The Washington times., 1914-09-09


gested which could be taken UP by
any enterprising. steady girl
They want women packers-the
work IL not hard, but heaIthful: !:
thAre Is another summer coming
with lots of work-and exposition
year. With the money for the trip
to the West one way. 1t does look as
il one could earn enough to get a
peep at the exposition and get home
in the bargain!
The letter is merely the story Of
the fruit packing itself-ths oppor-
tunity depends upon the insight Of
saws:
How many people who stop at the
fruit stands on the streets, exclaim-
ing over luscious peaches, many
colored plums. yellow Bartlett pears.
realize the amount of work entailed
in the process Of getting that fruit
TO its destination? And, later on. as
by the baskets Of glowing red and
purple grapes. which the 'Dago'
labels de real Western suit how
many of them give a thought to the
many detailed activities involved in
this great industry. the hundreds OF
men, women. and children to whom
1t gives employment: that their
1 am one of the great army of
workers in tho fruit" and 1 fancy
that most people think as did one
tourist, expressing himself aloud
after he had watched me pack a
crate Of peaches. had seen the pro-
cess Of grading. wrapping. count
ing. and topping" had listened
affanfiI-a1xr n q n q
it must still be weighed. stamped
with It's net weight. the owners
name. the name of the shipping COM
pany, and the grade and variety
of fruit contained; that il must be
nailed up, hauled to the shipping
station, packed in refrigerator cars,
and hurried to its ultimate market as
fast as steam could transport II.
Just Put In Box.
Why" exclaimed the Eastern
person as he munched a big Early
Crawford, Il always thought you
just picked tho fruit and put It in
box and sold IT,"
True, my friend. We do. But there
are a few items by the way. and
for that / am glad as, in company
with a great many other people in
the land Of sunshine. fruit. and
flowers. that Is the way / earn my
daily bread. not to forget the earn
Ing Of my 'edication" in the same
way.
Our work begins in April. when tho
cherries are ripe. From the cher
ries We 20 to the apricots. Apricots
are followed by plums. Then como
early peaches. pears, late peaches.
and, lastly. grapes. Tho grapes last
until November ]. Then. IL we are
very ambitious. we go south for tho
oranges and lemons. These last un-
til spring comes again, and the cycle
begins afresh.
Personally. however. / know moth
ing about the oranges and lemons.
ar, after the last Of the grapes. tho
Flaming Tokays. the Black Moroc-
cas-. and Cornichons are on their
way, I hunt another lob" until
spring.
My work has been confined tc the
orchards and vineyards Of the Sac
ramento and San Joaquin valleys.
and Il is from these districts that
the great bulk OF the fruit comes.
Camp lie, even in this land Of sun
shine. is not all it is usually de-
scribed during the winter months,
the guide books to the contrary not
withstanding. Many of us prefer
to wait for spring before getting
under the canvas, for. like the circus
folk, the fruit workers are a tribe OF
tent dwellerI.
Has a Fascination.
Ar, but there's fascination about
1t. this working with the fruit. 1t
gets into your blood and you cannot
get rid Of II. Bad seasons come.
when fruit is cheap. and ranches pay
poor wages. the crops are poor and
we get disgustei and declare Never
again" Then spring comes. we see
the cherry blossoms. and 4 restless
ness fills our hearts and courses
through our Vein. The first ship
ment finds US back in the sheds.
Most everybody has read Of the
horrors of the fruit canneries un-
til they gag and vow that never
again will they eat can OF fruit.
but the annals Of the sheds are
pleasanter TIE picking of the
fruit In the big orchards is mostly
in the hands Of the Japanese now.
But most places employ few
white men when they can get them
as. in the long run. they make the
best workers. These men are paid
by the day and il is only on the
largest ranches that bunk and
mess houses are provided. On the
smaller places they camp. Often
1neN are men with IdnllIleS ana
these are preferred by the rancher.
for that means that there are wives
and daughters who will help out in
the packing and cutting sheds
For these the ranCner offers the
inducement OF free tents. camping
ground. wood and water, all the
fresh fruit they wish TO eat, plenty
Of vegetables from his garden
patch and milk and eggs Mt rates
below the market price And If
the campers have "kiddies"-well
It's kids" notion Of paradise,
this woikin' i'll the fruit! There is
usually creek or an irrigation
ditch where ole can go in swim
ming and there are such oodles of
things for kids to do on n big
ranch
Pitch Their Tents.
As for the "oldsters" of the party,
at night rows of tents are pitched in
the orchard near the big packing shed,
and they are as gay as summer
camp at some hiSh-priCed mountain
resort. HammoCks swing from the
trees. steamer chairs and rockers are
placed before the tent doors and. as
tho stars come out, much laughter
and chaff is heard. The days work
Is discussed. then mandolin tin
kleS, Z Girl'S voice SAnGS 4 populAr