186 American Horticultural Society. 



We hear much about the avenues that are open to women at the present 

 day ; but, look at the subject as we may, they have not an equal chance with 

 men. Besides being shut out of many occupations by physical incapacity, 

 and working for inferior pay in many of those in which by superior fitness 

 and faithfulness they have gained a foothold, they find themselves elbowed 

 by men, even in those vocations which belong especially to them, as, for in- 

 stance, millinery and dressmaking. 



But there is a pursuit in which very few women are as yet engaged, which 

 offers more advantages, with fewer drawbacks, than any other to which she 

 can turn her attention. This is the cultivation of small fruits. The leading 

 characteristics of this work are such as to recommend it especially to women. 



It is not laborious, does not require great physical strength, and yet it fur- 

 nishes proper and plentiful exercise for both mind and body. There is but 

 little heavy work connected with it, and that little can be hired. It does not 

 require much capital. But little land is required, and no expensive imple- 

 ments. When the business is begun in a small way, and gradually increased, 

 the-e is scarcely any expense worth naming. 



Fruit growers meet with less competition than almost any other c'ass, and 

 next to none from coarse or ignorant people. Their products generally 

 meet with a ready sale. And here, for once, woman has an equal chance 

 with man ; when she sends fruit to market no one demands it for half price 

 because it was grown by a woman. 



Fine fruit sells on its own merits; and while it has no fixed value, like 

 wheat, a good article is always in demand at a paying price. No advertising 

 is needed to sell it, and no money is spent in building up a trade. It can be 

 grown in any part of the country, and there is a market for it wherever 

 people live. The demand for fruit is not based simply upon its being deli- 

 cious and attractive— it is a real need. The human system has a natural 

 appetite for the combination of acids and sugar that is found in berries. 



When we think of the thousands and millions of people who live in cities 

 and raise nothing, we partially realize the extent of the demand for fruits, 

 and the conclusion is that for a long time to come the demand will exceed 

 the supply. True, the market is sometimes overstocked for a day or two, 

 but in such a case the producer can dry or can the surplus. The market for 

 dried fruit is never overstocked. 



Small-fruit growers have another advantage in the fact that their products 

 come into market in the summer, when people have money and are liberal 

 in spending it, rather than in the winter, when many are idle, and when 

 those who have employment find that the necessaries of life make such heavy 

 demands upon their earnings that they have little left for luxuries. 



The advantage of being one's own employer is worth much. No one can 

 fully appreciate this until he has been subject to the call of a bell or a whistle. 

 There is not a single qualification needed for the business of growing small 

 fruits that woman does not possess. Indeed, a much larger proportion of 

 women than of men are suited to the work. Farmers in general will let 



