Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/690

 670 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

On the farm, wheat, corn, potatoes, etc., were raised, but never enough to supply the wants of the colony, and hence large amounts of money were used to supply the deficiency. This was a leakage, a very serious one. The garden supplied the dining- rooms sparingly with vegetables. Flowers were cultivated and seeds sold to outsiders, but the demand for them was small. There was a large cave on the place in which rhubarb was grown to a very large size during the winter months, but it was claimed that the most accessible market was too distant to dispose of this crop with profit. There was the same drawback to the strawberry crop. There were cows enough to keep the table supplied with milk, but not enough to supply them with butter. This was purchased mainly from the native farmers.

The paper, as I have stated before, had a large circulation at first, and the press used to print it was capable of doing the work. Notwithstanding this, it was exchanged for a cylinder press, at a cost of some $3,500 in cash. Furthermore, the cylinder press was not suitable for book-printing.

At one time the colony undertook to publish reform litera- ture in pamphlet and in book form, but it didn't pay and was stopped. Orders were taken for reform literature, however, and a stock of the most popular works of this kind was carried.

There was not work enough to keep the members profitably employed, yet outside labor was hired to chop wood and logs. Wood was used as fuel, and the sawmill boiler was of an ancient pattern, with poor heat-economizing devices. Consequently much wood was wasted.

The editor of the paper, commenting, in 1901, on these mat- ters, said :

One year very good celery was grown and stored in the large cave for the winter. It was preserved so well that at the time in the spring when celery is exhausted in the market this celery was at its best. A trial ship- ment of it was made to a neighboring city, and was sold for a fancy price that showed a fine profit in the business if conducted systematically from year to year. But practical members of the colony were rebuffed by the management for urging this. Fees for membership were coming in and nobody was in want, and fees would always be coming in. An opportunity to profit by laundry work was thrown at their door. The laundry agents of a