And all she had to start on was a few hundred dollars and a plan.
No capital, and but little space, is required for growing mint on a profitable scale. One woman, who is making and saving money for the education of her children, goes at it in a very methodical manner. She lays out her ground in beds with walks between, and each variety is given a separate bed. Each bed has a border of sage or other herb plants that find a ready sale. The soil should be loose and fine, and well fertilized, to obtain the best results. She not only supplies customers in her nearest town, but, as her business increases, is shipping a great deal of it to the city markets, where it is in constant demand from hotels, cafes, druggists, candy makers, etc. What she does not sell, she utilizes at home in the making of candy, delicious sweets and aromatic vinegars. Crystallized and candied mint leaves, mint sprays, mint vinegar and other products of this herb are much sought after, and to the resourceful person who has a taste for this class of work there is a mint of money in mint.
The woman who has a taste for literary or club work can turn many an honest penny by starting a small clipping bureau of her own.
One lady who made a success of this, both socially and financially, procured some large envelopes, and put all the clippings she made from magazines, newspapers, etc., on any one subject, into one envelope, duly labeled, until she had accumulated an extensive variety. Realizing that material for papers to be read at the meetings of women’s clubs are always eagerly sought for, she specialized on those subjects that engrossed the attention of club women, particularly biographical sketches, entertainments, plans for special holidays, and table decorations, place cards, games, amusements, etc. Then she let it be known that for a small fee, she would furnish the material for properly entertaining the club, and found her clippings in constant demand.
This is a good plan, that can be carried out with considerable profit, and one that requires no capital to start or operate it.
Here is how a lady who knew her business made a lot of pin money from what she called her “One-Cow Dairy.” There were three in the family and their available capital consisted of an excellent cow, with an average butter production of one pound per day the year round, besides supplying the family with plenty of milk and cream. They also had a small cream separator, which cost considerable to begin with, but more than paid for itself, even with the output of a single cow, as it insured clean milk, more and better cream, and required less work as well as but little space.