Chances for Women Colonists.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 4994, 8 June 1891, Page 4

Chances for Women Colonists.

A correspondent of the National Review gives some valuable " hints for the single women of the United Kingdom, by pointing out the openings that there are for them in the colonies. In no great industry is' the capacity for detail, distinctive of the female sex, more required than in the cultivation, preserving, and packing of fruit. Profits are large, and the work by no means laljorious, so long as the horticulturist is content with an orchard on a small scale, which we presume would be the aim of sensible women, who are not likely to ruin themselves with great undertakings, like the male sex have so often done. As in fanning, a piece of land from 13 to 40 acres is a source of "Teater profit and pleasure than a block of 500 acres. There are 15.000 women engaged iu the industry in the L nited States, some of them British ; so why should not the same proportion exist in the British Empire I The field is practically open, for the opposite sex have shown little enterprise, except in the case of viticulture in New South Wales and Victoria, in the matter of horticulture. There is not n single fruit cannery in the whole of New Zealand, nor have we heard of any in Australia. There are a few firms who put up jams and jellies, but none who bottle or can fresh fruits. As for drying apples, apricots, tigs (prunes are not cultivated) no "no has yet attempted it on a large scale. It is the boast of California that she supplies Australasia with catitted fruit, raisins, dried fruit, and actually honey, when Australian wines are superior to Catifomian. and when fruit, as tine as any in the Golden State, rots on the ground ; ami colonials do not appear to regard it as disgraceful. Here, then, is a chance for the female sex to show superior enterprise and spirit to their brothers and fathers. Another industry that could be well pushed into greater prominence is chicken raising. There may be chicken farms in Au.strala.sia. but we have not heard «>f them. Little capital is required in this business, and, as in horticulture, attention to details ensures success, but there is not the long wait for results as in the cultivation of fruit. The warm climate and equable temperature of the great colonies of the Southern (>eean are very favorable to the raising of poultry in quite a large way. V\ e hope* that wrmen will not embark in the rearing of chickens with the absurd ideas of some of the malesex, who entered the business with the idea that fowls, like Topsy. "growed. or something so near like it, that the said chickens died by the score. The tomato is a vegetable which is extremely healthy, fresh, and when canned, fine seasoning for soups and stews. But all the preserved tomatoes used in the oh ijiies come from America, becati.se Australasians are so busy crying "hard times or "no work" that they have no opportunity to pat up their own fruit and vegetables, or to decently supply their own m.-ukets with the fresh. It is either a glut or a dearth. The tomato is easily cultivated, the crop sure, and always iu demand. In addition to the above avenues of labor, and in the same line, may be cultivated fruits, which give mift profitable returns, on account of the grower confining herself to one variety, and is a method found to work very well in California. For instance, the strawberry should, with care, remain in season for at least six months in the year, instead of scarcely two as at present ; and it is a fruit that will always sell. The apricot, apple, and peach are each a profitable crop, as they are equally good fresh, canned, or dried. The possibilities of horticulture are endless to women who will learn, and who are inventive and energetic.