204 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 25 
“ Is it profitable to use so much per acre ? ” 
“ Certainly it is. It pays far better dividends than 
half a ton per acre, because it makes more berries and 
all of them large. I’d rather have 3,000 quarts of large 
berries than 2,000 quarts of culls. I can sell all the 
large fruit I can raise, and at high prices, but if I have 
a poor lot, I cannot offer them to the fancy grocers I 
feel like sneaking down a back street and unloading 
on some Cheap John.” 
“ How do you proportion the bone and potash ? ” 
“ I mix 500 pounds of bone with 150 pounds of muri¬ 
ate. Especially do I prize bone for its lasting qualities 
in the soil.” 
Do you practice any regular farming ? ” 
“ None to speak of. I have found corn, both blade 
and ear, a very economical food for the horses, and 
raise a three-acre patch of this each year. The crop 
is a perfectly safe and extremely profitable one. It 
requires but little work and pays for all, including the 
chemicals it uses, besides a neat balance. Then we 
raise some very early potatoes and work them off with 
light loads of berries at $1 to $1.25 per bushel.” 
“ Is any specific rotation of crops followed ?” 
“No; for the reason that most of my crops are in 
the soil so long that I find rotation hardly feasible. 
Blackberries usually hold one field 12 years, and rasp¬ 
berries four years or longer. Both of these fruits are 
grown among young orchard trees, and it does not 
often pay to plant other things there when they are 
rooted out, because the trees need the entire surface.” 
Peach Trees Planted Between Apples. 
“ Do you set any peach trees ?” 
“ Yes, I put out a small orchard of these trees every 
year, but have not confidence enough in peaches to 
give them the exclusive use of the soil. The apple I 
have always had unbounded faith in. I usually lay 
out an apple orchard and set peaches between the 
trees. The soil is then fertilized liberally, and if the 
peaches fail, no loss results, because the apple trees 
will pay all the bills. On the same land I commonly 
set raspberries also, and nearly always use both rasp¬ 
berries and blackberries among young cherry trees I 
am raising.” 
“ You make quite a specialty of raspberries ? ” 
“ I have 12 acres, although there is more money in 
blackberries than in anything else (unless it is cur¬ 
rants), and I am getting into them more and more.” 
“ What kinds do you prefer ?” 
“Nothing equals the Snyder for productiveness, 
quality, size and earliness, combined with hardiness. 
I now have six acres and would like a larger area to 
pick from this summer.” 
“How is the acreage divided among the other 
fruits ?” 
“ We shall have eight acres of strawberries, three of 
grapes, four of currants and six of peaches this year. 
Currants do well both on the farm and market. I am 
increasing their area also each season.” 
“ Are some varieties more profitable than others?” 
“ The Fay and Improved Cherry pay me best.” 
“ Do you succeed with gooseberries ?” 
“ I have little trouble growing the fruit, but it has 
a slow sale in my markets. As a fruit for quick 
growth and easy sale at good prices I anticipate great 
results from the Japanese plum, and shall set four 
acres this spring for market, besides growing a large 
block for sale.” 
“ Are the growth and sale of nursery stock parts of 
your business then ?” 
“ Certainly. I ship quantities every year. The 
kinds I propagate and encourage the sale of are those 
fruits I find most profitable in market. Work along 
this line has made me quite a reputation. I do not 
carry questionable novelties with which to bleed the 
public. But the berry business is of more importance 
to me than all the rest.” 
Handling the Big Output of Fruit. 
The thrifty condition of the young plants on Mr. 
Butler’s farm for sale explains the reasons why they do 
so well when shipped. 
“ I suppose you cannot depend on hand cultivation 
where such a large area has to be kept free from 
weeds.” 
“ No, my horses are all big walkers. I can’t afford 
to keep anything else. The black mare that brought 
us from the station”—a large, sleek, cheerful beast— 
“does 10 hours of work on the cultivator daily all sum¬ 
mer, after helping do the spring plowing. The man 
who follows her earns his pay. I have known her to 
cultivate four acres in half a day. When I started 
business for myself I paid $400 for a pair of horses, 
desiring good ones, but I overlooked this very essen¬ 
tial feature. After the first season I sold them be¬ 
cause they wasted the time of the help Fast walking 
horses, good help and soil easily cultivated are the 
great factors in profitable fruit culture.” 
“ Have you made any effort towards improved berry 
packages ?” 
“ I have not; but am pleased with the decision made 
by the trade not to return any more crates and bas¬ 
kets. There are objections to many of the so-called 
improved baskets. I incline to the opinion that our 
present square baskets are about as good as aDy we 
can use. The public are afraid of new forms, not 
being able to estimate the quantity of fruit they hold.” 
“ Could not small fruits be sold by the pound ? ” 
“ I favor currants by weight.” 
“Is that portion of your fruit sold in Hartford al¬ 
ways carried the 10 miles on wagons ?” 
“ I began to ship by rail, but found that the train¬ 
men damaged the fruit so much by rough handling 
that it paid to put a wagon on the road. T have since 
learned that it is profitable in several ways to be my 
own commission man.” 
Although but a young man, Mr Butler has already 
distinguished himself in horticultural circles by orig¬ 
inating a raspberry—the Cromwell—of acknowledged 
worth. Prof. S. T. Maynard, of the Hatch Experi¬ 
ment Station at Amherst, Mass., pronounces it one of 
the most promising new early berries. Mr. Butler 
modestly claims five days advance on other fruits for 
it. To the query “ What difference do a few days 
make ?” he replied : 
“ Much of the success in the fruit business hinges on 
the earliness of the sales. One variety may yield as 
much as another, but come to market so late as to 
meet only a glut and low prices. Every cent added to 
the receipts per quart is clear gain. The cost of pro¬ 
duction must come out of even the smallest price. 
During the week ending June 27 I received 20 cents 
G. S. Butler, A Connecticut Fruit Farmer. Fig. 87. 
A week later prices had receded to 12 cents, but the 
Cromwell was practically through bearing.” 
“ Why do not more persons engage in the produc¬ 
tion of fruit for market ? ” 
“ I am at a loss to know. The day will never come 
when fresh fruits will be produced too abundantly 
and too early. It costs no more to plant an acre to 
raspberries than to corn, and after the first season’s 
planting the ground needs no plowing, no harrowing 
nor setting for four years or longer if the plants are 
kept well trimmed. The culture is not more expensive 
than annual crops require. Berries bring good returns 
compared to the cost of production. From what can 
15 cents be got more cheaply than from a quart of 
early berries ? A smart young man should be able to 
care for six or seven acres of small fruits except in 
picking time, after the plants are set. On land easily 
cultivated, one horse will do all the cultivating and 
market the berries. A clear profit of $75 to $100 per 
acre on an average can be calculated safely. I began 
with no capital, only one acre, and many obstacles. I 
know what severe experiences are. But thousands of 
young men now under the delusion that there is no 
money in the farm, could clear $500 to $2,000 annually, 
above expenses, after getting well started.” 
Mr. Butler is an enthusiast over young men and 
their possibilities, especially in the country. He ex¬ 
presses himself eager to correspond with or, still 
better, to meet at “ Oak Grove Fruit Farm,” as the 
place has been beautifully named, any young man 
honestly interested. He deprecates the opinion, so 
common among farmers, that to achieve the highest 
success one must leave the farm. Mr. Butler is now 
considering the addition of glass to his plant for the 
production of market commodities in winter. With a 
charming wife and a perfect home, this enterprising 
young farmer may well view the world with com¬ 
placency. HOLLISTER SAGE. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of the 
writer to Insure attention. Before asking a question please see If It Is 
not answered In our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions 
at one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
NOTES ON CREAMERY BUTTER. 
HOW ILLINOIS CREAMERYMEN WORK. 
The following questions were sent to contestants for 
prizes in the Illinois Dairymen’s Convention : 
The Mark. 
1. Do you find It profitable to mix separated cream with that raised 
by the gravity process, or must such creams be churned separately ? 
What are the objections to mixed churnings? Is the whole milk brought 
to you, or do the farmers use the small separators and send the cream 
alone? Would not the latter plan answer? 8. Do you pay for the 
milk by the amount of fat It contains ? If so, what test do you use? 
4. Have you practiced steaming or heating cream to a high tempera¬ 
ture ? If so, with what results ? 5. What arrangements have you for 
cold storage, and how long can you hold butter successfully ? 
The Scores. 
1. I have mixed both kinds with good results. 2. 
We get the whole milk, though the other would be the 
better policy. 3. Yes. The Babcock. 4. No ; we have 
never raised it above 62 or 64 degrees ? 5. We can 
hold it about two weeks. h. c. thorn. 
Esmond, Ill. 
1. I will venture the opinion that mixing cream of 
any kind at different stages of ripeness, will give an 
uneven grain to the butter, which will consequently 
be more likely to be mottled, owing to the uneven dis¬ 
tribution of the salt, and the churning, too, will be less 
effectual, as I have proved, to my own satisfaction, 
quite conclusively. I find also that the flavor is mate¬ 
rially affected. 2. We buy the whole milk, which is 
delivered every morning, none of it coming from a 
greater distance than two miles. I think, however 
securing this cream by the use of small separators, 
where milk would have to be brought quite a long 
distance, would be far preferable to getting it by the 
gravity process. 3. We do not pay by the test yet, but 
we have botu Babcock’s and Beimling’s milk testers, 
both of which we find very satisfactory in every way. 
4. I have tried heating the cream to 150 degrees for 
experiment’s sake, ai.d got a little better yield of but¬ 
ter ; that is, less fat was left in the buttermilk ; but 
I fancied the butler was not quite so well flavored. 5. 
We don’t store butter ; it doesn’t pay. j. e. hkise. 
Barrington, Ill. 
1. We do not find it profitable to raise cream by the 
gravity process, as we can get more butter from a 
given amount of milk with separators. We have 
never tried mixed churnings. 2. We use the whole 
milk and believe, all things considered, it is most pro¬ 
fitable both to patrons and creamery men. 3. We do 
not. 4. No, I think it would be injurious to heat the 
cream above the churning point or 65 degrees. 5. Our 
cold storage is in the end of the ice house with ice above 
it and a space of two feet on each side is tilled with 
saw-dust. We have not tried to hold our butter, as 
we ship regularly each week. o. f. lucas. 
Belvidere, Ill. 
1. I have never mixed any separator cream with 
gathered cream. I don’t know of any serious objection 
to mixing the two if both are perfectly sweet at the 
time of mixing. 2. The whole milk is brought to us. 
I am afraid it would not be practicable for farmers, 
as a rule, to separate their own cream and deliver it 
to the creamery ; but if they were intelligent and 
painstaking in the care and running of the separator 
it would be all right. The cream could then be bought 
by the test and the handling and hauling of heavy 
loads of milk to and away from the creamery would be 
avoided, and of course time would be also saved. 3. We 
pay so much per 100 pounds for milk. We frequently 
test it with the Babcock tester, and if it falls much 
below the average, we “ have a talk” with the offend¬ 
ing patron. 4. We have never heated cream to a high 
temperature. Sometimes we heat the milk (skimmed) 
to about 150 degrees Fahrenheit to make it keep sweet 
longer. 5. We have no extensive cold storage arrange¬ 
ments, but there is a cooler in one end of our ice-house 
with the ice packed against one side and on top. I 
would not care to undertake to hold butter more than 
two or three weeks. jay blount. 
Byron, Ill. 
1. I have never mixed any separated with gathered 
cream, and do not think doing so would give satisfac¬ 
tion ; for the two kinds are not at all alike, and there¬ 
fore would not ripen alike. I don’t think the butter 
fat would all churn out either. 2. The milk is brought 
to us and we make the butter for so much a pound. 
The farmers get all there is in it, except what we 
charge for making. 3. It would be all right for the 
farmers to use the small separators if they chose to 
