1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMEE. 



157 



fair, smooth, yellowish-green, becoming full yel- 

 low at maturity, marbled with dull red in the sun, 

 and dotted with small russety specks : Stan, me- 

 dium length, about half an inch long, stout, and 

 obliqvielv inserted without any cavity on the rath- 

 er obtuse end : Ei/e, medium size, closed, and 

 but little sunk in a very shallow puckered basm ; 

 segments of the calyx projecting : i'7e.s7<, green- 

 ish-white, rather fine, melting and juicy : I'lavor, 

 sprightly, refreshing, perfumed and excellent; 

 Core, medium size. : Seeds, medium size. Ripe 

 in September. 



ON" BUTTEB-MAKINQ. 

 An article recently published in the Fai-mer, 

 entitled "Butter- Making No Mystertj," has attract- 

 ed considerable attention, and has been commend- 

 ed by some, and objections made to it by others. 

 We have spoken several times, of the manner in 

 which a friend of ours, Mr. John Day, of North 

 Andover, Mass., manages his farm and of the 

 great fertility to which he has brought its acres, 

 from A repulsive and barren condition. We have 

 visited his farm, examined its crops, and the ar- 

 rangement of its buildings, and listened with es- 

 pecial interest to his account of reclaiming it, and 

 the profits which he has derived from its various 

 departments. 



In a recent interview with him the conversation 

 turned upon the subject of hutter-viaUng, when he 

 remarked that he did not. quite agree with the 

 writer of the article, "Dutter-Maldng no llijstery," 

 in the statement that the cream should always be 

 of a uniform temperature, viz : about 63". He 

 said he had at one time forty-six quarts of cream 

 which he divided into two equal parts. One part 

 was churned at 62", came in 15 minutes, and the 

 product was between 21 and 22 pounds. The 

 other part had been standing in a tub of ice water 

 over night, and was as cold as ice water would 

 make it, and was kept so while being churned by 

 ice on the top of the churn. It came in two hours, 

 and the product was 28 pounds ! It came in a 

 hard condition, the buttermilk flowing freely from 

 it, and it brought eight cents per pound more than 

 the first lot, which came rather soft and the but- 

 termilk mingling with it. 



The churn used was a square one, with a crank, 

 and only two paddles or floats. 



He uses one ounce of salt for a pound of but- 

 ter, if the butter comes soft, because some of it 

 dissolves and runs out in working the butter ; 

 but if it comes hard, three-fourths of an ounce is 

 sufficient. 



The rule of one temperature at all seasons, he 

 thinks does not work well. In the winter, he has 

 a stove in the milk room and keeps the tempera- 

 ture at 65^ or 66", and does the churning there, 

 and under these circumstances has excellent re- 

 «ultB. In the summer, in order to receive similar 

 results, he brings the cream down as low as ice 



will make it, by putting ice in the churn over 

 night, and keeping it about it while churning. 



We understood Mr. Day to say that his experi- 

 ence has grown out of eleven years of practice and 

 experiment, not merely in assisting others, but in 

 making the butter himself, setting and skimming 

 the milk, churning, salting, preparing for market, 

 and washing the utensils ! With such an experi- 

 ence as this, Mr. Day ought to know all about the 

 matter, as he is a man who looks into the causes 

 of things upon which he is laboring, with the 

 keenest perceptions. 



••JUNE IS THE TIME TO PKUNE FKUIT 

 TREES." 



I am aw^are at what disadvantage I place myself 

 when I undertake to controvert such authority, 

 namely, Mr. Barry, of Rochester, and Mr. Harris, 

 Editor of the Genesee Farmer, and would not 

 put the case so strongly in opposition to commpn 

 practice, had I not in every instance, where I have 

 induced any one to try pruning in June, succeed- 

 ed in gaining their acknowledgment that June is 

 the time to ])rvne fruit trees. 



Nor would I venture to advocate such practice 

 upon my own experience were I not able to give 

 the best reasons for it. Such as cannot be gain- 

 sayed or controverted. 



It is a question of vital importance to the health 

 and durability of our trees, and should this much 

 find favor in your paper, I will undertake, in the 

 next, to give my reasons for pruning in June, July 

 and August, and suggestions as to why and how 

 we should prune. — E. D. Wkight in Genesee 

 Farmer. 



Remarks. — We are glad to find some one, oc- 

 casionally, bold enough to denounce the ruthlesss 

 practice of pruning fruit trees when the sap is in 

 an active condition. Prune when the tree is in a 

 comparatively quiet condition, — say from June 15 

 to the end of the month, or for a month after the 

 leaves fall. There are physiological reasons for 

 this which we have often referred to in these col- 

 umns. 



Soap Suds. — During the summer these can be 

 api)lied directly to garden crops and fruit trees, 

 and thereby act as a fertilizer, and at the same 

 time assist in supplying moisture to them in the 

 hot days of summer. Some farmers have spouts 

 which convey the suds and house-slops to the 

 barn-cellar, and for the greater part of the year 

 these are in working order. But in the winter 

 the spouts will not convey the slo])s, and there is 

 a considerable amount of it wasted. To obviate 

 this, a muck-heap should be made near the yard, 

 with a concave top, so that the slops can be turned 

 into it, and absorbed by the muck. It may freeze 

 some in winter, but the reviving atmosphere of 

 Spring will set everything all right. 



A Good, soft, dry bed is an important item 

 towards the thrift of animals. It assists them in 

 keeping warm, and in this it saves food ; it inclines 

 to rest and quietude, and in this it aids the action 

 of the secretory glands. 



