The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-18
IA WUkAN'S CANNERY
Miss Newman Makes Money for
Herself and Neighbors-
a Successful Method of Preserving
Fruits and Vegetables Nets Her
Handsome Income-She Thinks IL
Profitable business for Women.
Some of the DctniIs>of Her work.

II cleared $1,000 on my canned and dried
fruits last year." replied Miss Fannie New
man Of Wilkes county. Georgia, when asked
about her canning business. "The peach
crop in Georgia. as everybody knows. was
failure. so 1 canned tomatoes and corn
that made up the deficiency.
Now. in my humble opinion. that is one
of the great advantages of fruit drying and
canning as work for women You know
months in advance whether the fruit crop
will be good or bad and eau substitute some
marketable vegetable
when / realized that there would be no
peaches last year. I set about at once and
planted all the tomatoes and corn that
could attend to. also let my neighbors
know my plans so that I might be able
to buy those vegetables OF them instead OF
peaehes. Then notified the merchants
me and solicited orders for canned toma-
toes and corn. Everything went swim
mingly and I have, every reason to believe
shalt make as much as least this year as
l did last and perhaps little more.
thinking of 1t because the cotton crop was
bringing in so little money. 1t had sold
the year before for less than cents a
pound. Well. this year OF which / speak.
the fruit trees were laden with fruit and
| was impressed with what a waste IL
would be unless something could be done
to utilize it. l thought the matter over for
several days. then / went into our nearest
town. place OF about twenty-five thousand
inhabitants. and consulted fruit dealers
about buying cur fruit. ] could get very
few orders and when began to investigate
the results of shipping it north, was even
more discouraged. Finally one man, gro
GER to whom 1 was talking said: Now. IL
we only had a cannery all the fruit in the
county would have a good market Then
said: If 1 can my fruit will you buy it,
Yes he answered. promptly enough.
If you put Up as attractively and whole
sale as oheaply as the factories from
whom we now buy
so begun at once to investigate fruit
canning and after weeks investigation
| decided to make the attempt, and set to
work at once with my preparations. |
ordered my cans. had my labels printed.
bought my eyaporators and utensils. and
notified all the women in the enighborhood
that / would not only buy all the fruit
e.
dozen to assist me.
when the fruit ripened we had a busy
time. 1t is work that requires neatness
and knowledge of preserving. so l Sc
lected as my assistants six of about the
incest girls in the enighborhood and three
negro women to do the heavier part.
II couldn't tell you exactly without re-
ferring to my books. how much we ac-
complished during our first two weeks, but
/ remember that We put up more peaches
than / had received orders for, and that
sent one of the girls to three towns in
the adjoining counties to solicit more
ders.-She had samples and in few days
had received as many orders as / thought
it safe to undertake.
I'VE were kept pretty busy the entire
summer and when October came and all
my sooIs delivered and accounts settled.
I found that mad citssed 5000. Nos th,d-
amount made by a women living In rhc
country in Georgia is small sized fortune
and | began to realize that l had found
out something better than cotton planting
The six girls who had helped me were as
well satisfied as I was and the people who
had sold me fruit looked upon me rs almost
benefactor. You see they had never been
able to make more than few hundred dol
lars a year by selling their fruit in town.
and to have the whole crop taken of their
hands in year when everybody had more
than they knew what to do with was very
satisfactory.
The merchants were satisfied because
my fruit met with ready sale so had no
difficulty in receiving orders for another
year. Now I consider my business estab-
lished and every spring before the fruit
season | do a little drumming among the
merchants in my territory and easily re-
ceive all the orders / can fill.
81 think it good means Of making
money for women living in fruit country
such as the locality where live. Fruit iS
cheap and easily obtained. Shipping to ad-
joining towns is not expensive and the de-
mand is always good where you fill orders
from merchants. OF course, as they have
to do thu selling il you allow them to get
in their orders at their regular factories. r
then your goods will be crowded out.
have never allowed that and now that I
am in the field I intend to do all in my
power TO stay there.
My outlay the first year was $3.50. but
when you consider the amount cleared
over and above that and all other expenses.
am sure there are few business ventures
that would have given better returns in SO
short a while. At the outside. including
the drumming. etc. l am not occupied for
more than six months in the year. so con-
slider my work very remuneratiye.'