxury it is to be
at home near New York and have a
months supply of everything in the
mouse; but that would be impossible in
the West Indies.
They have some queer native dishes,
and some queer ways. I'll give you, an
example OF each. One morning hap
pened to be with a friend in the town of
Koseau, the capital of the island of Domi-
nlca, IL was very hot, of course, and we
cropped into a canteen to get a cooling
urlnk. There was a lemon tree growing
iuSt outside the window, and some of the
oeaut1uI golden lemons were actually
hanging inside. We took the hint and
ordered two lemonades, and upon my
WORD we caught the landlord Eve minutes
Iater making our lemonade out of bottled
lemon juice imported from Paris. The
real lemons, fresh from the tree, were TOO
common to use. One day in Basse Terre.
inc capital of st. Kits, we saw a number
VI colored boys running about the street
Win Dig timber sheets hanging over their
alns' ana thought the afternoon papers
must De just out. Bless me! the sheets
were loaves of bread-cassava bread,
Iolieu sout thin into sheets and baked
vi uOU stones.
You would hardly think that on an
tSIdilu IKE Nassau, where there are
we've blacks TO every white, and all
44ooAilg Tor work, there would be any
trouble about getting servants. But good
9nes are very hard to get, and when you
~ nuu them you have to have at least six
IN M every one you would have at home
nng amoermaid will not sweep the
% porIor; and the parlor maid will not wait
G LA saOi te; They believe in division of
hlauor' Inc butler-for of course YOU must
nave uSse outler-does no work himself, but
9 tos around and looks pleasant. l found
rr nav lUr family of two six servants
r mele absolutely necessary. Fortunately
tees are low, and they are satisfied to
St SAT- pork, fish. rice and hominy.
season. u'n hii"n Au ole
o,,. me place rented was about a mile
Uou oI Town, and the house had no Chin
Icy, The kitchen, of course, was in a
Wiz o aY9 building and had a chimney. My
100 nV 5. auu soon found that we could be
b,t warm or too cold whenever we chose.
CO. Sv lever exactly right. That was on ac-
bo,. s oI the trade wind, which began to
~ ~" rom the northeast every morning
II V ~ ~ clock, and kept it up till dark.
ono mo sdt IN the wind or left the windows
e Eon ~ chilled our marrow and blew
Tho tulhg about the house. If we shut
web miuuoWs or sat in a sheltered place
sor, oeheu ana roasted. But not always
bair V'.iles Ihere came q cold spell. There
S~iHR no ChlmQeVs of co,,ree 81, go ,c,,11