Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-08-24
LILIES BY THE ACRE.
Remarkable Pond Near Norwalk,
Conn.

Pond lilies have arrived in market
| remar 'lably early this year, owing, the
wise heads say, to the long and severe
winter, and the peddlers in town are
Offering for sale great basketfuls of
the cool, fresh flowers to the public
and gathering in a harvest of dimes
and nickles, says the New York
Tribune. To be sure, the lilies close
promptly at noon, but if given plenty
of water they will open again and be
as sweet as ever, and last several days
longer.
Just at present Norwalk, Conn,
has unique fad, lilies and frog sad
dies, and Fourteen Acre pond yields a
splendid supply Of both. Parties on
bicycles and in wagons make an
early start for the pond, and return to
town laden with their spoils as the
workingman goes to his work 1t is
only a short distance from the town,
and is in among the hills, and from
the road looks more like a field of
daisies than pond Of water lilies, so
closely is it covered with the white
flowers and green pads. For 15 cents
half hour fiat-bottomed boat can
be hired from the host at the farm
house on the hill; but you must pay
the wife, for she is the treasurer of the
concern; and with long pole to push
the boat, you are at liberty to pick the
lilies to your hearts content, or until
the time is up. They are the ordi-
nary water lily, but very large and fra
grant, and often prettily tinged with
carmine.
The privilege of picking them for
the New York market is rented out to
some Greeks, two of whom work bare
footed and bare-armed in flat-bottOmed
boats from sunrise to noon. and come
in then with 1000 to 5000 lilies each,
to prepare and pack them in large bas-
kets, and take them to the station in
time to catch the IL o'clock express in
order to reach the early flower market.
They say over $4,000 lilies have been
picked since June /, and the plants
will bloom until frost comes, when
men in boats will NOV them down and
rake UP the debris, and the pond is
cleaned and made ready for the ice
crop. Last winter they gathered ice
from to II inches thick
There is something fascinating about
gathering water lilies and plunging the
bare arm into the cool water to secure
a beauty, and disturbing large green
bullfrog from his special pad, and to
see him disappear in the dark waters,
only to pop up again just out of reach
and shyly wink at you with his bright
eye. But hundreds are taken from
the pond by the frog hunters, who kill
them with small rifles from the boats,
and wait until poor frOggy floats to
the surface on his back, with his hands
folded on his cleaning white stomach,
sacrificed for some epicurean palate.
The polly-wogs, secure from harm,
sport everywhere in all stages, and
turtles from the size of silver half
dollar to four or five inches in dame
ter, poke their spotted heads between
the lily pads, and watch you as you
pick the flowers. Perhaps snakes
abound there, but the visitors do not
seek them, content with the lilies,
frogs and turtles.
The man who rents the pond and
the surrounding land has rather out
grown his days of usefulness, and
patiently guards the pond and watches
the small boys who try to gather lilies
from the shore. He pays $500 year
for the pond, and he says sometimes he
does not get it back, and perhaps he
does not; but probably his wife does,
for she says they are pestered to death
with visitors from all over the coun-
try He says he is going to buy the
pond and build a tavern, and sell
lilies and pop beer to the bicyclists;
but the enterprising Green shakes his
head and thoughtfully murmurs: mo,
you die; buy"