1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
57 
The  Winter  Butter  Business. 
MILK  FROM  OCTOBER  TO  JUNE. 
Winter  Butter  Vs.  Pot  Cheese  and  Summer  Butter. 
Not  many  years  ago  the  suggestion  of  “  winter  but¬ 
ter  ”  as  suitable  for  a  first-class  table  would  have  been 
received  with  ridicule,  if  not  disgust ;  and  well  it  might 
be  if  the  article  offered  was  similar  to  the  kind  of  25  or 
30  years  ago  which  my  memory  recalls — a  bitter,  dis¬ 
tasteful  compound  that,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  it,  was 
taken  to  the  country  store  to  be  sold  to  some  unfortu¬ 
nate  housekeeper  who  could  not  afford  to  buy  good 
“  packed  butter.”  At  that  time  June  or  October-made 
butter  was  sought  after  as  the  best  for  winter  use. 
But  times  have  changed,  or  rather  butter  dairying  has 
undergone  a  revolution  in  later  years.  Now,  those  of 
epicurean  tastes  will  be  satisfied  only  with  fresh  but¬ 
ter,  with  its  rich,  sweet,  nutty  flavor  (when  properly 
made),  whether  in  the  autumn  or  midwinter  ;  and  just 
as  good  an  article  can  now  be  produced  in  January  as 
in  June.  I  speak  from  several  years’  experience  in  win¬ 
ter  dairying,  having  for  the  past  three  or  four  years  sup¬ 
plied  a  number  of  families  both  in  New  York  city  and 
the  neighboring  town  of  Poughkeepsie,  and  those  to 
whom  quality  and  not  price  was  the  first  consideration. 
My  experience  is  similar  to  that  of  the  late  Col.  Cur¬ 
tis,  who  said  :  “  It  is  easier  to  make  good  butter  than 
poor,”  on  the  condition,  of  course,  that  one  has  first 
learned  how.  I  have  lately  introduced  my  butter 
where  “  creamery  ”  had  been  used,  and  it  has  super¬ 
seded  it  in  every  instance  on  its  merits  alone.  But  I 
find  a  prejudice  against  farmers’  butter,  not  only 
among  our  best  dealers  in  dairy  products,  but  among 
consumers  as  well.  One  party,  after  sampling  mine, 
said  he  had  been  told  by  his  grocer  that  farmers  did 
not  make  good  butter  any  more.  There  is  undoubtedly 
cause  for  such  a  prejudice,  and  it  is  quite  time  that  we 
farmers  should  remove  it,  and  the  prejudice  will  disap¬ 
pear.  The  only  way  to  do  this  is  to  make  only  gilt- 
edged  butter,  in  summer  and  winter.  But  summer 
dairying  does  not  pay  me.  I  found  that  by  selling 
butter  at  from  15  to  20  cents  per  pound,  I  would  soon 
have  to  sell  the  farm  too,  and  I  doubt  not  many  others 
have  had  a  similar  experience,  and  have  about  become 
discouraged,  and  no  wonder  ! 
In  looking  for  a  remedy  for  my  trouble — a  way  to 
keep  above  water — I  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
pot  or  cottage  cheese  as  a  side  issue.  I  soon  found 
or  rather  made  a  good  demand  for  a  good,  clean  article. 
The  income  from  it  amounted  to  nearly  as  much  as 
from  butter  at  low  summer  prices.  “  But  I  need  the 
skimmed  milk  for  the  pigs,”  some  one  will  say.  For  me, 
it  would  make  dear  pork  and,  besides,  the  whey  left 
after  making  the  pot  cheese  contains  much  nutriment, 
and  is  good  for  either  pigs,  calves  or  cows.  I  have 
made  as  fine  calves  when  a  year  old  on  whey,  as  I  have 
seen  raised  on  milk.  I  am  now  giving  it  all  to  my 
cows,  and  they  are  as  eager  to  get  it  as  grain,  and  I 
am  sure  that  the  result  is  an  increased  flow  of  milk. 
But  20-cent  butter,  even  with  pot-cheese  added,  did 
not  give  enough  income  from  land  that  cost  $100  per 
acre.  What  then  ?  After  feeling  my  way  slowly 
along,  and  experimenting  in  a  new  field,  I  have  found 
that  it  pays  to  make  butter  from  October  to  June, 
instead  of  from  June  to  October;  that  is  the  time  to 
make  a  specialty  of  it ;  the  time  to  make  money  out  of 
dairying.  I  prefer  that  my  cows  should  come  in  early 
in  September,  and  then,  after  fattening  the  calves, 
they  will  be  ready  to  commence  business  at  just  the 
right  time  (October),  and  go  dry  during  July  and  Aug¬ 
ust — the  worst  time  of  year  to  make  butter,  because 
the  price  is  apt  to  be  lowest. 
My  New  York  customers  begin  to  need  my  butter  in 
October  or  by  the  first  of  November,  on  their  return 
from  the  country,  and  continue  to  take  it  until  June, 
when  they  leave  the  city  again.  To  obtain  these  cus¬ 
tomers  I  sent,  through  a  friend  in  New  York  who  fur¬ 
nished  me  the  names  of  likely  patrons,  quarter-pound 
samples  each  in  a  paste-board  box  with  a  printed  cir¬ 
cular  and  also  addressed  to  each  a  printed  postal  card 
so  that  all  required  of  any  one  who  might  wish  to  order 
was  to  fill  in  the  number  of  pounds  wanted  weekly 
and  sign  the  name  and  address  to  which  the  butter  was 
to  be  sent.  The  result  was  moderately  satisfactory  ; 
especially  as  the  customers  I  secured  were  first-class 
and  most  proved  permanent.  I  was  not  prepared  for 
a  great  rush  of  orders,  though  I  would  have  met  them 
had  they  come.  I  have  only  a  70-acre  farm,  and  a  con¬ 
siderable  part  of  that  is  in  fruit,  besides  some  wood¬ 
land.  Still,  though  I  sell  some  hay,  I  keep  11  cows, 
and  as  these  have  been  milked  from  four  to  10  months, 
it  is  rather  difficult  to  know  what  to  expect  from  them 
in  butter  as  a  fair  yield.  My  New  York  customers  pay 
50  cents  per  pound  the  season  through  for  butter  deliv¬ 
ered  at  their  houses,  which  to  me  means  about  an 
average  of  44  cents,  after  deducting  the  cost  of  ex- 
pressage,  packages,  etc.  I  put  two  half-pound  prints 
in  a  paste-board  box  labeled  with  the  name  of  my 
dairy  and  the  name  and  address  of  the  owner.  The 
boxes  cost  me  $11.50  per  thousand.  Each  print  is  prev¬ 
iously  wrapped  in  parchment  butter  paper.  The  pound 
packages  are  put  in  boxes  made  of  white  wood  of  diff¬ 
erent  sizes,  according  to  the  quantity  required  by  each 
family,  to  whom  they  are  sent  separately.  My  cows 
are  high-grade  Jerseys,  and  I  would  not  exchange  them 
for  any  others  except  pure-bred  Jerseys,  or  (for  second 
choice  as  to  beauty  and  utility)  Guernseys.  A.  a.  u. 
A  County  Institute. 
ORCHARDS,  HENS  AND  COWS. 
Meetings  are  held  every  Saturday  in  some  portion  of  Tompkins  Co., 
N.  Y.,  under  the  charge  of  Prof.  Roberts,  of  Cornell.  The  attendance 
on  Jan.  9  at  Freeville  was  over  20(1.  Prof.  Bailey  advocated  the  tillage 
of  young  orchards  with  hoed  crops.  He  had  noticed  a  very  poor  growth 
where  oats  were  grown.  Trees  make  their  growth  in  May  and  June.  He 
would  fertilize  early  with  good  farm  manure,  wood  ashes  and  clover, 
and  combat  fungous  diseases  and  the  codling  moth  by  spraying.  He 
advised  the  use  of  carbonate  of  copper  solution  for  trees,  and  of  the 
Bordeaux  mixture  for  potato  blight.  The  mixture  will  stick  to  the  foli¬ 
age,  but  will  clogup  the  nozzle;  mix  poison  with  the  mixture  forbug 
poison,  but  do  not  mix  it  with  the  copper  solution.  As  the  pumps  and 
nozzles  Improve,  less  poison  Is  used  for  spraying  the  trees.  The  best 
pump  Is  that  which  will  throw  the  finest  spray  the  farthest.  Stop  the 
spraying  when  the  trees  begin  to  drip. 
The  question  “Can  a  farmer  afford  to  grow  berries  for  family  use  ?  ” 
brought  out  the  fact  that  one  man  obtained  $21  worth  on  three  square 
rods;  another  “  10  bushels  on  a  patch  not  as  big  as  a  large  hall."  The 
pathetic  story  ot  the  good,  patient  farmer's  wife,  who,  conscious  of 
the  system’s  craving  for  fruit,  tramps  over  the  itill  sides,  in  the  hot 
afternoon’s  blazing  sun,  vainly  trying  to  get  some  berries  for  supper, 
was  told  in  a  way  that  made  some  of  the  audience  feel  guilty,  espec¬ 
ially  when  they  remembered  that  she  divided  the  small  handful  among 
the  men  folks  and  went  without  herself. 
Prof.  Rice  of  Cornell,  gave  an  address  which  was  illustrated  by 
charts  showing  the  internal  structure  of  a  laying  hen.  The  ovum,  after 
dropping  from  the  general  receptacle,  passes  through  several  cells,  in 
each  of  which  It  becomes  more  complete.  Sudden  changes  and  excite¬ 
ment  retard  the  growth.  A  lack  of  sufficient  food  of  proper  proportions 
causes  delay.  He  does  not  believe  there  is  any  fixed  limit  to  the 
number  of  eggs  a  hen  may  lay,  but  the  number  may  be  increased  by 
care  and  feed.  Select  laying  hens  and  breed  for  a  distinct  purpose. 
Have  plenty  of  floor  room  and  airspace,  but  avoid  drafts  and  moisture. 
He  was  followed  by  C.  H.  Wyckoff,  who  answered  questions  for  an 
hour.  He  said:  Hatch  chickens  early  enough  to  get  them  laying  in 
October,  but  not  early  enough  to  moult  before  spring.  A  good  many 
of  the  farmer’s  chickens  look  as  If  they  would  have  hard  work  to  get 
big  enough  to  moult  next  spring.  There  is  no  money  in  keeping  a 
pullet  a  year  before  she  begins  to  lay.  Feed  green  food,  potatoes  and 
clover,  but  not  enough  to  take  the  place  of  stronger  food  If  you  want 
eggs.  Feed  all  they  will  eat  up  clean— warm  messes  in  the  morning  and 
whole  grain  at  night. 
Your  correspondent  spoke  of  cattle  :  Corn  meal  gives  hard,  brittle 
butter;  oil  meal  softens  it;  cottonseed  gives  a  tallow  look;  oats  and 
bran  increase  the  flow  of  milk.  Oil  meal  is  very  healthful,  but 
cotton  seed  Is  constipating  and  unfit  for  young  animals.  It  is  a  good 
food  for  dairy  cows,  but  no  one  of  these  feeds  should  be  fed  alone.  The 
following  ration  fed  to  a  Jersey  herd  gave  320  pounds  of  butter  per  an¬ 
num  per  cow.  The  ratio  Is  one  to  five  and  seven-tentlis,  and  costs  20 
cents  per  day:  Meadow  hay,  12  pounds;  corn  meal,  three  pounds; 
wheat  bran,  three  pounds;  linseed  meal,  three  pounds;  oat  meal, 
three  pounds. 
Mr.  Baker  gave  an  account  of  his  experiments  in  feeding  ensilage. 
With  hay  and  grain  his  butter  cost  22  cents  per  pound.  The  same  cows 
fed  on  ensilage  made  one-third  more  butter,  which  cost  only  nine  cents 
per  pound.  This  amount  saved — 13  cents  on  each  pound— If  it  could 
be  obtained  by  every  farmer  in  our  town,  would  pay  all  taxes  and 
leave  a  sinking  fund  of  $17,000.  The  silo  has  come  to  stay  with  Baker. 
We  hope  to  give  an  extended  report  of  his  herd  record  soon. 
Prof.  Watson  gave  an  account  of  the  Babcock  Milk  Tester  and  made 
several  tests.  My  sklm-mllk  from  the  Cooley  creamer  showed  less  than 
one-half  of  one  per  cent  of  butter  fat,  and  Baker's  buttermilk  less 
than  one- fourth  of  one  per  cent  of  fat.  c.  e.  c. 
Business  Bits. 
Tripp’S  adjustable  pole  for  sleighs  and  carriages  Is  made  by  H.  I). 
Preston,  DeRuyter,  N.  Y.  This  pole  is  highly  praised  for  its  strength, 
beauty  and  convenience. 
A  subscriber  in  Manitoba  wants  to  know  how  to  get  small  change 
to  our  advertisers.  Let  them  tell.  He  says  :  “  I  would  like  to  gets  Mr. 
Elliot’s  parchment  butter  wrapper.  I  can't  buy  it  near  here,  or  even 
fine  butter  cloths,  so  butter  In  rolls  must  be  wrapped  in  newspaper,  10- 
cent  cotton,  old  shirts,  or  else  go  to  the  store  naked.  Then  the  grocer 
dabs  it  on  a  patent  medicine  fly-sheet  and  packs  it  In  a  sugar  barrel 
down  in  the  cellar.  No  wonder  butter  is  cheap.” 
The  passenger  department  of  the  N.  Y.,  O.  &  W.  Railway  are  now 
preparing  their  Summer  Homes  book  for  this  season.  The  popularity 
and  prosperity  of  the  summer  resorts  along  the  line  of  the  Ontario  & 
Western  are  due  mainly  to  the  widespread  circulation  of  this  book, 
which  offers  facilities  to  those  desiring  to  entertain  summer  boarders. 
Necessary  blanks  and  full  information  can  be  had  on  application  to 
the  nearest  station  agent,  or  to  J.  0.  Anderson,  General  Passenger 
Agent,  18  Exchange  Place,  New  York. 
At  the  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  Reformatory,  25  horses  are  kept  continually  at 
work.  Supplies  are  bought  at  wholesale  rates,  and  yet  to  feed  and 
drive  these  horses  well  and  keep  the  harness  in  repair  costs  $1.38  per 
horse  for  every  day  in  the  year— or  $503.70  per  year!  “Whew!”  says  the 
farmer.  “  That’s  horrible!  ”  But  how  much  less  would  ytmr  team  of 
horses  cost  if  you  paid  yourself  full  hired  man's  wages  and  paid  for 
feed  what  you  could  sell  that  feed  for?  If  we  could  reduce  all  values 
in  time,  toil  and  care  to  an  exact  cash  basis  we  would  all  be  surprised. 
THE  Springfield  Republican  states  that  a  savings  bank  at  New 
Britain,  Connecticut,  has  established  a  stamp  system  of  extending  its 
work.  The  bank  establishes  agencies  about  the  town  or  section  where 
located  and  puts  out  stamps  of  small  denomination,  such  as  five 
cents,  which  are  bought  by  children  and  others  and  pasted  on  a  card 
provided  for  the  purpose,  that  holds  a  dollar’s  worth.  When  the  card 
is  full,  it  may  be  taken  to  the  bank  and  the  dollar  is  entered  on  the  de¬ 
positor’s  book  In  the  regular  way  and  begins  to  draw  Interest. 
This  not  only  tends  to  encourage  mlte-saving,  where  It  would  not 
otherwise  be  practiced,  but  it  also  saves  the  banks  no  little  trouble 
in  recording  and  caring  for  small  deposits  on  the  books.  It 
is  said  that  this  system  is  quite  common  in  Germany  and  England. 
It  might  well  be  developed  in  this  country.  It  would  work  well  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  school  sa  vings  banks  so  successful  in  some  of  our  towns 
and  cities.  A  great  many  of  the  enterprises  that  people  arc  urging  the 
government  to  start  could  be  carried  out  by  private  business  houses  if 
steps  were  taken  to  reach  the  smaller  depositors  and  business  men 
The  paper  that  is  not  afraid  to  defy  the  wrong  doer  commands  my 
respect;  hence  I  give  support  to  The  Rural's  courageous  exposure  of 
current  shams,  by  no  means  excepting  those  set  forth  in  the  nursery¬ 
men’s  catalogues,  and  all  of  the  crooked  devices  maintained  against 
the  law,  good  order  and  the  peace  of  the  community.  “Shake  with  me!” 
Go  on  with  the  work ;  your  reward  is  certain.  w.  H.  s.  • 
What  Shall  A  Horse  Stand  on? — One  year  ago  last  summer  I 
built  a  general-purpose  barn,  24x48  feet.  At  the  south  end  were  four 
horse  stalls,  the  floors  of  which  I  made  of  white  clay  SOU;  in  fact  I 
raised  the  whole  barn  about  six  inches  above  the  general  level.  The 
liquid  manure,  if  the  horses  are  properly  bedded,  will  never  escape 
from  such  a  floor.  It  Is  also  cheap,  and  I  also  believe  that  an  earth 
floor  for  horses  Is  more  healthful  than  any  other;  and  if  the  feet 
naturally  need  a  certain  temperature,  I  believe  such  a  floor  gives  it 
nearer  than  any  other.  C.  8.  J. 
a  Buyers  of  farm  products  often  resort  to' questionable  means  to 
carry  out  their  plans,  and  Western  buyers  are  not  a  bit  behind  those  of 
the  East.  For  example,  here  Is  an  account  of  the  way  some  Califor¬ 
nia  walnuts  were  handled:  “Two  buyers  were  in  the  Held.  One  repre¬ 
sented  a  house  which  usually  tries  to  get  in  on  every  product,  and  the 
other  was  a  young  man  representing  most  of  his  own  capital.  The 
young  man  outbid  the  other  on  a  40-car-load  lot,  by  a  fraction  of  a 
cent  a  pound,  and  he  was  given  the  walnuts.  The  other  man,  in  order 
to  teach  those  growers  a  lesson,  went  home  and  sent  word  East  and  to 
those  in  the  business  not  to  buy  walnuts,  as  there  was  a  big  stock  and 
prices  would  fall  down.  As  a  result  the  purchaser  of  the  nuts  could 
not  dispose  of  his  buy,  and  as  he  was  unable  to  make  the  proper  ad¬ 
vance.  the  Los  Neltos  growers  are  still  in  possession  of  their  crop.” 
The  services  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  rendered  in  the  matter  of  good  roads 
call  for  recognition  and  approval.  The  necessity  for  passable  high¬ 
ways  is  very  apparent.  The  economy  of  Improvement  is  beyond  all 
question,  it  needs  the  sharp  touch  of  the  Man-not-Afraid-of-hls-Con- 
stltuency  to  arouse  rural  Rip  Van  Winkles,  who,  seemingly  satisfied 
with  their  transportation  facilities,  wade  in  mud  in  wet  weather  and 
rumble  over  ridges  In  cold.  But  an  interest  has  been  aroused  by  the 
praiseworthy  efforts  of  wheelmen  and  their  friends,  and  the  advocates 
of  a  better  system  of  road  repair  ;  so  that,  if  newspapers  throughout 
the  State  supplement  the  efforts  of  The  Rural  by  calling  attention 
to  this  reform,  advocating  its  importance  with  earnestness  and  per¬ 
sistency,  there  will  be  such  an  accumulation  of  sentiment  at  Albany 
as  will  Induce  preliminary,  if  not  perfected  legislation  on  this  matter. 
w.  II.  s. 
Probably  the  most  expensive  pig-pen  ever  made  was  recently  com¬ 
pleted  at  the  “Harmonist"  Community,  at  Economy,  Pa.  A  local 
paper  there  describes  It.  “The  cost  of  the  pen  or  nursery,  up  to  date, 
is  $3,000.  It  Is  constructed  not  only  on  sanitary  principles,  but  with 
special  regard  to  the  comfort  of  each  and  every  porker  which  finds  a 
place  within  its  walls.  It  is  heated  by  two  large  stoves,  and  the  entire 
pen  is  covered  with  a  glass  roof  with  proper  ventilators  The  eating 
room  is  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  pen,  and  everything  is  kept  scru¬ 
pulously  clean  by  two  attendants,  whose  sole  duty  It  is  to  take  care  of 
the  pigs,  and  look  after  the  heating  and  ventilating  of  the  building.  At 
present  the  pen  contains  300  as  fine  young  porkers  as  can  be  seen  any¬ 
where.  They  seem  to  thrive  In  their  well  kept  home,  and  appear  to 
realize  their  superiority  over  a  newcomer  which  they  eye  with,  dis¬ 
dain.”  We  doubt  if  they  are  any  happier  than  a  well  fed  hog  under  a 
straw  stack. 
Dishorning  Knives. — Mr.  H.  H.  Haaff  writes  that  he  would  advise 
against  the  use  of  a  knife  under  any  circumstances.  In  thJ  first  place, 
10  years'  experience  proves  to  him  that  the  clipping  of  horns  is  attend¬ 
ed  with  more  or  less  bone  crushing,  and  consequent  suppuration,  suffer¬ 
ing  and  loss.  “  One  of  my  correspondents  In  Kansas  writes  he  lost  20 
cattle  out  of  less  than  200,  and  some  of  those  that  finally  recovered, 
had  sore  heads  for  nine  months,  and  60  had  to  go  over  a  year  before 
they  could  be  marketed.  I  could  multiply  instances  of  a  more  or  less 
aggravated  character,  proving  my  position  In  this  regard  ;  men  may 
say  what  they  choose  ;  but  the  fact  remains,  the  successful  dlshoruer 
needs  a  dishorning  saw  and  a  dishorning  chute.  Anybody  can  see  that 
a  knife  cannot  remain  sharp  very  long  and  as  soon  as  It  has  become 
dull  the  operation  is  terrible,  but  with  the  saw  the  case  Is  quite  differ¬ 
ent  and,  more  yet,  the  saw  bruises  the  veins  and  arteries,  and  prevents 
bleeding  while  a  cut  artery  Is  liable  to  make  trouble.” 
Horse  Breeding  Business.— E.  Bennett  &  Son.,  of  Topeka,  Kan., 
talk  thus  sensibly  about  the  stock  business:  “  After  years  of  agricul¬ 
tural  depression,  the  farmers  of  America,  and  particularly  the  United 
States,  are  about  to  reap  the  reward  of  their  labors.  At  no  time  within 
the  past  10  years  has  the  outlook  for  farm  products,  cattle  and  horses, 
been  so  favorable  as  to-day.  The  farmer  who  has  stuck  to  the  draft 
and  coach  horse  interests,  and  has  not  been  led  into  the  trotting  horse 
stock,  was  never  In  so  enviable  a  position  as  now.  Good,  well-matched 
coach  teams,  and  big  draft  horses,  weighing  1,500  to  1,900  pounds,  com¬ 
mand  almost  any  figure  the  farmer  has  a  mind  to  ask,  while  the  trot- 
tlng-bred  horse,  unless  he  is  fast,  will  not  bring  the  cost  of  stallion  fee 
and  breaking.  Our  extended  experience  In  forming  stock  companies 
confirms  us  more  and  more  In  the  belief  that  it  is  the  best  means  by 
which  a  community  can  own  a  well-bred  draft  or  coach  stallion.  The 
horse,  when  owned  In  this  way,  is  assured  of  all  the  business  he  can  do 
from  the  start,  and  trade  does  not  have  to  be  drummed  up.” 
The  Wood  Ashes  Business.— A  representative  of  The  Rural, 
being  in  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  recently,  called  on  Messrs.  Monroe.  Judson  & 
Stroup,  of  that  city,  who  are  large  dealers  in  Canada  ashes.  They 
have  been  in  the  business  for  many  years,  shipping  to  Maine, 
New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode 
Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and  largely  to  Florida.  A  large  proportion 
of  the  ashes  are  shipped  in  bulk,  but  lots  smaller  than  a  car-load  are 
barreled,  or  the  entire  lot  is  barreled  if  so  desired.  In  the  earlier  days 
of  the  trade,  the  ashes  were  largely  collected  in  the  frontier  towns.  Of 
late  more  or  less  coal  has  been  burned  in  these  places,  and  the  collec¬ 
tion  of  ashes  has  been  diverted  into  the  Interior.  From  50  to  75  men 
are  employed  by  the  above  firm,  who  canvass  the  country,  driving  from 
house  to  house,  collecting  the  ashes,  which  are  brought  into  central 
points  and  shipped  to  Oswego,  via  Suspension  Bridge. 
“  What  crops  are  your  ashes  most  used  upon  ?”  said  The  R.  N-Y.  to 
Mr.  Judson. 
“  That  would  be  hard  to  say — their  use  is  quite  general.  They  have 
been  found  especially  valuable  to  tobacco  growers,  and  we  ship  agreat 
many  for  them  to  the  Connecticut  River  Valley,  to  Deerfield,  Hadley, 
North  Hadley,  South  Hadley,  Holyoke  and  Amherst.  They  are  also 
used  largely  in  some  sections  for  potatoes,  and  for  strawberries  they 
are  especially  valuable.  Perhaps  they  are  as  largely  used  for  grass 
as  for  any  other  crop. 
“  What  quantities  per  acre  would  you  recommend  for  a  potato 
grower  ?  ” 
“If  the  land  was  already  in  fair  condition.  I  would  recommend  about 
two  tons.  After  that  an  annual  dressing  of  600  or  800  pounds  would  be 
ample.” 
“  How  are  ashes  generally  applied  ?  ” 
“Most  farmers  sprinkle  them  from  the  wagon  with  a  shovel.  The 
Ames  Plow  Co.,  of  Boston,  have  a  fertilizer  distributor,  the  Acme 
which  does  the  work  perfectly  and  cheaply.” 
“  What  are  your  ashes  worth  at  Oswego.” 
“About  $12  per  ton.  A  bushel  of  them  weighs  42  pounds.  I  should 
have  said  that  hop  growers  are  large  buyers  of  ashes,  and  our  Oswego 
County  pear  growers  are  finding  them  of  special  service  in  their  or¬ 
chards.” 
A  peep  into  one  of  the  storehouses  of  this  firm  showed  a  great  bank 
of  ashes.  Specimens  undergoing  a  leaching  process  in  test  tubes  in  the 
office  showed  a  very  satisfactory  percentage  of  potash. 
