The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-12-17

is free from the smoke Of soft coal.
from the sun. n It is only in the
Most of the heat for Warming ome
houses of the rich or OF foreigners that
stoves or CRATES are to be found; mere
are no chimneys, to speak Of. The
chrcoal haa little smoke. and the
fumes get "a as they can. The ordi-
nary broom OF the country is a brush
Of round shape. and the streets are
swept with twigs tied to a stick.
AS to the sleeping arrangements, tho
beds here are stuffed with cotton. ann
the most Of them are exceedingly hard
The pillows are like so many stones.
and the beds have few springs IN
travelling in the interior Il is lucky il
he gets more than a board n a
blanket.
wish I could show you how the
the washing is done. There is g con-
tel here is on tho ground floor, looking
out On a court. The room is much like
a cave. II is a hole in the wall. lighted
bv a window, which is very high up,
and by the door, which looks out on
the court. It is in the court that all
the washing is done. There Is q con-
crete vat there filled with running wa
ter. and about it the stand
and knefl and pound the clothes or
slap them on the stones, SO that iferc
Is a continual splashinp from break
fast until dinner. The vat is five feet
square, and the water in it Is as cold
! az ice. The slappins breaks the but
| tons and Frequently tears the clothing
to pieces.
This : kind of washing goes on
throughout Central America. IN Pan
! anna, the most OF the laundry york IS
done in the streams. the clothing be
ing rubbed on the stones by nall
! naked women. Here in Guatemala
and also in Costa RIGA there are some
public ~laundries consisting OF concrete
%,,b, fa3 h, ctraD ne frny, no nIln
tainS.
saw such a laundry in San Jose. It
was u galvanized shed covering halt
an acre. The floor OF this was OF
| brick and concrete, and III the center
a concrete tub, SO wide hat you could
drive q buggy through it and about
300 feet long, had been built. This
tub or vat was higher than my shout
0ers and was filled with cold water.
Outside the tub were steps built at
intervals along its hole length on
both sides, and upon these steps at
least sixty women stood bonding over
and securing their wash on the one
Some were pounding q little with fat
sticks. and Others were lifting the
pieces with a swing high IN the air and
slappiIg them down on the wall OF
the tub. Most Of them were decollete.
and as their bare arms were raised
high in the air Il tho linen came
down with a noise like 4 pistol, it
formed q curious Gene.
/ do not know where the lrOclng IS
done, but the clothes are dried on the
grass or on bushes. My shirts are not
StaTched, and the turnover O1lar in
stead Of being folded are laid fat and
tied together n Oh top Of the other.
They appear to have been irOned, but
the fold is almost lost by his treat
ment. AS TO the cuffs, they are sewed
together with one Or two stitches to
~ ~ 4Ho-o IN D3~co oo1 y NO Il Y- r,ccS
to hold the folds Of the shirt where
our ia~undryTnen use pins. The prices
Of hotel washing are about The same
as SIT home.
In the Business Section.
But let US cave the market and AXE
a walk through the streets. We are
now in the business section. The shops
are nothing like our stores at home.
Most Of them have no glass windows
and som have no windows at all
The doors pen right on the
; streets and the only light comes from,
them. The counters are at the backs
Of the stores instead Of in the middle,
| and they usually run across the room
:. facing the front. The goods are poorly
, displayed and the prices. as g rule, are
not fixed. Much Of the buying is done
by bargaining and a less price is taken
than is marked on the goods. And nc
: wonder! For. look at the marks. Tha,
. cotton is 81 a yard. and that bolt Of
3 silk is marked at SIS per yard. It is
l not so bad when you remember tina
So Guatemalan is only II cents and
4 that the price OF the silk per yard i:
about al American dollar.
!. Business in these stores begins abou,
: S O'Clock in the morning and ends g.,
1 nightfali. Everything is shut for two
s or three hours in the middle of the
I day, when both employers and clerks
go home for their luncheon or break.
n fast and the siesta which comes after
it. The stores are shut at night anc
p~adlocked, great iron bars being faa
tened over the doors.
a A Look at the Girls
8 And now stop and look at the girl,
+ as they go through the streets. The,
are Of ali classes, but there are more
s half-breeds and Indians than anythint
else. The pure whites dress much 81,
we do. but nearly all go bare-headcd
e What heaps of hair. Some girls Inv,