The raising of poultry for the large city markets is a lucrative occupation, or rather it can be made so, after a time, if the poultry-raiser gradually increases her stock of fowls. Even if she does not care to do this she can be pretty sure of a fair living. About $300 would be required to start in this business—$100 for the fowls, and the balance for the erection of appropriate buildings for the animals.
Bee-keeping.—There is always a good market for honey, and those who understand the art of raising bees can be sure of making a fair living. Women can do just as well as men, and many ladies are very successful. It would be necessary to start with not less than thirty swarms of bees, at a cost of from $5 to $15 a swarm, or hive. If the business is properly followed, it will increase in a very short time, as the colonies multiply rapidly. There are excellent books showing how this business can be carried on, but the theoretical knowledge gained from them must be supplemented by practical knowledge gained from experience.
House-keepers.—The demand for house-keepers is very small; that is to say, there is very little chance for a strange woman to obtain a position of that kind. There are plenty of house-keepers, but when one is wanted she is generally found in the person of a poor relation or struggling friend within the immediate social precinct of the family who desire her services. Such positions, however, when they can be obtained in the large cities, are looked upon as unusually good. House-keepers are employed by widowers to take entire charge of a house and look after the children, if there are any; by husbands with sick and delicate wives; or by couples who are wealthy enough to engage such service. They are paid from $30 to $100 per month, the salary depending on the duties they are expected to perform, and the wealth of the parties who employ them.
A house-keeper in a large hotel occupies a responsible position. She must possess that rare feminine virtue—the ability to "get along" with servants. The occupation is very confining, and such workers can very seldom get, at one time, many hours' recess from their work. Their wages run from $20 to $60 a month and their board; the larger the hotel, the more responsible the position and the greater the pay.
Cashiers in Hotels.—It requires a great deal of "influence" to get the position of cashier in a hotel; it is a situation that is very much coveted. As the cashier is employed in the restaurant, it is only in hotels that are conducted on "the European plan" where such services are required. In such hotels the guests pay so much for their room, and get their meals where they please, paying at the time for what they get. As a rule, they patronize the restaurant connected with the hotel. The cashier has to work long hours. For instance: one day she will be on duty from 8 A.M. until 8 P.M. The next day from 7 A.M. until 10 A.M.; then a recess until 5 P.M., then on duty until 12, midnight. She receives her board and a salary of from $12 to $25 a month. The board is always good. In the best hotels the cashier is allowed to order what she pleases from the regular bill of fare; other hotels have a special bill for the "officers" (as the better class of help are called), and from this the selection of food has to be made.
Button-holes.—Ladies do not need to be told that the button-holes in fine dresses are made by hand. This kind of work has become a separate business, although there are some seamstresses who combine the making of button-holes with their regular sewing. Dress-makers who employ twenty-five or thirty needlewomen usually keep one button-hole maker, paying her from $9 to $12 a week; very few pay the latter price. Some women who work at this trade prefer to be paid by the piece. In this case they are paid at the rate of two cents and a half per button-hole. A good worker can make fifty button-holes in a day, and earn $1.25. It would be a very smart woman who could make eighty, and earn $2 a day. One trouble about working by the piece is that the woman very often has to wait until the work is got ready for her. As she is obliged to attend on several customers during the day she often suffers from this loss of time, sometimes losing a customer through the failure to keep an appointment, or being obliged to do a part of her work at night.
The button-holes in white vests are done by hand. The pay is one cent a button-hole, and a woman can make $1 or $1.25 a day. The work is always done during the winter months, there is plenty of it to do, and never any time lost in waiting.
Florists.—There are eight or ten ladies in New York and Brooklyn who have charge of floral establishments. Most of them assist their husbands; some are widows who have inherited the business. There is one lady in Brooklyn who has built up a good business solely through her own efforts. This is a very good occupation for women who love flowers, who have good taste, an eye for color and the necessary executive ability to carry on a business by themselves. Most of the florists in New York and Brooklyn get their plants and flowers at wholesale from nurseries on the outskirts, purchasing such stock as they may require from time to time. Land is so valuable in the city that florists have long since been compelled to give up the cultivation of flowers; besides, the streets in the central and business parts are so built up, both in New York and Brooklyn, that the ground cannot be obtained at any price. Now, they have small stores where they make a display of "samples" of the different varieties of flowers.
The work is hard at times, the florist being obliged to remain up the best part of the night to fill an order, given at the last moment, for funeral or wedding pieces. The decorating of churches, halls, etc., is tiresome work, especially where palms are used, and where it is necessary to climb up and down ladders. The keeping of plants in pots in the store requires a good deal of labor. Many women call and want to see what the florist has got. She has to raise up the pots of plants many times a day, and this is very tiresome to the wrists.
The amount of capital required to start the florist's business is nothing like as much as it was before the large nurseries supplied the florists with what they wanted at wholesale rates. The sum would probably range from $200 to $1000, depending on the location, the style in which the store was fitted up, and the amount of rent that had to be paid. The profits are good, but vary, depending on the class of custom the florist obtains; twenty-five per cent. is considered a fair profit.