CHANCE FOR BIG PROFITS 161 



berry, is getting a start. This fruit is originated by 

 Judge Logan, of Santa Cruz, Cal. It is proving to be the 

 easiest and best producing berry that can be grown on the 

 Pacific coast. It is especially free from disease, is a rank 

 grower, and yields enormously. It is steadily gaining in 

 favor with the lady experts of cooking. It is especially 

 adapted for pie cooking and jam. It is one of the many 

 twentieth-century agricultural achievements. 



Many products now generally overlooked can be turned 

 into cash. Seven children in one family in Areola, 111., 

 made $300 one winter peeling broomcorn stalks and sell- 

 ing the pith to warehouses, there to be shipped to jewelers 

 and watch factories. It is used by them for cleaning 

 their wares. It contains no grit nor hard fiber, and will 

 absorb oil or dirt without danger of scratching. Quite 

 a number of the women and children around Areola 

 make some money on the side this way every winter. 



After the crop is harvested, the women and children 

 gather armfuls of the stalks and pile them up back of 

 the house to dry. Then, during the evenings or on rainy 

 days, they peel one joint at a time and take out the clean, 

 white pith. This is made up into round bundles, holding 

 two or three pounds each, but nearly as large as a wash- 

 tub. The price received is 25 cents a pound. There is not 

 a large or unlimited demand for this material, but it pays 

 quite a few dollars each winter into the pockets of the 

 Areola people. 



The dasheen, like the potato, is a native of South 

 America, but is not a member of the botanical group of 

 plants to which the potato, tomato, eggplant and pepper 

 belong. It is closely related to the tanier of the southern 

 United States and the taro of Hawaii. 



It is said that dasheens are even more nourishing than 

 the potato. In flavor they suggest boiled chestnuts. At the 

 recent annual banquet of the National Geographical 

 Society, their edible qualities were thoroughly tested. 



