The St. Louis Republic. [volume], August 10, 1902, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 39

About The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

                
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Fruit and Vegetable Traffic Is Now at Its Height An Early Morning Visit to
Purchase of Watermelons
j
WRITTEN FOR THB SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
Tho chances .are a hundred to one that
you do not know the Immensity of the busi
ness Involved In supplying St. Louis with
any i of the vegetables, .fruits or meats
which Is upon your table at breakfast, din
ner ,or supper.
If anybody who has no direct connection
with these businesses, wishes an early
morning walk and a novel form of amuse
ment, a trip down to Third street at dawn
would provide It. Start from Cass axenue
along Broadway, down Third street from
the Intersection of Broadwav and en to
Washington avenue. An Idea of the magni
tude of a city's appetite will be obtained
The distance traversed in such a walk
would not be great. But the pedestrian
would be compelled to go slowly. He would
m .iu- ui so DiocKod with wagons and
. .... , "" -" u wun crates.
UP u ,.,bUS'. ,mm that hIs Progress
.. ........ ... jm..wiiK ones way throu"h
n. Veiled Prophet parade crowd The
ctnount of various kinds and qualities of
edibles seen would be astounding. That ail
UNIVERSALITY
WRITTEN- FOR THR SUNDAT ItEPUBUG
Back from the day'3 hard work in tho
wheat Deld, the discontented parent sat
flown to Interview the young man who vas
home from college in quest of a brief va
cation and more cash.
"I do not comprehend the meaning of
many words which have appeared In your
letters," complained the parent. "For in
stance. In your last letter you wrote this:
Financial besltzes are on the blink again.'
I comprehend tho blnk'; that is what vour
education la on up to date, but -besitzes' is
beyond me. Explain."
The young man smiled a superior smile
jnd gracefully lighted a tinted cigarette.
xie said:
"'Besltzes' Is a new word In the language
nd can bo used as a substitute for all the
other words-or. rather, it is a word which
pay bo used to express the Universe in Its
Infinite entirety and in minute detail; any
thing and everything, separately or to
gether, is besltzes.' Tho purpose of 'beslt
ietf Is to relievo monotony of diction In tho
Jlasslcs of the future.
"Thus, the reformer will protest against
the 'besltzes of political abuse; historians
will allude to the ancient Roman 'besltzs'
pf Julius Caesar; the poet will sing the
SPfffiWiaMaia'a'air w shwIu ' 'oBP'1 ?h2H8SRmk81 K?w!y--SLMSW &?
GREAT
of it and half apaln as much is eaten each
day seems hardly creditable.
To Fee Third street when Its trafflc is
most interesting you would have to -start
out before dawn. like the tradesmen them
selves Those who live on streets used by
conveyances bound downtown can attest
but too surely that Third rtreet activity be
gins bright and early. That plop-plop of
horses' feet on the pavement outside from
i until 4:30 a. m. that is the farmer going
to market. Most of them go to Third
street
When Broadway Is Blocked
by Farmers' Wagons.
Arise and try and get down to Broadway
and Cass avenue about B o'clock'. At that
hour business is at Its height. From Cass
avenue. to Franklin avenue the street will
be impassable, because of the farmers"
wagons.
Tlie gardeners are selling and scores of
persons are buying. A large proportion of
the city's poorer classes, who are forced to
OF "BESITZES."
sweet 'besltzes' of the springtide; even the
parson will minister to the spiritual 'be
s.tzes' 0f n!s flcci:aII tne various entitiss
in literature, science, religion and art will
be known as the intellectual 'besltzes.' But
that is not all."
"You don't say!"
For Instance. In your distinguished person
you represent mv nm .,,.,..,. .,.
Ha! hat" - uca.es.
"Indeed:"
"And you are 'besltzes' in a general
sense." - ..
"Am IT'
"You eat bes!tzes. drink 'besitzes' rnd
engage in -besitzes.' Merely 'besltzes' com
prises all tho -besltzes,' and It is very edd
'besltzes that you should be the 'besitzes'
under the remarkable 'besitzes!' Ha! ha!"
The young man laughed uproariously, for
he was tickled by the fun he was having
with his old man. As the latter rose to
answer the dinner bell, he remarked:
"Tou needn't go back to that college. I
don't believe you are just cut out for the
classical 'besitzes Toil can report for more
appropriate 'besitzes' in the wheat field rlth
the rest of us at 4 a, ro. to-morrow."
CITY IS SUPPLIED
s?ve pennies on taYds purchases, have found
that it is cheapest to rise with the sun
and buy direct from the gardener. Vour
grocer or your butcher, who sells you vege
tables or fruits, must buy somewherr nnd
generally be buys on Third street. Some
times he buys from gardener, sometimes
from the produce and commission mer
chants whose offices are on Third street.
Whether from the one or the other, he
adds to the confusion In the pushing crowd.
and helps- make things lively until he ha
enough to answer the day's demand at his
ttorc.
If you are conscious that you are not a
geed bargainer, and that people "beat" you
when It comes to doing the family buying.
you will learn something by listening to the
farmer who Is dealing with a prospective
purchaser frorn Kerry Patch. The customer
says the orice Is too high, the farmer says
its ruination low. Buyer says he won't pay
it; fanner says as he guerre the customer
don't have to. -The would-be patron turns
away; farmer calls him back and says he
guesses he "mout" come down just a trifle.
i
Then they come to terms.
Wagons Are All Heavily
Loaded With Vegetables. "
Every one of the thousand gardeners' wag
ons you will see in this short section of
street comes to town laden to the limit.
There are cabbages, cucumbers, green peas,
string beans, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, cel
ery, lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips and
cantaloupes. All this Is the green vegetable
business, which Is only a department on
Third street, and which has other centers In
the city Union Market. Soulard Market,
markets in North, in the South, and among
the hundreds of hucksters who sell from
their wagons.
Walk a little farther south of Franklin, In
the neighborhood of Morgan street and Lu
cas, avenue. Such nolss! Such a shoving
of bores, loading of wagons and general
bustle. At one minute the quacking of
ducks is uppermost In the -confusion, then
the bleating of sheep, and then the bawling
01 caivca. .uuviwiiK urouna, you will see i
ducks, sheep, calves and fowls. j
The ducks are In crates. In which are I
apertures Just wide enough for their slim i
bills and long necks to slip through. They
peer out of their confinement in a curious
THE REPUBLIC: SUNDAY.
- - i
Third Street, Where Hundreds of Persons Are Intent Upon the Task of Buying and
by the Carload In the Milk Depots and Cold Storage Plants.
way. They seem to be asking tne where
abouts of the pon.l they were sailing so
serenely on juEt a few 1 ours before. Ite
ceivlng no answer they squawk and demand
replies. They get no attention whatever un
til they are piled unczremoniously into a
purchaser's wJgon. that cart.-s them off to
the slaughter and then to the oven.
To every ten ducks ther are 100 chickens.
You will find enou.ch chickens, alive and
rhirpinc on Third street to stock all the
barnyards in the rounty. The chicks are i
like the ducks In that they stick their heads
I out of their cages and look wondeilngly
1 around at the. extraordinary scene. They
, declaim against heing barrel In. bat their
cries are not so shrill as those of the ducks.
The chickens, too, ha-e had strange expe
riences, only to face the hatchet and chop
ping block.
Poultry Tends to-Lower
the Price of Beef.
If you happen to step into a place- of
business or get: a few minutes' conversation
with any of the busy merchants, they will
tell you that these ducks and chicks are
performing a great service in the communlty
at present. You will be told that the "poul
try crop," always good, acts as a kind of
brake on the price of beef.
"I believe," said one commission mer
chant, "that if it were not for the poultry
beef would go to 40 cents a pound. Anybody
with a small plot of ground can start a
poultry crop (chickens constitute a "crop").
The cost of beginning Is slight and returns,
are sure. The poultry business Is bound to
Increase. Chicken always make a good
meal, and if the meat packers send their
prices sky-high weHcan fall biclc on fowl."
Most ot the commodities thus far men
tioned are supplied by gardeners that is,
are brought into the city rom the near-by
country. Third street's business also has to'
do with vast quantities of fruits and com
modities that are brought hither by fast
freight or express from the South and
West- This business- constitutes the chief
trade of the produce Jobbers and lasts the "
year around.
The articles imported by rail vary with
the season. The bulk of this trade is now
In watermelons and peaches. The first
peaches come from Texas. They are not
very attractive to purchasers. This year
these first shipments were received on May
50. Tue bulk of the early crop besln to
AUGUST 10, 1902.
WITH COUNTRY
coiikt in about June 10. Still the quality Is
not good.
Peaches From Southern
Missouri Find a Ready Sale.
In the latter part of June the best of the
Texas crop and part of the Arkansas crop
begins to arrive. By this date the large
freestones reach the market. They are
the ones mest favored, and have a steady
sale. About two weeks later the Southern
I Missouri Albertas, as fine as are grown
come in, but slowly. It Is In the latter part
of July that the Missouri crop Is at its
best. Many of the peaches you now eat
are grown in the extreme southern section
of this State.
Peaches in the orchards near St. Louis,
in Missouri and In Illinois, are an uncer
tain crop. There is practically no output
the greater part of the time. The market
is sustained by Arkansas and Texas fruit.
i In the latter part of August nnd early in
September the Michigan fruit comes In. It
Is valued highly, but St. Louis Is on the
outskirts of the Michigan market, as the
majority of the Northern peaches go to
Chicago or the East.
The California peach goes everywhere
and is already coming Into St. Louis. It
keeps well and is not put on the market
at once. California fruit is not sent East
In bulk until September.
The freight charges on all the peaches
which you see exposed along; Third street
In the early morning would be a goodly
fortune In Itself. Yet the fruit Is expected
to pay the shipper a percentage on his
trees, on his land and on his labor; to pay1
jobbers commissions, ana the retailers
nroflt.
Large Melons 2sow Sold
Were Grown in Missouri.
You will see thousands .of watermelons
on Third street, but this locality Is not the
center from which the largest number of
melons are distributed. In tho commission,
district, - smo dealers devote their atten
tion almost exclusively to melons at this
season.
If curious about the melon business. Pro
duce Manager Wllklns can enlighten you.
He can tell whether one Is rlpa without
thumping It or making a triangular In
cision in it.
In the first place, tha large, luscious mel
ons you are now getting come from Mis
souri. Three counties In tho Southeastern
part of the State supply an average of 150
cars per day for a month. It is generally
conceded that no better fruit Is grown in
the United States.
Of the 130 cars St. Louis is content with
twenty-five to thirty a day. Tho remainder
go East, or to Chicago, as the latter city
has a penchant for Missouri melons. The
Iron Mountain and Cotton Belt yards, r.t
the foot of Miller street.are .he headquarters
of the wholesale watermelon business. The
cars are sidetracked there and unloaded. I
No retailing Is allowed. The individual may j
liliv n ffirlnrnt If h en rtrfres hilt nnt tn I
or twenty melons. The Jobbers unload the
cars and sell in smaller lot3 from various
distributing points, of which Third street
13 one. At Merchant street and in Caror.de
let are other watermelon depots.
Northern Melons Are to
Be Had in September.
Missouri rrclons will continue to supply
tha market until September. Then lha
FOOTSTEPS
W
HEN the hours of Day are numbered.
Ana tne voices of the Night
SVake the better soul, that slumbered.
To a holy, calm delight;
Ere the evening lamps are lighted
And. like phantoms grim and tail.
Shadows from the fitful firelight
Dance upon the parlor wall
Then the forms of the departed
Enter at the open door.
The beloved, the true-hearted.
Come to visit me once more.
He, the young and strong, who cherished
Noble longings for the strife.
By the roadside fell and perished,
"Weary with the march of life!
They, the holy ones and weakly.
Who the cross of suffering bore.
Folded their paie hands to meekly.
Spake with us on earth no more!
And with them the Being Beauteous,
Who unto my youth was given.
More than all things else to love me.
And Is now a saint In heaven.
PRODUCE
Selling Perishable Edibles
Northern melons will take their place).
About September 10. winter Is often fore
shadowed by chilly weather. This ends tha
watermelon business for the season. Thj
unfortunate dealer who has a line of melons
when tho "wild west wind, breath of au
tumn's being" comes whirling along, must
eat them himself, for he cannot often In
duce anybody else to do so.
There la much else to be seen on Third
street, if one Intended to see everything.
You will find enormous milk depots; whera
great tiers of milk cans stand Just as they
have been brought in from the country.
These cans are battered and worn, having
carried many a gallon of milk. The ma
jority of them are brought in by express !n
tha morning, and shipped back empty at
night.
The packing-bouses and cold-storaga
plants are fields for separate investigation.
You can see so much pork hanging up in
one room that you will have no appetite for
pork for some time. In tLe cold -storage
chambers are to be seen every kind of ed
ible. A high figure Is placed upon game.
The photograph reproduced with this arti
cle pictures a typical scene In a cold-Storatfc
room.
OF ANGELS.
With a Blow and noiseleis footstep
Comes that messenger divine,
Takca.the vacant chair beside me.
Lays her gentle hand In mine;.
And she sits and gazes at me
With those deep and tender eyes.
Like the stars, so still and salnt-llke.
Looking downward from the skies.
Uttered not. yet comprehended.
Is the spirit's voiceless prayer.
Soft rebukes, in blessings ended
Breathing from her lips of air!
Oh. though oft depressed and lonely.
All my fears are laid aside.
If I but remember only
Such as tt-cse have lived and died I
Henry W. JJongfallow.
Remarkable Rubies.
The largest ruby known is one mentioned
by Chardln as having been engraved with
the- name of Sheik Sephy. Another nobla
ruby is in possession of the Shah of Persia.
Its weight is put at 175 carats. A third, be
longing to the King of Usapar. was cut into
a hemispherical form and la I5s3 was bouxhl
for W.86S.
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