Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Feb. 7, 1902, edition 1 / Page 6
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V yr.Jt I A DAY WITH THE , -M 1 CRANBERRY PICKERS. y HANKSGIVING DAY and the ll' arable iu the United States During the year the cranberry abas as steady a market as the cabbage, but In the mouth of November the de mand for it is phenomenal, a little less than one-half the year's crop be- A TOUTHPCI. wokkek in the field. ins disposed of in the thirty days. This year the total yield is estimated at 1,000,000 bushels, and over 400,000 bushels will be needed for Thanksgiv ing. i .The cranberry grower is a sharer in the general prosperity of the times, his vines yielding him nearly twice the crop of last year. From Capo Cod, fc nr" CRANBERRY FIELD, WITH PICKERS AT WORK. (The field is irrigated from the ditches at regular intervals.) Iwhere American cranberries were first cultivated, to the remote island of Ko liak, Alaska, the northern and west ernmost point where the fruit is grown, the same reports of a bountiful har dest are given. Of all familiar fruits it is safe to say that there is none of which so Ut ile is generally known as the eran itoerrj. Originally it grew wild, as, in fact, it docs to-day in several of the States bordering on the Canada line, in the salt marshes of the coast States, in the glades of the Allegha nies, and as far south as Virginia and the Carolina?. Unlike the straw iberry, the wild cranberry is distinctly inferior to its cultivated relative. Both grow on a small, hardy shrub, about six inches in height. The fruit takes its name from the appearance of the Uower, which, just before expanding Into perfection, bears a marked resem iblance to the neck, head and bill of a crane. Hence the name "craneberry," .which usage has made into cranberry, i Sand and peaty ground form the proper soil, and instead of fertilizing, the grower is obliged to give th vines or bushes liberal coats of sand. The ground must be low, as it is kept under iwater much of the time. The marsh, or bog, as it is variously termed, is so "WlNNOWINtt THE LEAVES AI?I STICKS mOM THE BERRIES. arranged that any section of it may ;be flooded at the discretion of the jgrower, the system of ditches and j sluices being the same as those used m 1 irrigating the :rrid lands of the West. The making of the bog is an expen sive process, involving .'iu expenditure .of from $:j00 lo Jjv'X? an acre, and an interim of five years elapses before the yield is really profitable. After that each 3ear should give a larger return on the investment. No rotaliou of crops is necessary, said the shrubs live and bear and increase endlessly. rianting a new section of bog is a simple process. A small handful of twigs is twisted together and thrust deep into the sand. They take root immediately, and within a year put forth new uprights and begin to send out runners. The planting is eight or ten inches apart in rows. Grad ually the space between fills up, and in an old bog the shrubs grow as thick ly as buffalo grass. All they require then is weeding, sanding and flooding. Flooding is necessary not only for the growth of the plant, but to protect it from the early frosts of autumn. It is no unusual sight to see a half hundred pickers at work in one sec tion of a bog, whilo the adjoining sec tion is under eighteen inches of water. Beneath the transparent covering the berries are seen, the water only in tensifying their brilliant covering and the deep green of the surrounding leaves. Picking cranberries i3 a task for nimble fingers. The picker, sitting or kneeling on the damp sand, plunges both hands, with fiugers slightly spread, into the vines, and with a quick movement strips the berries from the stems and tosses them into a pan beside hira. When the pan is filled it is emptied into a pail holding one-third of a bushel. The size is uni form and the pickers are paid by the pail. The berries are finally put into crates holding a bushel each. Before they are ready for market, however, they are winnowed of leaves and weeds, and are ready for the con sumer. The firs! cranberries come from the Cape Cod bogs. There picking begins early in September and lasts until se vere frosts put an end to the season. The Long Island and New Jersey ber ries reach the market about two weeks later, or about the middle of Septem ber. Iu tin; Middle States and the V. IB, ..i' A BOG COMPLETELY FLOODED BV W ATE II (The plants and berries are beneath.) West the crop is not quite so early. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Northern Iowa are cranberry States. The West consumes practical ly all its own product, and also a part of the Eastern yield. The Western berry rarely finds Hs way into the markets of the East. In the cost States the cranberry is a remarkable favorite, and without it a mere turkey would be considered anything but a piece de resistance on the New England day of days. New York, Nov,' Jersey, Penn sylvania and New Enghind consume more ih.ui half the entire annual crop. New. York City alone requiring "J.'iO.OOO bushels year. For these . J terries the producer will average a minimum of " a barrel. The consumer pays at retail from five to ten cents a quart, generally the lat ter price. The price is governed by the abundance of the yield. Sifting these figures it will be seen that a large amount of money goes to some one between the producer and the con sumer, but it must be borne in mind that cranberries, like apples, must pay the price of long storage. Sometimes, when the producer can afford it, he puts away a large part of his crop, and lets it remain in storage until the last of December or the middle of January, when, as a rule, the price advances. There have been times when cranberries brought ?8 and ?10 a bar rel. There is a popular idea that cran berry growing is a sure road to wealth, j One of the. sagos among grower?, Mr. K. L. Brown, of Calverton, Loivg Isl and, calls cranberries a "young man's crop." This means that a man who chooses cranberry farming as, a. road to atllucnce must bo willing to wait, and to work steadily and with perse veranco while he waits. A few years ago a wealthy resident of Detroit, stirred by the glorified accounts of cranberry profits, invested $250,000 in an attempt to raise the berries on a large scale. He abandoned his enter prise at the end of the second year, losing almost his entire investment. Profitable as cranberry raising may be, under right conditions, to cultivate the berry successfully means that the grower must often carry a heavy bur den of care and anxiety. So it is sim ple truth to say that In this year of bountiful harvest, of all the thanks expressed on the appointed day, those of the man who grows cranberries will be even greater and more fervent than the appreciation of the thousands who delight their palates with the boon companion of the turkey at the Thanksgiving board, the crimson prod uct, of the cranberry vine. Charles Culver Johnson, iu Harper's Weekly. Disk Throning Game of the Swiss. The mountaineers of Switzerland are fond of outdoor sports competitive tests of strength and agility. Among the:-:e sports that of "hurnussing" seems to be the one least known out side of the little Republic, but an at tempt is about to be made to introduce it into the United States. The "hur nuss" is a small disk, about two inches in diameter, much thicker in the mid dle than at the ends. When the game begins the- "hurnuss" is laid on the raised end of a beam, whose other end rests on the ground, the disk being placed so that its rim projects over the beam end. A sharp stroke with a rudderlike stick on the projecting end of the disk sends the latter Jiigh up into the air. The play ers are divided into two parties, hit- A prosperity on farm. The world-wide scarcity of staple foods means high prices for city con sumers, but for this country the scarc ity has its cheerful side in the prosper ity of the farmer. Com was badly ii v. it TO! 7 v,.' avj P" $k P. WW- EVKRYTII1NG hurt by the drought, but the smaller yield is worth more money than ever, and some old corn is still to be mar keted. The same is true of wheat. Beet-sugar production, prosperous in Colorado and Nebraska, makes in other fa Si tors and catchers, the endeavor of the latter being to intercept the flying 'hurnuss" by throwing short handled flat shovels up into the probable line of its flight, and then catch the inter cepted falling disk with the hands. To insure to the catchers a point the catching must be done within a marked space, beginning about twen ty yards from the hitters, widening more and more without limit ahead. If the "hurnuss" be not caught it counts a point for the hitter; if caught, one for the catchers. Whenever the disk falls three times in succession outside of the marked space the hitter is "out;" also when the "hurnuss" is caught. So soon as all the hitters are out the catchers take their places. Whichever party makes the most points is declared the winner. How difficult it is to catch a "hur nuss" may be guessed from the fact that the small disft is often pitched twenty yards high and 200 yards away; yet practiced players manage to bring it down by throwing the'r queer shovels up in the way of its flights. New York Herald. Kide iu a Barrel. A new thing in the way of pleasure railways is promised for the coming summer season. It is nothing less than a ride in a barrel. The device is shown in the accompanying cut. Railways of this kind may bo erected during the coming spring at Capo May, Atlantic City, Asbury Park and Coney Island. The barrel flyer is the invention of the late M. C. Campbell, and one of IlEVOLVIXG BAKREIi FLIER. them was built at Ritterville Park, near Alleutown, as an experiment, and many thrilling rides were taken over it. States a gocd beginning. California fruit profits by quicker freight service and by the short apple crop. Hogs sell at high prices. Horses three years ago were shot as "varmints" in Mon tana; now, because of the Boer war demand, they are worth $40 to $50 apiece at the ranch. Long Island farm ers are getting double prices for pota toes, which are a paying crop from Maine to Michigan. Land has ad- GOING UP. - - , From the Philadelphia EeeorcL vanced in value; its owners are buying stock, making improvements. Agri culture, the basic industry of all, was never in a more flourishing condition than in this country to-day. New York World. , - - TvSJ (J mm? - THE WORLD'S LOVER. Oh it is well to love. But just to love alone la not enough by half! Love that is never shown J ns the gem imboitdo 1 in The hard, uncovered stoue: He makes the world hi debtor and Comes justly to bis own "Who Jets his love be kuown. Chicago iveeord-IIerahL HUMOROUS. ,s , Sillicus What do you consider tfc proper ago for a man to marry? Cyn'! cus In his dotage. Hoax I once knew a deaf mute who made a fortune. Joax Another proof, that silence is golden. Dentist When did your teeth first begin to trouble you, sir? The Vic-, tim When I was about one year old.. Wigg They say Crosefist is making a lot of money, but ho won't admit it. Wagg Afraid he'll give it away, I sup- " pose. "What is a promoter, Jim?" "Well,, a promoter is one of those fellows that can sell you a colander for a wash, basin." She I don't see why women shoul.it not make as good swimmers as men,. He Yes; but j'ou see a swimmer hJU to keep his mouth shut. Borax How are you progressing with Miss Breezey? Do you find Jt plain sailing. Samjones Oh, so-so.. About 17 "nots" an hour. "I've never been able to save any thing," complained the poor man. "You have probably saved yourself a. lot of worry," replied the rich man, : Blobbs Newrich likes to make a vulgar display of his wealth, doesnYj he? Slobbs Yes; it's the regret of his life that goldfish are not good to eat. She It is said that nearsightedness is increasing. He If it shonuld be come universal women would be ablo to wear shoes large enough to be com- . fortable. First Tramp What do they mean by Fabian inactivity. Second Tramp Dat's de first I ever heard of dat kind, but whatever it is I have great ro speck for it. Nell I hear 3rou and Maude are no longer friends. Bell No; you see, sh said she was afraid her new hat wasn't becoming to her. Nell Yell? Belle Well, I agreed with her. Little Mary was discovered one da by her mother vigorously applying the oil can to the kitten's mouth. On be ing reproved she replied, "Why, mam ma, kitty squeaks so awfully when I pull her tail." Towne Nurich has begun to blow about his family tree lately. Browna Yes, he's just discovered that lie had one. Towne But is it any good? Browne As trees go, ye3. I believe it's rather shady. The beggar Kind sir, I am pennl- : less. Can you not give me some finan cial assistance? The Kind Sir Why don't you go to wont? The Beggar By Jove! I never thought of that Thank you, sir, for bringing the ma-U ter to my attention. DYNAMITE IN A MINE BUCKET. Two Men Descondini; With It When h Explosive Let Go. There was a fatal explosion under very peculiar circumstances at Slope-. 1 No. 2 of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company at Pratt City. Two negroes, who were descending an. air shaft, are dead, and the bucket iu which they were being lowered wasv blown to smithereens. The negroat were picked up at the bottom of the shaft, and were both dead when reached. Just before the explosion it became necessary for the two negroes, George Allen and H. W. Harrison, to go down into the shaft, which had been sunk for the purpose of supplying air to the men. They were placed in a bucket and lowered by means of a rope. In-" side the bucket was a lot of dynamite, and, it is supposed, some caps. In some way the explosive was ignited, presumably from a lamp on the hat on the head of one of the men, and there was a terrific explosion. Both wero thrown from the bucket and fell over 75 feet to the bottom. The report was distinctly heard at the top of the shaft and at once a cl;)ud of smoke came to the surface. The men on top realized what had nap- x pened and commenced efforts to seJ what damage had been done. Communication with the bottom of the mine wa.3 secured and from those ; there it was learned that the negroes, r caving been blown irom the bucket. had dropped down to the hard rock." ; There seems to be no blame to be at tached to anybody but the negroes themselves. They had been warned ta be careful, and it is thought by all who knew anything of the circum stances that they are the victims of their own incautious action. Birming ham News. Work Like a Charm. Hanson VTonder how it is that tho Jugginsons get along so harmoniotw-, 1. They never have any quarrels, apparently. Burt The reason is simple enough. .Tugginson always lets Mrs. J. have the last word and she never tries to pre vent him from having his own way. Boston. Transcript. 7 1 j I
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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Feb. 7, 1902, edition 1
6
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