The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-03-31
PIONEER WOMEN
HORTICULTURISTS

croft and Mrs. f. Shields. Mrs. Shields
is one of the famous fruit culturists of
the state. IL was twenty years ago that
she began. with every obstacle, and
more. too, that would have discouraged
an ordinary man. One obstacle was
lack of capital: another was a large
family of dependent children. All she
had was courage, will and clear. fine
common sense. but these were better
than a million. Her speciality is tenn
perate zone fruits. likewise berries and
nuts. She operates $50 acres and on
them produces apricots. grapes. peach
es and pears among the choicest that
appear at the annual state agricultural
fair of California She also specially
prepares dried and preserved fruits.
The thousand acre orchard farm OF
Mrs. T.. p. buckingham at vacaville is
known ON both sides of the Atlantic. 1t
has required some twenty years OF con-
stant care and work TO develop it, but
now Mrs. Buckingham may take a
pleasure trip to Europe or Asia IL she
likes, and the returns of her vineyards
and olive orchards are sure. Mrs.
Buckingham has also a fine strain OF
dairy cattle, and her ranch is one OF
the show places of California.
There, too, is the field of Horticulture
and the hybridization, enlarging and
improving of the natural flowers OF
California In this women are supreme.
no florists of the other sex as yet equal
ing them. The great friled double Pc
tunia is the result of years of patient
small experimenting by Mrs. T. Could
of Ventura. Every blossom manipulate
ed in the process of creating this fiow-
er was pollenized by hand-the hand OF
Mrs Gould-and the operation had Of
ten 10 be repeated a dozen times. An
other noted southern California flower
hybridizer is Mrs. Theodosia Shepard.
one of whose tasks was to enlarge and
brighten in color the beautiful native
poppy of that region. So well has she
succeeded that from the common wild
yellow poppy, which the learned call
eschscholtzia. she has produced a blos-
som more than sixteen inches in cir
cumference and OF a hue so radiant
that only the orange line of the solar
spectrum can rival it.
Yet another California woman is a
pioneer in the lucrative stuffed prune
industry A box of stuffed prunes is a
confection delicious. but so expensive
in the east that ordinary people cannot
have il at all. Heretofore this fruit has
been chiefly imported from Germany
in small. fancy boxes. Mrs. Reed be-
gan experimenting with the prepara-
tion and packing of stuffed prunes and
brought IL to perfection. Clean and
pretty packing and boxing bave much
to do with the sale of a dainty food
product, and Mrs. Reed excels the for
eigner in this particular. Every box Is
sold in the eastern market as fast as
she can prepare il.
The rearing of silk cocoons is an in
dustry yet in its infancy but California
women have taken hold of it and will
make of il, too. lucrative occupation
| What women in the Golden State have
done in dairying and in fruit and flower
| culture women all over the Union can
| do by adapting their products to cli-
| mate and conditions. Here is a noble
field for money getting. and women
need not go away from home TO utilize
IL. ESTHER u. CULLEN.