Date Nut Candy

3 cups sugar
1 cup sweet milk
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 Tbsp. butter
1 small pkg. dates, cut up
1/2 cup chopped pecans
20 maraschino cherries

Boil sugar, milk and cream of tartar until it forms a soft ball in water, stirring occasionally. Add butter, dates and cherrie and beat until dates are well mixed then add nuts. Continue beating until too thick to stir. Turn out on damp cloth in long roll. Roll up and let stand until hard. Slice about 1/4 inch thick.