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105. Владельцы магазинов галантереи. A fancy store pays well when a good connection is established, but it takes time for that. Business is moving up street in New York, and of course fancy stores with it. Some unite millinery with the sale of fancy goods. The prices paid to those who stand in such stores, vary greatly. They are given under the head of Saleswomen.

106. Магазины мужской одежды. A great many women are employed in this business, and many more might be. The making of gentlemen's robes furnishes in itself quite a business in cities; also the making of cravats, collars, hemming handkerchiefs, and odd work to be done. Mrs. M. told me she has a girl that assists in the house, and stays in the store when not so occupied, and receives for her services $6 a month and her board. Madame P. pays $3 to each of her operators (ten hours a day), and to one superior operator $4. She pays $3.50 a week to a button-hole maker. That is made a separate branch of sewing. Fourteen is the usual number of button holes in a shirt, and some employers pay one cent apiece; some, one and a half; and for large ones, in which studs or sleeve buttons are worn, two cents apiece. Some men are very particular about the make and fit of their shirts. Madame P. gets $2.50 a dozen for shirts from a store down street, and $4.50 for shirts from a store up street. Ordered work pays best. Her great trouble is that she does not get constant employment. For awhile she sunk in her business from $4 to $5 a week. Mr. P. says, whenever business is dull in New York city, it is, of course, wherever work is done to supply the city. He takes learners in busy times. Mr. D., who employs 2,000 hands in his factory at New Haven, has discharged them all; also Mr. H., who employs 1,000; and Messrs. M. & H., who employ as many. He thinks, when business revives, there will be work enough for all in this line, and even more. Shirts are such an essential part of a man's wardrobe, that as long as men exist, shirts must be made. With the many improvements in sewing machines, Mr. P. has shirts, when cut out, given to the operator, and turned from the machine complete, with the exception of buttons and button holes. No basters are employed. All the felling is done by a feller, and all the hemming by a hemmer. He furnishes his operators with machines. He employs men to cut, because they do it faster than women. They cut with a knife twenty-four thicknesses of cloth. All factories furnish machines and needles. Troy is the great place for making shirt collars. The girls are paid by the piece in these factories, and the employers will not permit them to work more than eight hours a day, as they do not wish them to lose their health. A girl is not retained in these collar factories that cannot earn $7 a week—eight hours a day. The machines are moved by steam.

107. Продавцы мебели. A French woman that keeps a new furniture store told me that her husband does most of the work, employing some men to help him. She only attends store in his absence. The lifting, repairing, and varnishing, she thought could not be done by women. Called in the store of a woman—a German Jew. Her husband is away most of the time. She has furniture made to fill orders, and, of course, employs several men to make the furniture. I think she sells on credit. I think women are better adapted to the keeping of house-furnishing than of house-furniture stores. I was told in a furniture store by a saleswoman, that she takes entire charge of the store, cuts and gives out damask for making furniture, orders the men, and keeps the books; for which she has a comfortable home with her employer, a widow lady, and $5 a week. She says it requires one to be amiable and obliging, to possess health and energy, and to be a good judge of human nature, to succeed in business; but thinks good conduct and sobriety will insure success in almost anything. The spring she finds best for selling furniture. Small profits and quick sales is her motto. She never credits. She regulates her prices according to circumstances, allowing herself what she considers a fair profit, and yet doing justice to the buyer. She goes into the store at seven in the morning, and remains until ten at night. Only a strong, well-built woman, can move furniture. A lady that keeps a furniture store told me she sold a great deal before the holidays, but will not sell much again until spring. On making inquiry of a lady that keeps a furniture store, about the business, she uttered these practical remarks: "Never credit in the furniture business, or your money and furniture are both gone. You may succeed, if you have an honest, reliable man to attend to the business for you. It is a money-paying business. You should have a man that can attend auction, and buy furniture, and repair and varnish it. Besides, you need a carman, to lift and move furniture in the store, and carry it home." We would state that a woman can just as well attend the sales of house furniture in New York, at residences, as men, and a carman can at any time be hired to move furniture.

108. Бакалейщики. The retail grocery business is one that many women can and do carry on. It is very common to see the wives of grocers in their stores. The store is generally connected with or beneath their dwelling—so that it is very convenient for the man, and the woman is saved from exposure to the weather, passing back and forth from the dwelling to the store. The business is light and generally profitable. Much depends upon selecting a stand. A good stand is not likely to be idle long. The fall, I was told, was a bad season for a retail grocery in New York. Many small groceries in New York are owned by men, whose wives attend the stores while they are at work. I saw a nice little grocer, whose husband is a tailor, and who works at his trade in a room back of the grocery. This seemed to be reversing the general order of things. The husbands of some grocer women keep stalls in the markets, and furnish the groceries of their wives with vegetables. I called in a neat grocery store and bought some apples. The lady in attendance says she never sells liquor, but all the groceries around there do. She goes to market at four in the morning to buy potatoes and apples for her grocery. The baker leaves her bread, and she goes every evening to a baker's and buys cakes. Bundles of kindling wood are sent her from the wood yard, and the milkman leaves her milk. She goes to Washington market for her meat, and to Vesey street for her tea. So she manages. She said, not a cent in the store had been gained dishonestly. A grocer woman told me that peddlers interfere seriously with her business. Besides, the baker next door had gone to selling milk and butter, from which she has always derived most profit. She has least sale after families have laid in their groceries in the fall. Rich people and those in moderate circumstances generally purchase their groceries in large quantities, it being more convenient and economical to do so; hence we find but few groceries in the best portions of a city. Of course a grocer woman must be much on her feet. Most groceries are open until ten o'clock at night. Mrs. A. says it is impossible for grocer women to make more than a living now, paying $6 and $7 a week for rent, and sometimes not clearing more than $3 a week. She opens at five in the morning, and closes at nine at night. She makes most in summer, because then she does not have to burn fuel, and can do with less candle light. What lifting is necessary, her son does when he comes to see her. There are too many small groceries in New York for any to thrive. I have been told that in the majority (even when attended by women) liquor is sold. What a crime, to make ferocious beasts of those who are stupid enough to buy ardent spirits!

109. Торговцы старьем. Junkmen go about New York with small wagons, across which is a rod. Over the rod are strung several cowbells of different sizes, and from it fly a number of various-colored strips. Junkmen are not the same as the rag gatherers, or dealers, but a blending of the two, as they buy on a very small scale, and sell again. Part of their rags they sell to shoddy manufacturers. A. B., a female junk-dealer, keeps a shop, where she buys and sells old metals and rags. The first she sells to a man who comes to the door and buys them; the others she sells at a store where rags are bought for making paper. She has no system in buying and selling—buying at the lowest prices she can, and selling at the highest. Another woman told me she buys white rags at three and a half cents per pound, and sells at four. She pays so much a pound for old metals, and sells at an advance. Other articles, as bottles, glass, bones, cold victuals, and grease, are disposed of by junkwomen. The damaged cotton picked up by old women is sold to junk dealers.

110. Продавцы музыки. Mr. W. does not know of any ladies engaged in selling sheet music, but thinks there may be some in small towns. He thinks it would be a very suitable employment for them. I called in a music store, B—, where a lady was in attendance, and, in the course of conversation, learned she was the wife of the proprietor. According to her report, "it is an arduous business, and one that requires brains and musical talent. People will seldom purchase a piece of music until they hear it, and she must try the pianos before a person will purchase or hire. The business requires great patience. She and her husband keep their store open until ten o'clock at night. They do not sell so much when the weather is bad, nor in summer, when the people are out of the city. A lady so employed must be able to keep accounts, and, when she sells, must require good security, if she does not sell for cash. She must also be able to distinguish bad from good money." She says, "keepers of music stores will not employ women, however great their capabilities," but no reason could I obtain for it. I think it is something, where an opening offers, that would pay a woman well. I called at another music store in the same city, kept by a lady. She said: "She and her sister would not keep a music store, if they had not brothers in the business, for she did not consider it any more appropriate for a lady to keep pianos to sell than to keep a cabinet wareroom. The pianos sometimes need to be repaired and tuned, and no one can attend to that without knowing how a piano is constructed. (?) The mere selling of sheet music, she thought, might do well enough, but selling books would be better. She says it would not do well for a woman to tune pianos, as it requires considerable practice to make one competent." Why might not women acquire that practice? Her selfishness and fear of competition were very evident. It is desirable for a music seller to understand Italian, French, and German, as many of the songs used in our country are in those languages. Many pieces of music have two or three titles. It requires some time to learn to rightly perform the duties of a music seller. The selling of sheet music and the selling of pianos are separate branches, and a person in one may be totally ignorant of the other. The wholesale and retail departments are entirely distinct in large establishments. Clerks that attend in the piano department are expected to be able to play. A lady is now employed in a large piano store in New York to try the instruments for purchasers. A lady in New York stays in the store when her brother, Mr. D., is absent. He paid a boy $1.50 a week for some months while learning, then more. A person of ability could learn the business in six months' time, or less. Music is always arranged alphabetically on the shelves. A boy should be kept to climb the ladder. An extensive music seller in Boston writes: "In our direct employ is only one female—a cashier. Repeated losses of money, and cash continually over or above, induced us four years ago to adopt the plan of employing a female to receive the proceeds of sales. It has saved us a great deal of money, and lessened the temptation to the young men in the store. We would gladly employ more women, but the height of our shelves, and the unsuitableness of female apparel, prevent." Another music seller writes me: "Women are employed in our business, in Germany and France, and are there paid at the same rate as men. We do not employ ladies in our store, because those of their own sex will not buy from them."

111. Продавцы материалов для художников. The sale of paintings, engravings, and artists' materials, form of themselves a branch of business in large cities. I know of such a store in Philadelphia, kept by a lady. It must be a light and pleasant employment. In London there are seventy-nine print sellers.

112. Продавцы семян, корней и трав. In agricultural and horticultural communities, there is always a demand for roots and seeds. A large number of seeds are raised and put in papers for sale by the Shakers. In stores for the sale of roots and seeds, growing plants in jars might be offered for sale, and evergreens, with their roots in dirt, enveloped by linen or sacking. Orders might be given, and filled, for forest and fruit trees. Bouquets, also, might be kept for sale. A man in New York hires a room about Christmas, and devotes himself exclusively to the sale of evergreens for Christmas trees. As field seeds are usually sold by the measure, and not put up in papers, women have no employment in that line. The proprietor of an agricultural warehouse and seed store writes: "Our seed and grain are put up by men and boys in the winter months. It is work that might be done by women." A lady botanic druggist told me, "there are families in the West that make a comfortable support by gathering herbs; but even the smallest children assist." Those plants that bear flowers she has gathered when they begin to bloom. Those engaged in gathering commence early in life, and gather those growing in their yards and the fields of the neighborhood. Another seller of botanic medicine says there are spring and fall herbs, and, of course, they must be gathered in their seasons. She has a man and his wife gathering herbs, who support their family of five children by it, and two girls of another family, who earn a livelihood by it. Ladies in the occupation of root, seed, and flower selling, would do well to keep garden tools for sale.

113. Продавцы мелочей. In England, the word "haberdasher" is applied to those who engage in the sale of cord, tape, pins, and such articles. In America there is no synonymous word—so we use the expression heading this article, which we have seen occasionally employed in the same way. The number of women in this business is legion. With many it is a suitable and successful employment. Those whose means will not permit them to engage in any more extensive business—who have a room well located in town, and not too much competition—can, with a small capital, commence a safe and light business. It requires but little effort, and, with enough customers, will well repay time and capital. Many a poor woman, unable to purchase the articles required, has obtained them to sell on commission, and, by industry and economy, earned sufficient, in the course of time, to purchase a stock of her own. I called on a lady that keeps a variety store. She sells gloves, handkerchiefs, suspenders, and such articles to gentlemen, and tape, buttons, &c., to ladies. She would rather sell to gentlemen. She has been keeping store thirty-five years. Her store is near the river, and she sells much to people coming from the ferry and off the boats. She thinks in the South and West there would be many good openings for such stores. Spring and fall, and during the holidays, are her best times for selling. I called in a small store: I was told by the lady that she did not much more than make a living. She depends much on her friends and acquaintances for custom. As they increase in number, which they do from year to year, her custom increases. She finds herself very closely confined at home by the business. She does not regulate her profits entirely by the value of the articles, for cheap goods sell best where she is, and she puts on a large profit.

114. Продавцы нюхательного табака, табака и сигар. A lady, keeping a cigar store, said she makes only one third profit on her sales. Most people make one half, which, she says, is the usual profit on all goods. Snuff gives her the headache, when dealing it out, but she thinks she may get accustomed to it. She sells most from six o'clock in the morning until nine or ten; and then again in the evening. To know what manufactures of tobacco, snuff, and cigars are most popular, is important. Having acquaintances assists much, and they are the first patrons to one commencing business. A cigar store generally pays well in large cities, and, if well located, is sure to succeed. Fall and winter are the best seasons for selling cigars; in very warm weather no one cares to smoke.

115. Продавщицы. Women are quite as capable by nature to sell dry goods as men, but are not trained so thoroughly, nor from so early an age. Suavity of manner and perfect control of temper are very desirable qualifications for a clerk. Care, judgment, and taste are requisite for success. A flow of speech and ability to show goods to advantage are also desirable. Some people urge that if females are employed as attendants in stores, they will be exposed to dangerous and demoralizing influences, and something is said about the corruption of female shopkeepers in Paris, by way of warning. Now, it so happens that the corruption spoken of does not exist among the store attendants in Paris, but among sempstresses. Saleswomen and bookkeepers there enjoy as a class a good reputation, but the same cannot be said of sempstresses. Sempstresses, we know from the rates paid them, and the accounts of travellers, cannot make enough to support themselves; but shopkeepers can. "One fifth of all the female criminals in Paris are sempstresses," says Madame Mallet. Some employers complain that women are too sociably inclined, too much disposed to chat, where several are employed in the same establishment. It may be true; but are they more so than men of the same age? The languid appearance of saleswomen, we think, arises from their being on their feet so constantly. It is injurious to a woman; and employers should allow them to be seated, when not waiting on customers. The number of skirts they must wear, and the weight of hoop skirts, does much to bring this about. The kind of ladies that saleswomen mostly see in first-class stores is calculated to improve and refine their manners, and give them a command of language. Besides, it renders them more particular in their attire. They want to dress and look well. Those acquainted with the art, say there are at least a hundred ways of putting up new goods. Some Jews hire a girl to stay in their store, and require her to sew, make hoop skirts, &c., when not waiting on customers. In the United States, women are employed in a variety of stores: dry goods, lace, and fancy stores are the most common. In Philadelphia they attend in nearly all the largest stores—Levy's, Sharpless's, and Evans's; besides, several hundred earn a subsistence as saleswomen in smaller stores. Close observation and much experience are needed to fulfil the duties, but the natural quickness of most women gives them a tact seldom equalled by men. The variety afforded by the occupation is pleasing, and the labors are light. The handling of gloves, tape, ribbon, &c., is undoubtedly best suited to the finer and smaller hands of women. The reason there are so many young men performing the duties of clerks and salesmen, is, that they are lazy, and do not want to perform hard work. Another reason is that the majority want to dress well and make a good appearance, but have no capital. The price paid for a girl to attend store would depend on the size, location, and kind of store, how much they sell, and the abilities of the girl. Lady clerks usually receive from $3 to $8 per week. The best seldom receive more than $6; while men receive from $6 to $12. The ladies are obliged to dress well, and to do so must retrench in other expenses, living in crowded attics or damp cellars, or on unwholesome food. Mr. M., Philadelphia, pays his girls from $3 to $6 per week, it depending altogether on their qualifications. In Bangor and Belfast, Maine, most of those who attend stores are women. They have also been much employed in Buffalo, New York, during the last few years. It is a regulation of some of the stores in New York and Philadelphia, that a salesman or woman shall not sit down to rest; and in some, if they do, they are fined. If there is nothing to do, they must take down the boxes and pull out the articles, then arrange them carefully in the boxes, as if they were closely occupied, to give the impression that much business is transacted in the establishment. In fancy stores on the avenues, New York, girls get from $2.50 to $4 a week. The stores are mostly open from 7 A. M. to 10 P. M. In some localities, most goods are sold in the evening. At a small dry-goods store, where I called to make a purchase, the lady told me she used to employ a girl, paying her $3 a week, without board. She was in the store from 7 A. M. till 9.30 P. M. A girl in a store on Sixth avenue told me, she and her companions get from $2 to $5 a week. They are there at eight in the morning, and remain until ten at night, and on Saturday until eleven or twelve. They are not allowed to sit down. A girl in a lace and embroidery store on Sixth avenue, New York, told me that girls get in such stores from $3.50 to $10, but they must make up laces when not waiting on customers. Some receive a percentage. Women are not paid as well as men, even in such stores. Time of learning depends on the individual. They are seldom paid anything for a few weeks. They have most to do in spring and fall; are in the store from 8 A. M. to 9 or 10 P. M. A lady told me she used to get $7 a week in a fancy store. At M.'s dry-goods store, New York, the superintendent told me they do not pay learners for one month. They have girls who have been in the store but a few weeks, that can do as well as those who have been in it for years. Some again are stupid, and they will not retain such. When girls are qualified, they pay from $1 to $10 a week. They prefer having ladies in the store, thinking they know best a lady's wants. They often have occasion to change—some get broken down and go away, some get tired, some get discouraged, some cannot be on their feet so long, some cannot please customers, some are not satisfactory to employers, &c.; so, many changes take place. The ladies all looked to be Americans. They are allowed to sit when there is nothing to do, and no customers in; which, I suspect, is rarely, if ever the case. I have been told the openings for saleswomen are better farther East than in New York. A lady told me she used to get $1 a day in R.'s store on Broadway, and the other saleswomen got the same price. Then she was on her feet nearly all the time. She was there at eight and staid till seven: all were expected to take their dinner and eat in the store. Mrs. H. told me she knew a lady that stood in a store on Chestnut street, Philadelphia, who received a salary of $800 a year. When girls first go into a store, they usually get $1 a week during the season (three months), then $1.50, and so increase. A pretty good knowledge of store keeping is acquired by a smart person in six months, and now ladies are relieved in large stores from the responsibility of making change. Many of the ladies in New York stores are Irish. American ladies are more engaged in making artificial flowers, bookfolding, &c. I was told rather a novel feature in the life of shop girls, viz.: that many board from home, for the sake of having company; and in addition to this, men, earning good wages, but of disreputable character, will often board in low houses, and ingratiate themselves into the favor of the girls, until they work the ruin of one or more. Mr. D. employs five ladies, and pays them from $3 to $5. He prefers ladies. When he takes beginners, he pays $1.50 a week, and better wages as they become more capable. He has paid $8, and even $9 a week. The ladies are in the store from eight to half past eight. He allows them to sit when no customers are in and there is nothing doing. A lady with whom I talked, and who had stood in a store on Catherine street, New York, finds the occupation very injurious, because of having to be on her feet so constantly, and its lasting from 7 A. M. until 9 P. M. In some stores they are obliged to remain until eleven, and even twelve, in busy seasons. On Grand and Catherine streets, New York, they keep open very late. She says, when the weather is dull, and there are but few customers, employers are apt to be cross and vent their bad feelings on the girls. And in those stores the girls cannot sit down to take a stitch for themselves; but, when there are no customers to wait on, they must make up undersleeves, capes, and caps for the store. She now keeps a millinery and fancy store, and pays her girls $5 a week, and the girls are in the store from seven to nine. They make up bonnets, when not waiting on customers, and so have a change of posture without a loss of time. She has a friend in a Broadway store, that receives $1 a day. A saleswoman should know how to make out accounts. Ability to speak the French and German languages is a most valuable acquisition to a saleswoman in our cities. One discouraging feature in the history of saleswomen is, that their wages are not advanced like those of men. In Detroit, Michigan, girls receive from $3 to $5 for standing in a store. "In Cleveland, in 1854, there was one dry-goods store where four lady clerks were employed at salaries from $200 to $350 per annum. In one shoe store a lady received a salary of $250; and one, in another shoe, store, $200. In a millinery and fancy dry-goods store, kept by ladies, fifteen girls were employed at from $4 to $6 per week. In another, kept by a gentleman, ten girls were employed at from $4 to $6 per week." In the same city, gentlemen clerks usually receive from $250 to $600 per annum. At a store on Grand street, New York, where a number of saleswomen are employed, the owner told me he takes girls in the spring and fall. He tries them for one month, and such as he finds he can make anything of he retains. He then pays them something, and increases their wages in proportion to their advancement. Some never rise above $3; but those who are ambitious and desirous to excel and make proportionate effort, he will pay higher. He has paid as high as $12 a week. A merchant keeping a large trimming store on Canal street, pays his women from $1.50 to $8 per week, and they are in the store from seven in the morning till dark. To wait in a store requires experience; and a lady, in getting a situation, should endeavor to do so through the influence of a merchant. It is very desirable to have a good location for a store. Mr. M. pays his saleswomen from $2 to $6, according to their qualifications. At a confectionery the woman told me she gives $6 a month and board and washing; but as she does not keep open on Sunday, the girl would have to go home Saturday night and stay till Monday. She would be kept busy all the time, from seven in the morning till eleven at night, waiting on customers, cleaning tables, washing plates, sweeping floors, &c. On most of the avenues in New York, merchants do not sell as much, nor receive such a profit, as on Broadway, and employ women because they can get them cheaper. In a small variety store, a lady told me she had paid $4 a week and board to one who had never stood in a store; but the lady was a friend. She remarked: "If a person has the inclination, a memory, and common sense, she can soon learn. Few are willing to take learners. American ladies are not ambitious enough to keep store. For one month in summer and one in winter there is little doing." A lady confectioner says: "It requires a very honest person to be in a confectionery, because small sums are being constantly received and no note taken of them. Girls are paid according to their capabilities from $2 to $5, and are in the store from 7 A. M. to 9, 10, 11, and even 12 P. M., in busy seasons, which are about the holidays. It requires some weeks to know the prices, where to place the articles, and how to make them appear to advantage." A merchant, who employs saleswomen, told me he thought women have a better sense of propriety and are more particular than men, but they lack judgment and promptness. He thinks women do very well as far as they go, but there is a boundary line in ability, beyond which women cannot pass. The gentleman referred to was indebted to his mother, who had kept the store he then owned, for his education and position in business. Mr. P., seller of ladies' trimmings, employs from twenty to twenty-five saleswomen, who knit and embroider for the store when not waiting on customers. A lady who waited in the store told me they change their position frequently, seldom sitting more than ten minutes at a time. Women are paid from $4 to $10 per week, and are in the store from half past 8 A. M. to half past 6 P. M. They pay from $2.50 to $3.50 for board. The business can be learned in from three to six months. While learning, they receive enough to pay their board. Industry and ambition are necessary for success. The prosperity of the business in the future depends on the fashion and the amount of money in circulation. Winter is the best season for the sale of goods. The women are mostly German; they succeed best in knitting, because they are brought up to it. There are openings in the business, West and South. A saleswoman told me her business is hard on the back, because of the standing, reaching up, and bending. She is paid $6 per week, her store companions $3, spending eleven hours in the store. A person of business qualifications requires only practice to make a saleswoman. She has often heard ladies complain of having to purchase small or fancy articles of men. She thought heavy dress goods could be better handled by men. She says dissatisfaction is likely to arise when an employer boards his work hands. Mrs. D., who keeps a fancy store, told me that fifteen or twenty years ago, it was a rare thing to see a saleswoman in a store in New York. She says nearly all of her saleswomen have relations dependent on them for support, and if they are thrown out of employment for a week it is a serious matter. She pays $5 a week to experienced saleswomen, and gives something to learners; all stay in the store ten hours. She thinks honesty, truthfulness, intelligence, good address, and a knowledge of human nature are the best qualifications. Spring and fall she finds the best seasons for selling goods, and thinks the occupation for a lady next best to teaching. A merchant in New Haven writes: "We employ from two to five women (all American) as clerks, paying from $3 to $6 per week. To learners we pay $2 per week. The employment of women is on the increase. My clerks are employed through the year, and work from ten to eleven hours per day. We employ women to save expense, and because we believe them most honest." A firm in Providence, who sell gloves, hosiery, &c., write: "We employ ten saleswomen on an average, and pay from $2 to $7 per week, ten hours a day. We pay $2 per week to learners. To learn thoroughly requires about six months' practice. We consider the prospect good of the occupation being opened to more women. One third of our hands we send off in summer and winter. We find women neater and more steady than men, but not so energetic." The proprietor of a large establishment in Philadelphia writes: "About thirty women are employed by us in selling dry goods. Their health generally improves by their active occupation, the proper ventilation of our warehouse, and the regular habits to which they become accustomed. Wages are from $1 to $10 per week; they are paid less than men because their time of work is shorter, their expenses are less, and their channels of usefulness more circumscribed. A lifetime is needed to learn the business thoroughly, although in five years much may be learned. Women are paid while learning. Quickness of intellect and of body, good temper, and pleasant manners are very essential. Women well instructed are generally permanent in an establishment. Our most busy seasons are from February to June, and September to December. In no season are saleswomen thrown out of employment. In winter they spend eight and a half hours in the store; in summer, nine hours. Seventy-five per cent. are of American parents. The work is fatiguing at times, but not wearing on the system. Another part of our occupation, in which women might be employed, if properly instructed, is bookkeeping. Women are deficient in generalizing, excellent in concentrativeness. Many of our saleswomen have been teachers, and some return to it. They have their evenings as their own from 6 P. M.; they have good moral boarding places, and a public library open gratuitously. About one half live with parents; the remainder board at from $2 to $2.50 per week, perhaps two persons occupying the same room." In Paris, France, young women in stores receive for their services their lodging, washing, and board, with from $40 to $80 per annum.

116. Уличные торговцы. The number of women alone, in London, according to Mr. Mayhew's estimate, engaged in street sales, wives, widows, and single persons, is from 25,000 to 30,000. Girls and women form a large proportion of the street sellers, and earn from sixty-two cents to $1 a week. The comparative newness of our country, the smaller size of the cities, and the greater demand for manual labor have presented fewer calls for street sellers. We hope the time may never come when our streets will be thronged, as those of London are, with street venders, for we consider it not by any means an index of general prosperity. More especially do we hope the scanty pittance obtained by their labor, and the consequent privation and suffering, may never be the portion of any of our population willing to work for a support. All the wants of a great city can be supplied by the London street sellers. They are patronized mostly by those in the middle and lower walks of life. All the varieties imaginable are represented in their sale of articles. Both dressed and undressed food can be obtained of them. Home and foreign fruits and vegetables of all kinds have each their separate sales. Of the eatables and drinkables offered by them for sale, the solids consist of hot eels, pickled whelks, oysters, sheep's trotters, pea soup, fried fish, ham sandwiches, hot green peas, kidney puddings, boiled meat puddings, beef, mutton, kidney and eel pies, and baked potatoes. In each of these provisions the street poor find a midday or midnight meal. The pastry and confectionery which tempt the street eaters are tarts of rhubarb, currant, gooseberry, cherry, apple, damson, cranberry, and (so called) mince pies; plum dough and plum cake; lard, currant, almond, and many other kinds of cakes, as well as of tarts; gingerbread nuts and heart cakes; Chelsea buns, muffins, and crumpets; sweet stuff includes the second kind, of rocks, sticks, lozenges, candies, and hard cakes; the medicinal confectionery, of cough drops and horehound; and, lastly, the more novel and aristocratic luxury of street ices and strawberry cream, at two cents a glass (in Greenwich Park). The drinkables are tea, coffee, and cocoa; ginger beer, lemonade, Persian sherbet, and some highly colored beverages which have no specific name, but are introduced to the public as cooling drinks; hot elder cordial or wine; peppermint water; curds and whey; water; ice milk, and milk (just from the cow), in the parks. In addition to this information, most of which is derived from Mr. Mayhew's "London Labor and London Poor," we will devote the remainder of the article to information from the same author; and would do so in his words, were it not that we would like to condense as much as possible. For the substance, we acknowledge, therefore, our indebtedness to Mr. Mayhew. In the suburbs of London, some people spend their time collecting snails, worms, grasshoppers, caterpillars, toads, snakes, and lizards, which they sell in the city as food for birds. Some, in collecting frogs, which they sell to French families, at hotels and at hospitals. Some devote their time to the sale of coffee, beer, and baked potatoes. Some engage in the sale of coke, some of salt, and some of sand. Nor is literature forgotten by the street sellers. "There are," says Mr. M., "five houses in London that publish street literature, and six authors and poets that prepare such literature in prose or rhyme." Some streetsellers devote themselves to the hawking of dog collars, and some to the sale of rat poisons. Some collect the nests of wild birds and the eggs, and sell them. Some sell whips; and some, walking sticks; but these last articles, we believe, are sold only by men. In London, some women sell refuse fruits; some, water-colored pictures and cheap engravings; some, coins commemorating public events. Some engage in the sale of children's watches. Some sell implements belonging to a trade; for instance, tailors' implements. Some sell washerwomen's clothes lines, pegs, and props; or kitchen utensils, as tin ware, vegetable nets, kettle holders, &c. Some of the street sellers are blind, with having taxed their eyes too greatly in sewing for slop shops. Some women are co-workers with the men in the sale of crockery and glass ware. They go in pairs (generally husband and wife); some with a large basket between them, others with separate baskets. Some sell spar ornaments, and some, china ornaments; some, lace, and some, millinery; some, thread, tape, needles, &c. Quite a number sell women's second-hand apparel. Some sell umbrellas; some, men's suspenders, belts, and trouser straps. Others again will sell embroidery, stockings, gaiters, shoe laces, blacking, pipes, quack medicines, snuff, tobacco boxes, and cigar cases; and in winter some are seen carrying even kindling wood to sell. Some women sell dolls, spectacles, wash leather, china cement, razor paste, matches, or japanned ware. Some women carry sponge in baskets; they either sell it for money or exchange it for old clothes. A few sell musical instruments. Some offer guide books, play bills, newspapers, stationery, and jewelry. Rabbits, squirrels, parrots, and other kinds of birds are sold by them; and some dispose of dead game. Seeds, flowers, roots, and, about Christmas, evergreens, are sold in large numbers. In shops, some try to resell slops from kitchens, old glass, metal, or worn clothes, &c.; some, exhausted tea leaves, which they dispose of to those that dye and redye them to sell again.—We give this chapter, because it comprises all and many more than the sellers on our streets. The few engaged in street sales in our cities are mostly confined to old women, who sit at the corners, with stands on which rest store articles, tin ware, sweetmeats, and fruits, or a small lot of fancy articles. There are several stands of second-hand books and newspapers, or shelves of candy, kept by men, but the variety in the business is quite limited, compared with the cities of Europe. Mr. Mayhew thinks the majority of street sellers in London have been servants and mechanics that could not get employment. Some street sellers go on foot through the country during the summer, to sell at fairs and races. Many others get employment from the farmers in gathering vegetables and fruits for market, weeding gardens, picking hops, and assisting in haymaking and harvesting. In Paris, some women carry bread to sell, in baskets strapped to their backs. In New York, I saw two women with baskets of vegetables and fruit to sell. I spoke to one, who told me she earns sometimes as much as $1 a day, and sometimes but a few cents. In winter, it is not unusual to see girls with baskets of dried thyme, parsley, and sage, who sell it for culinary purposes. I talked with a woman who carried tin ware in a basket. She often does not earn fifty cents a day, and will be walking all day, not even going home at noon. She buys by the dozen, and so gets the articles a little cheaper. I inquired of a girl selling radishes how many she usually disposed of in a day. She takes them around only in the afternoon, and sometimes sells to the amount of $1.25.

117. Продавцы игрушек. This is a business better suited to the natural nurses of children than to men. A handsome profit is derived from the sale of toys. The busy seasons with toy merchants and confectioners are about Christmas and New Year. Toys might be more extensively made in our country, thereby giving employment to many now without it. Women mostly stand in toy shops in New York. Even so small an item as the eyes of children's dolls produces a circulation of several thousand pounds in England. Several establishments in London are devoted exclusively to the manufacture of dolls.

118. Продавцы обоев. Selling wall paper is a light, pretty business. In cities it affords a remunerative return; in towns and villages it is sold mostly by dry-goods merchants and druggists. The only objection I see to it is, that a step ladder must be used to get the paper down from the higher shelves; but a small boy might be used for that, and also for carrying paper home to purchasers.

119. Поношенная одежда и мебель, бывшая в употреблении.

Mr. Mayhew tells us that in London thirty persons are engaged in the exclusive sale of second-hand boots and shoes. He mentions one man that, in 1855, was thought to take over £100 ($500) a day. Boots and shoes, too far gone to be repaired, are sold to Prussian-blue manufacturers—so nothing is lost. In Philadelphia, near Penn Square, may be seen ranged, on an open space, a large quantity of second-hand clothes, shoes, dresses, &c., for sale. The business, in this country, of buying and selling again worn clothes is mostly in the hands of the Jews—perhaps altogether. In all countries it is more or less a favorite business with them. The time is past when the Jew was prohibited in other countries from holding real estate; yet the Jews in all countries, so far as I know, generally retain their property in money, or invest it in something movable. Old clothes in our country are generally given in exchange for new china, glass ware, &c.; yet a number in the large cities pay money. In London all kinds of articles are given for them, and then they are taken to the old-clothes exchanges, where they are disposed of for money, principally to shopkeepers who deal in the sale of worn clothes. Some of these articles are made over, some made smaller, some turned, some changed in form; in fact, the greatest ingenuity is exercised to employ to advantage the articles used. Second-hand articles are not so much sold in this country as in older countries, where money is more difficult to get, and poverty greater. Boys' cloth caps and roundabouts, and women's shoes, are made of old coats and pants, so worn in parts as to be unsalable. Coats are also made of cloaks, bonnets of aprons, &c. Men's and women's apparel of all sorts is bought and sold by them. Old umbrellas and parasols are bought, repaired, and sold. Silk dresses, if unfit to be sold, are used for making children's hoods, facing coats, &c. The scraps are used for making quilts. Old woollen dresses, whose waists are much worn, are used for making wadded skirts. Tailors' and dress-makers' trimmings are sometimes purchased for a small sum, and used in making up girls' hoods, boys' caps, &c. In London, most of women's second-hand apparel is (as it should be) sold by women. It is customary for buyers to cry down every article offered them for sale or barter, but those they offer for sale are magnified into ten times their value. Many of the men who go through the streets of our cities buying old clothes or giving china ware in exchange for them, take them home and their wives repair them. I called at a second-hand variety store in Brooklyn. The woman says most people engaged in the business are foreigners. The business is not unhealthy. Clothes brought in are washed and done over, and their domestics are always healthy. Their business is very dull. Ten years ago it was quite brisk, but many stores of the kind have been opened in Brooklyn lately. She and her daughter go and look at any articles for sale; and if they think the person honest and the price suits, they will buy; so that, if any one should come and claim the clothes as being stolen, they could immediately take a policeman to the place where they got them. If articles are bought, they examine and put a price on them, and get the address of the individual. If they find they are not stolen, they then purchase. The poorest season for the business is midwinter. They keep their store open till ten o'clock at night. I was told at another store they sell most clothes in the evening to laborers' wives. In a store in New York, the lady says she buys her clothes of Jews that go about exchanging china for old clothes. It is very necessary that a good locality be fixed on, near a river or bay, on a thoroughfare, or in a neighborhood where many poor people live. One woman told me she employs two girls and three men to make over and do up worn clothes for her store. She pays her girls, each, thirty-one cents a day, and they work twelve hours. She sells most in the evening. At one place I was told that Mondays and Saturdays are their busiest days for selling. They sell most to the French, Irish, and negroes. Germans do not like to buy second-hand clothes. She regretted that in her present store she had not glass cases to keep the dust off her clothes. Her purchasing is mostly done among the rich, she says, and so it brings her a good class of customers. The keeper of a second-hand furniture store told me that she goes to auction herself and purchases. It is two or three years before the business pays. She will go to a dwelling and look at furniture before purchasing. It requires a man to do the lifting. She has old furniture repaired, chairs reseated, &c., before she attempts to sell them.

120. Универсальные магазины. Variety shops, for the sale of coal, wood, kindling, candles, matches, and water, are frequently seen in the poor districts of cities. They are a great convenience to those whose means will not admit of their buying in large quantities. It costs them more to buy it in that way, yet the keeping of shops affords a subsistence to those who do.

ЗАНЯТИЯ, СВЯЗАННЫЕ С ЗЕРНОМ, ПТИЦАМИ, ЦВЕТАМИ, ФРУКТАМИ И ОВОЩАМИ.

121. Сельскохозяйственные работники. With industry and enterprise, what may not woman accomplish! We have heard of women in Western New York, Ohio, and Michigan, that not only carry on farms, but do the outdoor work, as tilling, reaping, &c. It is said that in countries where the physical labor of women in the open air is as great as that of men, their constitutions become as stout and capable of endurance. Agriculture is an employment safe and profitable, and capable of almost any extension in this country. There is a great difference usually between the theory and practice of farming. Many agricultural works and periodicals are published that abound in practical instruction. In grazing countries stock is raised, and the labor of the people is given to making butter and cheese. A variety of soil and difference of altitude produce different crops in the same latitude. In the United States the raising of hops is becoming a branch of national industry, and some women are employed to pick them. In England and France large numbers of women are employed to pick hops. In England, 52,000 acres of land are devoted to their cultivation. There is danger, in picking hops, of getting wet and taking cold, which acts upon the system very much the same as the ill effects of calomel. But if proper care is used, the work is not unhealthy. There is a people's college in New York State, where females are received as pupils as well as males. No doubt a horticultural department will be formed. We think it would be well if more women would devote themselves to agricultural and horticultural employments. Weeding gardens and attending dairies or poultry yards would each furnish work for more women than are now employed, and save women from running to the cities, which are already crowded to excess with applicants for work. Headley, in his "Adirondack Mountains," says: "Twenty miles from any settlement on Brown's Tract in Adirondack, Arnold and his family of thirteen children—twelve girls and a boy—live by their trafficking, by sporting, and cultivating the field. The agricultural part, however, is performed chiefly by females, who plough, sow, and rake equal to any farmer. Two of the girls threshed alone, with common flails, five hundred bushels of oats in one winter, while their father and mother were away trapping for marten. They frequently ride without bridle or even halter, guiding the horse by a motion or stroke of the hand. They are modest and retiring in their manners, and wild and timid as fawns among strangers." "On the west side of the Scioto, just below Columbus, there is planted a field of six hundred acres of bottom land. Twenty-five German girls follow the ploughs, and do the hoeing, for which they receive 62½ cents per day." There are two sisters in Ohio who manage a farm of three hundred acres; and two other sisters, near Media, Pennsylvania, that conduct as large a farm.

122. Продавцы пчел. A new species of bee, that builds in trees instead of hives, is about to be introduced by Government from Paraguay. In keeping bees there is no expense. The hives can easily be made at home, or purchased for a comparative trifle. Their food they seek themselves. "The bee mistresses gain a living by selling honey in many rural districts of England." Most of the honey used in the United States is collected in the South. That to be carried to the North is put in hogsheads. Merchants who buy it have small glass jars filled, which are sold in markets and groceries.

123. Импортеры и заводчики птиц. There are establishments in most of the large cities of the United States for the sale of birds. The proprietors import and raise them. Most imported birds are from Germany. They are caught by the peasants living among the mountains, and sold for a trivial sum in small wooden cages. The favorite pet bird has long been the canary. In the South the mocking bird is common, and often seen caged. But few of our most beautiful birds bear domestication. Their wild, free nature unfits them for it. In Germany there is a class of men who make it a separate business to train birds to sing. The bullfinch is the kind most commonly taught—perhaps the only kind. They teach in bird classes of from four to seven members each. It is done by withholding food from them in the dark and playing on a bird organ or a flute. A gentleman told me, he thought few, if any, ladies could be repaid in making a business of bird raising; indeed, he had known several undertake it, but fail. He says, people like German birds best, because they learn earlier to sing; and, you know, a purchaser always wants to hear a bird sing before he buys it. At a bird importer's I priced birds. He asked for a male canary, $3; for a female, $1; an African parrot, $8; green parrot, $5; goldfinch, $3; and thrush, $2. Mrs. L., a German, who raises canaries, told me she could not support herself by raising birds, but she knows several men that do. She says the American birds are the longest lived—the imported die in about two years after reaching this country. Foreign birds are generally devoid of strength, and their limbs are apt to turn backward as they rest on the roosts. I suppose that arises from their being shut up in small cages during the long journey across the ocean, and many of them, being caught birds, cannot bear the confinement and cramped position. Another bird dealer attributed the fact of imported being less healthy than American birds, to their taking cold in crossing the ocean. American birds that are not mated may live fifteen or sixteen years. The breed, form, color, sex, and ability to sing determine their price. It is difficult to tell the age of canaries from their appearance. So one is liable to be imposed upon by unprincipled dealers, who prefer to sell old birds, particularly of the feminine gender. Birds are subject to a variety of diseases. Birds are cheapest in the fall, as it requires more to keep them in winter than summer, and many do not wish to be at that expense. Mrs. L. sells most in February, March, and April, the breeding season. Prices vary from $2 to $7. It does not take long to learn to raise birds, another bird raiser told me, when you know just how to feed them, and the proper temperature for them. She sells most in winter.

124. Таксидермисты (птиц и животных). I notice in the census of Great Britain three women returned as animal preservers; and I know there are some in Germany, three of whom are in Strasbourg. Bird stuffing is a trade in which but few can find employment. It would therefore be necessary to have something else to rely on in case that should fail. It is thought by some to be unhealthy, on account of the arsenic used—particularly to young people. The senior of a firm I called on had been engaged in it fifteen years without detriment to his health. Females mostly prepare the branches of trees, or other fanciful stands, on which the birds are placed. The frames are usually of wood or pasteboard, covered with moss. I called at Mr. B.'s, and saw a young man who works with him. He thinks the work is not unhealthy. It is an art in which there is always room for improvement. Mr. B., who has been at it thirty years, says he is always learning something new in regard to it, or making some discovery in the art. The eyes are manufactured in New York. To one practising the art a good eye for form is necessary, and an ability to imitate nature closely. The spring of the year is the best season; but all seasons answer. The only danger in summer is from insects. A bird stuffer told me he would teach the art to one or two persons for $50; but he thinks the prospect for employment poor. It is difficult to get birds to learn on in winter; but in summer plenty can be had. He has had acquaintances commence in New Orleans, St. Louis, and Chicago. The first two could not make a living. He knows of two young ladies that have learned it merely as a pastime. I called on a French lady, Mrs. L., who stuffs birds and animals. She taught the art to a barber, who made a great deal of money by it. He paid $150 for his instruction, spending every other day at it for two months. A Cuban, who owns seven hundred slaves, paid her the same amount. He wished to learn, that he might preserve birds he could obtain while travelling in various countries. She has received several letters from Boston requesting her to come there and stuff birds for a museum that is being commenced. She was the personation of health, but she complained that she suffered with rheumatism. She trembled much—she thought from rheumatism. May it not be that it is the result of arsenic that she has got into a pimple, or where the skin was broken? The work, of course, requires a firm hand. She showed me a parrot, done, she said, in one hour, for which she was to receive $3. A German book is written on the subject that contains directions. The information can be obtained in English from a little work called "Art Recreations." The ingredients are often sold in drug stores already mixed. It can be done at all seasons. Mrs. L. thinks one could become proficient in two months' constant practice. A gentleman went to California, and made a large collection of birds; stuffed them, and sent them to various European countries. In the four years he was at it he made $60,000. She sent six hundred to a museum in Paris a short time ago. She thinks St. Louis may present an opening. Mrs. L. knows a man who has been employed in stuffing birds and animals in the museum of Strasbourg from the age of fifteen to seventy-seven, and is a very corpulent man, being nearly as broad as he is long. That she gave as an indication of its healthfulness; but it may be that he is bloated from the arsenic, as it has that effect. She says even poor people will pay to have a pet bird stuffed, when they have not a dime to buy bread.

125. Флористы. The rearing of flowers has ever been a charming pastime to many of our sex. When the pleasure can be combined with profit, it is well. The cultivation of flowers is a taste whose beneficial results are not sufficiently appreciated. When the cares and troubles of life begin to press upon men and women, they are apt to neglect the cultivation of flowers, when it might absorb some of the cares that burden their hearts. Vines, roses, and ornamental fruit trees cost but a small sum, and yet how much they add to the beauty and comfort of a place! Most of the choice roses of our country are from cuttings imported from France. They are brought over in jars. Many, of course, die on the voyage. The variety is very great. The selling of roots, plants, and bouquets is quite remunerative in some places. Much depends on the knowledge and skill of the florist, the location of his gardens, and the fondness of the people in the community for flowers. It is a delightful business for a lady, if she has men to do the planting, digging, and other hard work. In Paris, there is a market devoted to the sale of flowers. In most of the markets of our large cities, are exposed for sale pot plants and bouquets, also shrubs and evergreens. A florist told me that he employs two women in winter to make up bouquets and wreaths for ladies going to evening and dinner parties, concerts, and other places of amusement. It requires taste and ingenuity. He pays each $5 per week. They can make up wreaths to look like artificial flowers. A woman on Long Island makes a living by raising flowers that are sold in New York. I was told that some lady has established a horticultural school on Long Island. Florists in and near cemeteries are apt to find sale for flowers and plants. Hence it is common to observe gardens and hot houses so located. I rode out to a florist's near Brooklyn. He says the business is not so good as it was, because the Germans in Hoboken raise flowers and sell bouquets for sixpence that he could not sell for twenty-five cents. The man does not send bouquets to the city, as it does not pay. Their profits are mostly derived from the sale of choice fruit trees raised at Flushing. They sell bouquets at their hot houses from a shilling up to $5. They derive most profit from flowers in winter. A florist's occupation is healthy, and affords much pleasure to one fond of flowers. Yet it requires close attention to business. In England it was formerly customary to serve a seven-years' apprenticeship at the business, but three or four years will answer very well, if an individual gives undivided attention to his business, and is with a superior florist. A knowledge of botany is necessary to a florist. It requires considerable taste to make up a bouquet, and therefore is very appropriate to women. A knowledge of colors and their artistic arrangement is essential; also a natural taste for flowers, and some patience. Making bouquets, wreaths, &c., is slow work. The stems of flowers for bouquets are cut very short, as most of the nutriment of the stem is lost to the succeeding ones by cutting long ones. Artificial stems are added to the natural ones, and are usually made of broom straw or ravelled matting. Mrs. F., the wife of a florist, says the wives of most florists assist their husbands in making up bouquets, wreaths, and baskets. She thinks, if a florist had enough to do to employ a lady, he would pay her $3 or $4 a week. She has often thought a small volume might be written on the flower business in New York. She says no one has an idea of the amount of money expended for flowers. Mr. D. used to send out $1,000 worth of flowers on New Year's morning. It is a very irregular employment. Some days she sells a great many for balls, parties, and funerals. One might learn to make bouquets, if they have taste and judgment, by a few months' practice. The flowers that are sold at different seasons vary greatly, and the value of them depends much on their age. Mrs. F. has sold a few baskets of flowers at $50 apiece. She sells many flowers for Roman Catholic churches about Easter. Mrs. R. says florists prefer to have men, because they can work in the garden or green house when not cutting or putting up flowers. The Germans have run the business down in New York. A florist named Flower writes: "We employ from two to four women tying buds, hoeing, weeding, &c.; in winter they help about grafting. They are paid fifty cents a day, of ten hours. Women so employed are German born. The employment is healthy. Men get seventy-five cents a day, as they can do more work; but the principal reason for employing women is, that we can hire them cheaper and like them better for light work. Women could do all parts of our business, if they had a fair chance with men, and would improve the chance. One year would give a general knowledge, but five would be better. A good, sound constitution, and industrious habits, are the best qualifications. Women that want such work can find plenty of it; but outdoor work is too hard for American women." Another florist writes: "In Europe, where women are sometimes employed in fruit or vegetable gardens, their wages are usually about half a man's. Women (chiefly Germans) are employed in this country by farmers to pick fruit, vegetables, &c., by the quantity. At light work, done by contract, women, I believe, can make as much as men. Several years would be necessary to learn the business; some branches of it might be learned in a few weeks. The requisite most needed for women to work in green houses, is a change of fashion. Their dress unfits them altogether for moving about in crowded plant houses. Were their dress similar to the men's, I see no reason why they would not be equally useful in other departments as well as this. If that should ever happen, they would, in my opinion, be worth as much as men; for the work is mostly light, and ladies, having a natural taste for flowers, would soon learn it. If you have gone through green houses, you cannot but know the difficulty of doing so without breaking everything. Men, at this kind of work, are not fully employed in winter." A lady florist writes: "I sometimes think my nervous excitability is to some extent caused by an excess of electricity, derived from the earth or flowers with which I work."