The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1896-12-12
WAYS OF MAKING a LIVING
Men and Women Resort to Singular
Devices for Money Getting.

Occupations open to the thrifty 5nd!-
yidualS of both sexes have greatly in
creased during the past two decades,
or even since the taking of the last de
cennial census in 1890
The extraordinary progress Of sci
ence during the time specified and The
application of its principles to the prac-
teal problems of human life have not
only had the effect of greatly increas
ing the capacity for production in the
trades already firmly established, but
have opened hundreds Of queer side
alleys which lead direct to the avenues
of trade
There are, of course, dozens of these
new and remarkable occupations with
which science does not deal even in the
remotest sense. In this class we find
the rat catcher. the skunk farmer, the
man who makes his living by picking
up lost things in depOtS, theatCrS, 40
tells, etc. and returning them to their
owners with the expectation of being
rewarded, the clock winder. the man
who collects orange and lemon peelS
and the Lake Michigan syndicate which
is now engaged in raising black eats
for their fur They are not raising
these cats on water. as might be infer
red from the title, but have leased al
island in the great lake, which is now
plentifully stocked with both sexes Of
screeching felines.
There are still others in the non
scientific category of queer Cccupa-
tons, but it will only be necessary to
mention a few. One is ''rattlesnake
farmer" who lives in the Ozark noun
tains, and makes the products of his
farm" bring money from three differ
ent directions The oil he disposes Of
to druggists, who have regular custom
erS that believe it to be a panaCea for a
hundred ills: the skins he sells to
wOuld-be cowboys. who use them as
hatbands, and the skeletons are always
ready sale. the purchasers being the
curators of the natural history depart
ments of the different colleges and so
ciety museums. The man who wakes
people up in the morning, the old cork
collectors and the dog catchers are
well-known characters IN every large
city.
The individuals who gain a livelihood
in pursuits that are strictly scientific
are equally as numerous as those who
follow the more humble callingS In
the list of occupations that are strictly
scientific is the manufacturer OF artifi-
cial eggs, artificial coffee and false dia-
monds. Also the industry of making
buttons. combs, penholderS and other
articles Of a similar nature from blood
collected at the slaughter houses. The
man who makes billiard balls, buttons
and rings from potatoes which have
been treated to a solution Of nitric and
sulphuric acids is also the proprietor
of an Industry" wherein the fuRda-
mental principles are strictly scientific
But the QueercSt Of all IS carried on
by two young PeunsylvanlanS who are
making a regular business of extract
ing the poison from honey bees. Ac-
cording to the accounts they have two
different ways of collecting their crop
of venom. In the first the bees are
caught and held with their abdomens
in small glass tubes until the poison
sacs have been emptied; in the second
they are placed in a bottle on wire
netting and enraged until the tiny drops
of venom fall into the alcohol which
fills the lower third Of the bottle. This
venom is said TO be a sovereign remedy
for cancer rheumatism. snake bites and
hundred others of the more terrible
Ills of humanity.-St. Louis Republic.