The Saint Paul globe., 1896-09-27
GEORGE LAMPHERE.

street and rubbers around till 7 finds
me few choice bargains in the fresh
stuff, see?
And say, fruits so cheap now yoI can
go down there broke and come hack
with the long green bagging yer irons
ers pockets at de knees pretty near
You can cop out the prettiest basket
OF grapes IN the store for twelve and a
hal1 cents, and Ii ye haven't got de ex-
act change. dey'n let We have 1t for
thirteen and We can pay the balance the
next day. For a quarter you can get
both arms full and it don't need to be
no spotted peaches with frog ponds on
one side neither.
When gets wot I wants, usually
takes me about thirty cents to get all
| can lug, l tramps off to a neighbor-
hood / knows where the old folks amt
got nothin' but trouble and the kids is
| poorer than that. Wy, 1 don't no
| more'n get into the block before every
kid In de neighborhood is on to the
fact dat de old mans comm and by de
time I've spilled a few punches of
grapes and banana or two around
there, you can see more happiness
beaming out Of them kids faces than
ever got through as much dirt in the
same time before. Ye stakes one of
desc kids to a peach, real peach,
that he kin rub against his mug and
!. feel 1t kind O furry like, and say, why
he forgets all about wantin' to be a
| street car conductor, which Is about de
way desc youngsters sizes up the good
| things of dis life. Now, as fer me,
| eatin peaches is alright, and / can
clamp my worries inter a freestone
about as fine as the next but when L
want to get all the good there is in it
out of basket of them things, / just
lrgs 1t up to the babies on the block
Tne ph1lanthrOpic rounder was quite
right in his statements as to the ex-
| ptnse of his charities. Fruit has never
/ been more plentiful or cheaper than it
! is this season. So say the commission
| dealers on Third street The general
| outlook is not very encouraging for the
| producer, nor is 1t particularly so for
| the middle man, but the consumer can
| get fruit at almost his own price APP
I pies are plentiful and are enormous In
/ size and excellent in quality. The price
i of this product, too is low, apples
| wholesaling at present at $3.50 a
! barrel In New York state the fruit
crop this year has been larger than
! that of the whole country last In New
York the apple crop has been large, as
! it has In Ohio, Michigan and Indiana
! In Kentucky and Virginia, the crop
has been fair, and in Missouri and Kan
/ sas it has been below the average.
| Grapes are much cheaper than they
were last year and are of finer quality
and abundant. Lemons are bringing
| just half what they did last wear.
Oranges Will bring about the same
prices they did last year and they
are being shipped heavily Mexico will
cut quite a figure In the orange supply
this year. Peaches have been cheaper
and better. and plentiful The Michigan
crop which is getting out of the way
now. was very large. Pears are reason
able, but rather scarce The Bart
/ let's, which are about through. have
been very cheap and will be a little
/ higher as the supply decreases. The
late pears will bring about the same
prices as they did last year. The Michi-
gan and New York pears are bringing
$3.50 and $3.50 per IL peck barrel, and the
reports are that the stock Is fine.
Bananas are cheap as they always are
at this time of the year Cape Cod
cranberry crop Is an average one. and
the prices are not so high, while the
quality is good. The home crop was
/ spoiled by fires and the Jersey crop
will not be SO large as usual. For
California fruit. the dealers are getting
gccd prices. Plums are scarce and
figs, which are just beginning to arrive.
are plentiful The musk melon crop
was large one and the melons are bet
ter than those Of a year ago Ounces
are scarce. 1t will be seen that the
| fruit outlook generally, is bright one
Tor the consumer, as there are lots of
| fruit and prices are reasonable. Grapes
may go up, but not very much and the
low price of apples will have it's effect
on the prices of other fruits