46 Our Farming. 



corn crop when the cattle business was through with, and the 

 pigs some one else bothers with for us now. I cannot afford to 

 waste my time fussing. There is more money and less confine- 

 ment in doing a good deal of one or two things, instead of a little 

 of everything. For some twenty years we have only kept one 

 cow, and- used the milk and cream that we wanted and bought 

 our butter. I cannot afford to wear my wife out fussing any 

 more than myself. Butter making is a good business when man- 

 aged as a business, but my wife is not agoing to go through all 

 the motions and have the worry and care daily just for the 

 income from a cow or two, or to save buying $50 or $60 worth a 

 year. I can make the money far easier raising potatoes and 

 wheat, with far less expenditure of the vital force of the firm. 

 And you will notice this work was taken off from her shoulders 

 among the first improved steps taken, when we were the hardest 

 up, financially. Thousands of farmers' wives make butter from 

 two or three cows at an expenditure of strength that is simply 

 outrageous, in proportion to the income therefrom. Of course, 

 some cannot buy good butter, and must make it. We can buy at 

 the creameries here better butter. than we could make in a small 

 way. Some trouble to get it ? No ; wife and I try to take a ride 

 most every night when it is pleasant, and it is no trouble to drive 

 by the factory. 



You see how we have worked, friends. We just cut down 

 our farming to the three crops of clover, potatoes and wheat. 

 That is enough to keep us busy, together with a large fruit 

 garden, for family use, and the home grounds as busy as we 

 want to be. We did branch off a year or two and grow half an 

 acre of strawberries, and set out a lot of grapes, etc. -But we 

 have pulled up the grapes, on account of frost injuring them so 

 often. Within 25 miles is a locality where they are made a 

 special crop to advantage, and we can buy the finest grown at 

 low figures. We gave up the strawberries, not because there was 

 no money in them, but partly because it put too much work on 

 us at picking time to market and see to them. With our clover 

 hay to make and potatoes to tend to, we have enough, and it is 

 wiser to give our undivided attention to these. Why, I even 

 pulled out the last of our old orchard a year ago. To raise nice 

 fruit now one must spray and give great attention. Let such 

 work be done by specialists, and then well and profitably done. 

 I will tend to my specialty and buy my apples. By the way, the 

 potatoes grown last year on the land where the old orchard was 

 taken out (only a few trees) sold for enough to buy all the apples 

 we can eat for three years, at least, and the best in Cleveland. 

 And all apples around here were killed by frost last year, and 

 year before, also. Should have had none if trees had been left. 

 This chapter was written early in the season. Since then we 

 have passed through an unfavorable year. I would not like to 



