66 Old and New Homes. 



in arranging the fruit for market. The berries were very large and sweet ■ 

 and several times a week our chests were shipped to the New- York agent, 

 who had given entire satisfaction by his prompt attention and punctual 

 returns. The empty chests came back safely by the returning freight-trains, 

 and were delivered at our station in good season for a subsequent picking. 

 Indeed, this business of transporting fruit to market has become so sys- 

 tematized, that an agent on the railroad finds enough employment in 

 attending to the taking-up of the produce on one train, and delivering the 

 returned fruit-chests and truck-baskets on another. As the number thus 

 transported is so immense, some, of course, may be lost, or never returned 

 to the owner ; but these occurrences are rare. 



We now understood why New Jersey was said to be so desirable a farm- 

 ing field, and why its profits were so large ; for its markets were the two 

 great cities at either end of the line; while the supply, great as it was, and 

 increasing yearly, could never keep pace with the demands of those vast 

 populations. These things were altogether different from other commodi- 

 ties, such as manufactured articles, which, however universal in their popu- 

 larity, are not consumed and renewed daily. The public appetite for 

 provisions was never satisfied ; or, if satiated one day, it needed as much 

 more the next. No matter how high the price, there were always hosts 

 of purchasers ready to take all that was offered ; and, if these middle-men 

 made their profits as well as the farmers, they probably deserved them. 



This agency-system was a great convenience to the working-farmer, who 

 must, of necessity, be present on the farm at the busy season of ingathering, 

 and could not well spare any of his hands to superintend the selling of his 

 crops. In the hurry of getting them early to market, a clay was of more 

 value to him than the trifling commission charged by the agents. They 

 were, in fact, necessary to each other's success ; and though the charge to 

 each farmer was apparently small, yet, in the aggregate, the profits well 

 repaid these middle-men, and constituted a splendid business. I have 

 heard of one or two who cleared their thousands in a single season from 

 the peaches alone. Of course, this sounds like a large sum ; but many 

 farmers will prefer to sell their entire harvest for a moderate price in ad- 

 vance, rather than take the numerous risks attending the ripening, gather- 

 ing, and getting to market, of a rather precarious crop like this. If the 



