in London thirty persons are engaged in the exclusive sale of
second-hand boots and shoes. He mentions one man that, in 1855, was
thought to take over £100 ($500) a day. Boots and shoes, too far gone to
be repaired, are sold to Prussian-blue manufacturers--so nothing is
lost. In Philadelphia, near Penn Square, may be seen ranged, on an open
space, a large quantity of second-hand clothes, shoes, dresses, &c., for
sale. The business, in this country, of buying and selling again worn
clothes is mostly in the hands of the Jews--perhaps altogether. In all
countries it is more or less a favorite business with them. The time is
past when the Jew was prohibited in other countries from holding real
estate; yet the Jews in all countries, so far as I know, generally
retain their property in money, or invest it in something movable. Old
clothes in our country are generally given in exchange for new china,
glass ware, &c.; yet a number in the large cities pay money. In London
all kinds of articles are given for them, and then they are taken to the
old-clothes exchanges, where they are disposed of for money, principally
to shopkeepers who deal in the sale of worn clothes. Some of these
articles are made over, some made smaller, some turned, some changed in
form; in fact, the greatest ingenuity is exercised to employ to
advantage the articles used. Second-hand articles are not so much sold
in this country as in older countries, where money is more difficult to
get, and poverty greater. Boys' cloth caps and roundabouts, and women's
shoes, are made of old coats and pants, so worn in parts as to be
unsalable. Coats are also made of cloaks, bonnets of aprons, &c. Men's
and women's apparel of all sorts is bought and sold by them. Old
umbrellas and parasols are bought, repaired, and sold. Silk dresses, if
unfit to be sold, are used for making children's hoods, facing coats,
&c. The scraps are used for making quilts. Old woollen dresses, whose
waists are much worn, are used for making wadded skirts. Tailors' and
dress-makers' trimmings are sometimes purchased for a small sum, and
used in making up girls' hoods, boys' caps, &c. In London, most of
women's second-hand apparel is (as it should be) sold by women. It is
customary for buyers to cry down every article offered them for sale or
barter, but those they offer for sale are magnified into ten times their
value. Many of the men who go through the streets of our cities buying
old clothes or giving china ware in exchange for them, take them home
and their wives repair them. I called at a second-hand variety store in
Brooklyn. The woman says most people engaged in the business are
foreigners. The business is not unhealthy. Clothes brought in are washed
and done over, and their domestics are always healthy. Their business is
very dull. Ten years ago it was quite brisk, but many stores of the kind
have been opened in Brooklyn lately. She and her daughter go and look at
any articles for sale; and if they think the person honest and the price
suits, they will buy; so that, if any one should come and claim the
clothes as being stolen, they could immediately take a policeman to the
place where they got them. If articles are bought, they examine and put
a price on them, and get the address of the individual. If they find
they are not stolen, they then purchase. The poorest season for the
business is midwinter. They keep their store open till ten o'clock at
night. I was told at another store they sell most clothes in the evening
to laborers' wives. In a store in New York, the lady says she buys her
clothes of Jews that go about exchanging china for old clothes. It is
very necessary that a good locality be fixed on, near a river or bay, on
a thoroughfare, or in a neighborhood where many poor people live. One
woman told me she employs two girls and three men to make over and do up
worn clothes for her store. She pays her girls, each, thirty-one cents a
day, and they work twelve hours. She sells most in the evening. At one
place I was told that Mondays and Saturdays are their busiest days for
selling. They sell most to the French, Irish, and negroes. Germans do
not like to buy second-hand clothes. She regretted that in her present
store she had not glass cases to keep the dust off her clothes. Her
purchasing is mostly done among the rich, she says, and so it brings her
a good class of customers. The keeper of a second-hand furniture store
told me that she goes to auction herself and purchases. It is two or
three years before the business pays. She will go to a dwelling and look
at furniture before purchasing. It requires a man to do the lifting. She
has old furniture repaired, chairs reseated, &c., before she attempts to
sell them.
=120. Variety Shops.= Variety shops, for the sale of coal, wood,
kindling, candles, matches, and water, are frequently seen in the poor
districts of cities. They are a great convenience to those whose means
will not admit of their buying in large quantities. It costs them more
to buy it in that way, yet the keeping of shops affords a subsistence to
those who do.
EMPLOYMENTS PERTAINING TO GRAIN, BIRDS, FLOWERS, FRUITS, AND VEGETABLES.
=121. Agriculturists.= With industry and enterprise, what may not woman
accomplish! We have heard of women in Western New York, Ohio, and
Michigan, that not only carry on farms, but do the outdoor work, as
tilling, reaping, &c. It is said that in countries where the physical
labor of women in the open air is as great as that of men, their
constitutions become as stout and capable of endurance. Agriculture is
an employment safe and profitable, and capable of almost any extension
in this country. There is a great difference usually between the theory
and practice of farming. Many agricultural works and periodicals are
published that abound in practical instruction. In grazing countries
stock is raised, and the labor of the people is given to making butter
and cheese. A variety of soil and difference of altitude produce
different crops in the same latitude. In the United States the raising
of hops is becoming a branch of national industry, and some women are
employed to pick them. In England and France large numbers of women are
employed to pick hops. In England, 52,000 acres of land are devoted to
their cultivation. There is danger, in picking hops, of getting wet and
taking cold, which acts upon the system very much the same as the ill
effects of calomel. But if proper care is used, the work is not
unhealthy. There is a people's college in New York State, where females
are received as pupils as well as males. No doubt a horticultural
department will be formed. We think it would be well if more women would
devote themselves to agricultural and horticultural employments. Weeding
gardens and attending dairies or poultry yards would each furnish work
for more women than are now employed, and save women from running to the
cities, which are already crowded to excess with applicants for work.
Headley, in his "Adirondack Mountains," says: "Twenty miles from any
settlement on Brown's Tract in Adirondack, Arnold and his family of
thirteen children--twelve girls and a boy--live by their trafficking, by
sporting, and cultivating the field. The agricultural part, however, is
performed chiefly by females, who plough, sow, and rake equal to any
farmer. Two of the girls threshed alone, with common flails, five
hundred bushels of oats in one winter, while their father and mother
were away trapping for marten. They frequently ride without bridle or
even halter, guiding the horse by a motion or stroke of the hand. They
are modest and retiring in their manners, and wild and timid as fawns
among strangers." "On the west side of the Scioto, just below Columbus,
there is planted a field of six hundred acres of bottom land.
Twenty-five German girls follow the ploughs, and do the hoeing, for
which they receive 62½ cents per day." There are two sisters in Ohio who
manage a farm of three hundred acres; and two other sisters, near Media,
Pennsylvania, that conduct as large a farm.
=122. Bee Dealers.= A new species of bee, that builds in trees instead
of hives, is about to be introduced by Government from Paraguay. In
keeping bees there is no expense. The hives can easily be made at home,
or purchased for a comparative trifle. Their food they seek themselves.
"The bee mistresses gain a living by selling honey in many rural
districts of England." Most of the honey used in the United States is
collected in the South. That to be carried to the North is put in
hogsheads. Merchants who buy it have small glass jars filled, which are
sold in markets and groceries.
=123. Bird Importers and Raisers.= There are establishments in most of
the large cities of the United States for the sale of birds. The
proprietors import and raise them. Most imported birds are from Germany.
They are caught by the peasants living among the mountains, and sold for
a trivial sum in small wooden cages. The favorite pet bird has long been
the canary. In the South the mocking bird is common, and often seen
caged. But few of our most beautiful birds bear domestication. Their
wild, free nature unfits them for it. In Germany there is a class of men
who make it a separate business to train birds to sing. The bullfinch is
the kind most commonly taught--perhaps the only kind. They teach in bird
classes of from four to seven members each. It is done by withholding
food from them in the dark and playing on a bird organ or a flute. A
gentleman told me, he thought few, if any, ladies could be repaid in
making a business of bird raising; indeed, he had known several
undertake it, but fail. He says, people like German birds best, because
they learn earlier to sing; and, you know, a purchaser always wants to
hear a bird sing before he buys it. At a bird importer's I priced birds.
He asked for a male canary, $3; for a female, $1; an African parrot, $8;
green parrot, $5; goldfinch, $3; and thrush, $2. Mrs. L., a German, who
raises canaries, told me she could not support herself by raising birds,
but she knows several men that do. She says the American birds are the
longest lived--the imported die in about two years after reaching this
country. Foreign birds are generally devoid of strength, and their limbs
are apt to turn backward as they rest on the roosts. I suppose that
arises from their being shut up in small cages during the long journey
across the ocean, and many of them, being caught birds, cannot bear the
confinement and cramped position. Another bird dealer attributed the
fact of imported being less healthy than American birds, to their taking
cold in crossing the ocean. American birds that are not mated may live
fifteen or sixteen years. The breed, form, color, sex, and ability to
sing determine their price. It is difficult to tell the age of canaries
from their appearance. So one is liable to be imposed upon by
unprincipled dealers, who prefer to sell old birds, particularly of the
feminine gender. Birds are subject to a variety of diseases. Birds are
cheapest in the fall, as it requires more to keep them in winter than
summer, and many do not wish to be at that expense. Mrs. L. sells most
in February, March, and April, the breeding season. Prices vary from $2
to $7. It does not take long to learn to raise birds, another bird
raiser told me, when you know just how to feed them, and the proper
temperature for them. She sells most in winter.
=124. Bird and Animal Preservers.= I notice in the census of Great
Britain three women returned as animal preservers; and I know there are
some in Germany, three of whom are in Strasbourg. Bird stuffing is a
trade in which but few can find employment. It would therefore be
necessary to have something else to rely on in case that should fail. It
is thought by some to be unhealthy, on account of the arsenic
used--particularly to young people. The senior of a firm I called on had
been engaged in it fifteen years without detriment to his health.
Females mostly prepare the branches of trees, or other fanciful stands,
on which the birds are placed. The frames are usually of wood or
pasteboard, covered with moss. I called at Mr. B.'s, and saw a young man
who works with him. He thinks the work is not unhealthy. It is an art in
which there is always room for improvement. Mr. B., who has been at it
thirty years, says he is always learning something new in regard to it,
or making some discovery in the art. The eyes are manufactured in New
York. To one practising the art a good eye for form is necessary, and an
ability to imitate nature closely. The spring of the year is the best
season; but all seasons answer. The only danger in summer is from
insects. A bird stuffer told me he would teach the art to one or two
persons for $50; but he thinks the prospect for employment poor. It is
difficult to get birds to learn on in winter; but in summer plenty can
be had. He has had acquaintances commence in New Orleans, St. Louis, and
Chicago. The first two could not make a living. He knows of two young
ladies that have learned it merely as a pastime. I called on a French
lady, Mrs. L., who stuffs birds and animals. She taught the art to a
barber, who made a great deal of money by it. He paid $150 for his
instruction, spending every other day at it for two months. A Cuban, who
owns seven hundred slaves, paid her the same amount. He wished to learn,
that he might preserve birds he could obtain while travelling in various
countries. She has received several letters from Boston requesting her
to come there and stuff birds for a museum that is being commenced. She
was the personation of health, but she complained that she suffered with
rheumatism. She trembled much--she thought from rheumatism. May it not
be that it is the result of arsenic that she has got into a pimple, or
where the skin was broken? The work, of course, requires a firm hand.
She showed me a parrot, done, she said, in one hour, for which she was
to receive $3. A German book is written on the subject that contains
directions. The information can be obtained in English from a little
work called "Art Recreations." The ingredients are often sold in drug
stores already mixed. It can be done at all seasons. Mrs. L. thinks one
could become proficient in two months' constant practice. A gentleman
went to California, and made a large collection of birds; stuffed them,
and sent them to various European countries. In the four years he was at
it he made $60,000. She sent six hundred to a museum in Paris a short
time ago. She thinks St. Louis may present an opening. Mrs. L. knows a
man who has been employed in stuffing birds and animals in the museum of
Strasbourg from the age of fifteen to seventy-seven, and is a very
corpulent man, being nearly as broad as he is long. That she gave as an
indication of its healthfulness; but it may be that he is bloated from
the arsenic, as it has that effect. She says even poor people will pay
to have a pet bird stuffed, when they have not a dime to buy bread.
=125. Florists.= The rearing of flowers has ever been a charming pastime
to many of our sex. When the pleasure can be combined with profit, it is
well. The cultivation of flowers is a taste whose beneficial results are
not sufficiently appreciated. When the cares and troubles of life begin
to press upon men and women, they are apt to neglect the cultivation of
flowers, when it might absorb some of the cares that burden their
hearts. Vines, roses, and ornamental fruit trees cost but a small sum,
and yet how much they add to the beauty and comfort of a place! Most of
the choice roses of our country are from cuttings imported from France.
They are brought over in jars. Many, of course, die on the voyage. The
variety is very great. The selling of roots, plants, and bouquets is
quite remunerative in some places. Much depends on the knowledge and
skill of the florist, the location of his gardens, and the fondness of
the people in the community for flowers. It is a delightful business for
a lady, if she has men to do the planting, digging, and other hard work.
In Paris, there is a market devoted to the sale of flowers. In most of
the markets of our large cities, are exposed for sale pot plants and
bouquets, also shrubs and evergreens. A florist told me that he employs
two women in winter to make up bouquets and wreaths for ladies going to
evening and dinner parties, concerts, and other places of amusement. It
requires taste and ingenuity. He pays each $5 per week. They can make up
wreaths to look like artificial flowers. A woman on Long Island makes a
living by raising flowers that are sold in New York. I was told that
some lady has established a horticultural school on Long Island.
Florists in and near cemeteries are apt to find sale for flowers and
plants. Hence it is common to observe gardens and hot houses so located.
I rode out to a florist's near Brooklyn. He says the business is not so
good as it was, because the Germans in Hoboken raise flowers and sell
bouquets for sixpence that he could not sell for twenty-five cents. The
man does not send bouquets to the city, as it does not pay. Their
profits are mostly derived from the sale of choice fruit trees raised at
Flushing. They sell bouquets at their hot houses from a shilling up to
$5. They derive most profit from flowers in winter. A florist's
occupation is healthy, and affords much pleasure to one fond of flowers.
Yet it requires close attention to business. In England it was formerly
customary to serve a seven-years' apprenticeship at the business, but
three or four years will answer very well, if an individual gives
undivided attention to his business, and is with a superior florist. A
knowledge of botany is necessary to a florist. It requires considerable
taste to make up a bouquet, and therefore is very appropriate to women.
A knowledge of colors and their artistic arrangement is essential; also
a natural taste for flowers, and some patience. Making bouquets,
wreaths, &c., is slow work. The stems of flowers for bouquets are cut
very short, as most of the nutriment of the stem is lost to the
succeeding ones by cutting long ones. Artificial stems are added to the
natural ones, and are usually made of broom straw or ravelled matting.
Mrs. F., the wife of a florist, says the wives of most florists assist
their husbands in making up bouquets, wreaths, and baskets. She thinks,
if a florist had enough to do to employ a lady, he would pay her $3 or
$4 a week. She has often thought a small volume might be written on the
flower business in New York. She says no one has an idea of the amount
of money expended for flowers. Mr. D. used to send out $1,000 worth of
flowers on New Year's morning. It is a very irregular employment. Some
days she sells a great many for balls, parties, and funerals. One might
learn to make bouquets, if they have taste and judgment, by a few
months' practice. The flowers that are sold at different seasons vary
greatly, and the value of them depends much on their age. Mrs. F. has
sold a few baskets of flowers at $50 apiece. She sells many flowers for
Roman Catholic churches about Easter. Mrs. R. says florists prefer to
have men, because they can work in the garden or green house when not
cutting or putting up flowers. The Germans have run the business down in
New York. A florist named _Flower_ writes: "We employ from two to four
women tying buds, hoeing, weeding, &c.; in winter they help about
grafting. They are paid fifty cents a day, of ten hours. Women so
employed are German born. The employment is healthy. Men get
seventy-five cents a day, as they can do more work; but the principal
reason for employing women is, that we can hire them cheaper and like
them better for light work. Women could do all parts of our business, if
they had a fair chance with men, and would improve the chance. One year
would give a general knowledge, but five would be better. A good, sound
constitution, and industrious habits, are the best qualifications. Women
that want such work can find plenty of it; but outdoor work is too hard
for American women." Another florist writes: "In Europe, where women are
sometimes employed in fruit or vegetable gardens, their wages are
usually about half a man's. Women (chiefly Germans) are employed in this
country by farmers to pick fruit, vegetables, &c., by the quantity. At
light work, done by contract, women, I believe, can make as much as men.
Several years would be necessary to learn the business; some branches of
it might be learned in a few weeks. The requisite most needed for women
to work in green houses, is a change of fashion. Their dress unfits them
altogether for moving about in crowded plant houses. Were their dress
similar to the men's, I see no reason why they would not be equally
useful in other departments as well as this. If that should ever happen,
they would, in my opinion, be worth as much as men; for the work is
mostly light, and ladies, having a natural taste for flowers, would soon
learn it. If you have gone through green houses, you cannot but know the
difficulty of doing so without breaking everything. Men, at this kind of
work, are not fully employed in winter." A lady florist writes: "I
sometimes think my nervous excitability is to some extent caused by an
excess of electricity, derived from the earth or flowers with which I
work."
=126. Flower Girls.= Flowers are the mementoes of an earthly paradise.
They are said to be "the alphabet of angels, whereby they write
mysterious things"--the mysteries of God's love and goodness. Earth
would be a wilderness without them. Girls sell flowers most profitably
at opera houses, theatres, and other places of amusement. They buy of
those who devote themselves to the raising of flowers, and arrange them
into bouquets. A number dispose of flowers on Broadway; and, summer
before last, I observed a French woman at the Atlantic ferry selling
bouquets to people waiting for the boat. A florist told me he disposes
of flowers to girls who make up bouquets and sell them. One of them pays
$500 rent for her room. It yields a handsome profit when a person has a
good stand. He would like a stand at the opera house, but a great many
others are looking forward to it. Some pay for the privilege, others
obtain it by being known to the managers. I was told by a man who
supplies bouquets that he pays to florists from $8 to $10 a day for
flowers, and then makes up his own bouquets. I have been told that at
some hotels in Germany, girls pass around the table at dinner, and give
bouquets. Such recipients as feel disposed, pay a small sum.
=127. Fruit Growers.= If American women would only turn their attention
to the cultivation of fruits and flowers for market, instead of giving
it up to ignorant foreigners, how much better it would be! A few hundred
dollars would make a very handsome beginning; and those who do not have
so much at their disposal, could get their friends to advance it. At
Shrewsbury and Lebanon, much fruit is put up by the Shakers, and sent to
New York for sale. Women might have orchards, raise fruit, and send it
to market. Mrs. D. owns a farm, and does not disdain to graft fruit
trees, superintend their planting, gather fruit, send it to market, &c.;
and she realizes a handsome profit. The grafting and budding of fruit
trees might be done very well by women, and also the budding of
ornamental shrubs. "Miss S. B. Anthony," says the Binghampton
_Republican_, "resides at Rochester, and supports herself by raising
raspberries from land given to her by her father." I have been told that
on one acre of land near New York city a thousand dollars' worth of
strawberries can be grown. In New Jersey and Delaware, women are
employed to gather berries for market. If a lady is within a few miles
of town, and has facilities for raising and sending fruit to market, she
will not be likely to fail in meeting with ready sale. Berries bring a
good price in the markets of a city. In Cincinnati, from May 21st to
June 1st, 1847, 5,463 bushels of strawberries were sold, and near St.
Louis is a gentleman that has some hundreds of acres of strawberries in
cultivation to assist in supplying the St. Louis market. The drying of
fruit affords employment, and generally well remunerates time so given,
if carried on extensively.