The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-08-14

A New York Mans Novel and
Profitable Industry
HotHouse Bait That IS Charmed
BY the Harmonica

Charles Boincke, a farmer, residing
two miles north Of Palmyra, n. Yen
joys the reputation Of being the only
worm raiser in the United States He
occupies an abandoned farm, on which
a former owner had built hot house.
This hot house was heated by aFlor.da
heater, which was removed to the
house and installed 10 heat the dwell
ing. In its place a massive "ohuuk'
stove had heen placed in position,
covered by a potash kettle, in which
potatoes were boiled for tho hogs
With this exception, tho hot house
was intact and an Improbable piece
Of property E3incke renovated the
plant, putting in a new box, which
completely covered the ground floor
Of the building with the exception Of a
space all around the outside, which was
left 10 get around and attend to the
worms. This box was built four feet
deep and filled With soil to within is
inches Of the top. During last spring
and summer Reincke and his boys
gathered the festive "night walker"
In large quantities, and whenever any
plowing was done the lads walked
behind with pals aud gathered up the
worms, which we're forthwith trans
ferred 10 the incubator Reincke es-
Inmates that he put three barrels Of
these walkers into this Incubator
during the summer. From December
to January /, 1896, Mr.. Reincke
sold 3S quarts of worms at 81 per
quart. Fishermen left orders at
Charles Blanks grocery in the village
for Reincke, and he brought in the
worms TO FIJI all demands. When the
cold snap came on in February and
the thermometer ran down to % de-
grees below zero the worms we're oil
right and kept on thriving and multi
/ plying. Reincke went down to Seneca
river and out to Sodus Point with
his worms, and caught the larg-
est pickerel to be found. At Sodus
Point the soil is all sandy, and
no worms can be found within
a radius Of three miles. Even in the
summer time common worms sold at
the Point for fifty cents per quart, and
this winter Reincke sold his superior
home grown, and dollhouse raised
might walkers" for 81 per quart on
run. 1t was curious to see the uvidi
ty with which pickerel would bite oil
these large worms, something old
fishermen were 10th to believe, being
OF the opinion, gained from long OBJ
servation, that pickerel dotted upon a
lively minnow, but Reincke's worms
took their fancy and Reincke
took fancy to them, and fish after
fish was hauled up through the ice
with "walkers" for bait. Fishermen
purchased his worms and hshed on
Canandaigua, Cayuga, Ksuka, Oneida,
Otsego and other lakes with good re-
suits. On Irondequoit bay, near
Rochester, pickerel refused to be
tempted with anything but Reineke's
choice bait; consequently the Lyons
worm raiser had all the orders he
wanted to fill
One day Reinckes son Karl was in
the incubator watching his father re-
move the fertilizer from the box, in
tending to replace it with fresh. This
work was called feeding the crawl
ers. Karl played on his harmonica,
making quite noise, and was sur
prised, as was his futher, to observe
the worms working up out Of the
ground, their heads sticking out about
two inches, while they swayed their
heads to and fro as if tickled to death
to hear the music When the boy
ceased playing the worms slipped back
into their warm beds, This story
was told in Lyons, and was doubted
until your representative, with DR.. NJ.
A. Veeder saw the story verified. The
lad with his mouth organ seemed to
have the same effect upon the night
walkers as do the wind instruments
handled by Hindoo snake charmeri
upon the serpents that roam undis'
+urbad in fine Orient. st Louis Globe