Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-10-07
AUGUSTUS MARKETS.
The Green Stuff Season is Now
Practically Over.
Butter is Flying High Oranges and Lemons
Have Appeared.

The day Of the festive watermelon
for the season of 1899 is over and n,
longer Will the vendors sell muskmel
ons, peaches and other fruits Of tn,
sort from the carts on the street. The
green stuff season is now PRACTICAL,
over and we are to begin to live or
the fruits of the tolls of the summer
and fall. The vegetable season is here
in all its glory and soon the golden
pumpkin, the mealy potato and the
dozen and other "fixins" will be mixed
together to make up the Thanksgiving
dinner that is but six weeks away.
In the meanwhile the other articles
of food are fiuctuating from one point
to another until the housewife who at
tempts to regulate the size of her
weekly household account is found
guessing how many pounds Of butter
she can afford. how many eggs and
how much meat. and yet be able to
keep within the weekly amount set
down for such prices.
| That butter is causing some trouble.
Old Blossom. Bess. Brindle or Lophorn,
whatever the cows name NAV be. has
| refused to work for the same price she
has been working for all summer and
| in consequence there is trouble in the
grocery stores. 1t was all right as long
| as there was good food in the pastures
with running water easy of access. but
when il came to turning her out to short
feed ard to dry brooks where only an
occasional drink could be found and to
giving her corn stalks or dry hay to
make out the rest of her food, she re-
fused TO agree to the change and be-
| gan TO hold back the supply OF milk
hoping to have all things changed back
upon summer schedule and to get the
farmer to make that old hay taste like
June grass.
While this discussion is going on be-
tween the farmer and his animals the
price of butter has been advancing I'M
til now the dairy butter, first-class,
costs as much as creamery has been. %
| cents a pound and at the same time the
creamery owners with their usual
foresight and ability to keep their grade
of good butter better than the dairy
have advanced theirs so that it sells
for IS cents.
That dairy trust that is in sight, be-
ing as many believe but a few years
distant. may regulate the butter bust
ness so that the good housewife may
have a chance to tell from week to
week just how much this part of her
supplies will cost For with no COM
petition between the creameries and
with standard price there will not be
the fiuctuation. in case the cows work
we'll.
The egg market is suffering the same
uncertainty that affects the butter mar
ket. The hens are also striking be-
cause the food they We're able 10 for
age for is not as it was two months
ago. Eggs are growing scarcer and
from now until after Christmas there
is likely to be a scarcity. They are now
selling for - cents dozen.
For fruits to tempt the appetite.
there is the orange that has just ar
rived at So and 40 cents a dozen. They
are not all of them able to keep from
looking a little green. they have been
before the world for so short a time. AS
soon as this first rustic appearance
wears off they will be good to eat. but
until then. go light on them. Lemons
also have that same green expression
on their tough skins. They are sour
looking too and it takes s. good cents
to buy dozen to make the lemonade
Pears are about gone, so far as the
local varieties are concerned but the
Sheldons are arriving in good numbers.
They are all prices from II cents a
dozen upwards. Apples are few in the
| real good varieties. One grocer. Sat
| urday, had some sweet ones of the
most beautiful yellow skins and after
marking them Sweet Apples" it may
be assumed with certainty that they
did not last long. A certain amount of
cooking apples can be found.
Grapes? Well, yes there are a few.
There is everything from the choice
and aristocratic Tokay down to the
plebian wild grape. sour enough to set
the jaws of a stone crusher. There are
white grapes, purple grapes and other
grapes, and grapes of all sizes. tastes
and descriptions. The prices are low
this year. You can buy the Delaware
and the Concord from 10 to 20 cents
basket and in some places the Tokay
can be purchased for Is cents a pound.
Cape Cod cranberries are advancing
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