VERMONTERS MAKE MONEY & < 

 PICKING MOUNTAIN FERNS ^ | 



Bennington, Vt, Nov. 13.— The fact that ^ 

 farmers are turning- to very profitable ac- > j 

 count the wild ferns with which the Green S 

 I Mountain sides in southern Vermont are $ 

 overgrown, has just come to public notice ** ] 

 here. 



During the dull days following the last of i 

 the year's regular farm harvesting the J 

 farmers are earning exceptionally good/ 

 I wages in gathering ferns and sending them 

 I tb New York and Boston florists. 



In many of the mountain towns in this ^ .. 

 I section whole families may now be seen 

 I picking ferns. 



While the amount paid is only 40 cents a* 

 I thousand, it is said that the ferns are so 

 I plentiful that a good picker can easily 

 I gather as many as 10,000 in a day, mak- 

 I ing a wage of $4. The ferns are tied in 

 I bunches of 25 and delivered at the nearest I 

 I railroad station for shipment. 

 I The greater part of the harvest is sola 

 I through • jobbers, who place the ferns In 

 I cold storage and sell to the florists during; 

 I the winter. The ferns are used for back- 

 I grounds in packing flowers. 



