1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



29 



type-written testimonial from the Smithsonian In- 

 stitute, of its being "a scientific instrument of 

 great value," whicli was proven false by correspond- 

 ence with tlie oflice in Washing-tun. 



The business nie'chods of the concern, imposing it 

 on the public, include all the accessories of the 

 confidence and green-goods game— the stool-viigton, 

 the capper, the bogus purchaser, and the olHce boy 

 rushing in to borrow the only " Electropt)ise " on 

 hand. Electricity calls on the police and postal 

 authorities to investigate the s^vindIe and arrest 

 the swindlers. It says: " We denominate the 'Elec- 

 tropoise ' an outrageous humbug, wit h knowledge 

 that many intelligent people have testified to won- 

 derful cures wlio rest under the suspicion of self-in- 

 terest." It enumerates sixty diseases it infallibly 

 cures, and names the New york Sun, tlie North 

 Ainoican Review, and eight among the maiiv promi- 

 nent religious papers giving it space and indorse- 

 ment. 



Tlie expose is scientific and thorough, and no can- 

 did mind can escape the conclusion tliat the device 

 is void of merit, and that tiie " Electrolibratiou 

 Comiiuny " is advisedly pulming ofl" on the atfiicted 

 a worthless nothing at an exorbitant cost tj the 

 purchaser. 



The clieat ranks with the electric brushes, soles, 

 and "Perkins Tractois," exposed by Dr. Oliver 

 Wendell Holmes. 



As a psychological imposture on the infirmities of 

 cultured minds, it is the 'cutest fake of the age. 

 We do our readers a practical service by fore fend- 

 ing any tempted to try this costly f 1-1 lid from los- 

 ing their money and execrating themselves tor 

 their credulity. 



Now, friends, are you ready to give up? Is 

 there any one among our readers who is prepar- 

 ed to defend Electropoiso after the above e.rposc 

 thereof? I feel like saving, and I am going to 

 say right out in print. May God be praised that 

 we have such a scientific journal in our land as 

 Electricity— one whose editors are willing to in- 

 vest K.5.0() for the sake of showing up frand and 

 humbug ! yes. even thonsih religious journals 

 indorse it, and United States senators, or their 

 wives, give it the strongest kind of recommend- 

 ation: yes, even though ^o-called college pro- 

 Jessors, and ministers of the gospel too, have 

 lent their influence to help it along. 



T. B, TERRY ON PATENT MEDICINES, ETC. 



ALSO SOMETHING IN RKGARD TO THE TREAT- 

 MENT OF THE DISEASES OF DOMESTIC 

 ANIMALS. 



[The following is so much in line with the 

 teachings of our own journal, and coming from 

 such authority as T. B. Terry and the State 

 Veterinarian of Missouri, we copy it entire 

 from the Practical Farmer of Dec. 15.— Ed.] 



Before the opening hour for the Institute the 

 other afternoon we saw ;i man get up on a box and 

 collect a crowd around him, to whom he was trying 

 to sell some so-called medicine. His audience was 

 composed laigely of farmers. Of course, he had 

 his little game. Tlie peoi)le were made to think 

 that they would pet tlieir money back later on, that 

 he was only advertising the medicine. And yuu 

 ought to have seen the rush to get something for 

 notliing. They .seemed to believe that the man could 

 pay his hotel-Dills and traveling expenses, silk hat 

 and all, just for a chance to give tuem something 

 valuable. Well, they tumbled over eiicli other in 

 handing up their $2 each, until $60 or $70 was taken 

 from the crowd; and, owing to a "catch" in the 

 promise, only one or two g it any thing back, of 

 course. I saw farmers without nmney borrow it to 

 gis-e to this man for something of which the best use 

 they could iiossibly makewastosmash at once. Now, 

 there was in that crowd an agent for the Practical 

 Farmer, who told me he had tried in vain to get a 

 single farmer to give him *1 for a copy for the rest 

 of this year a'ld during 1S95 They all said times 

 were so hard tliey cniUi not afford it. This is a true 

 picture, friends. My fiiend Abbi.tt, President of 

 the North American Bei-kfepers' Association, was 

 standing by me and watching the game. How can 



we reach such men ? The medicineman is making: 

 money like every thing, and we have met him this 

 year in many forms, and more than once he has cut 

 down our attendance. 



Dr. Turner, State Veterinarian in Missouri, was 

 asked at one Institute about hog cholera medicine, 

 whether it did any good or not. The doctor is a tine 

 young man, and one of my particular friends, and I 

 was a little anxious about the stand he might take 

 on this question. But he came out boldly and 

 squarely. He said: " The virtue lies chiefly in the 

 directions, which come with the medicine, which 

 you follow. You are told to take at once all well 

 hogs away from the sick ones and put them in a 

 new place, and not down stream from the old place, 

 and to leave the sick ones li.ght there, and to burn 

 the dead ones, and be careful about tracking any 

 soil from tlie ground where tlie sick ones are to the 

 other field (fei d well ones first), etc., and these di- 

 rections carefully followed will stop an outbreak of 

 hog cholera very soon." The doctor was asked if 

 flltiiy pens, an exclusive corn ration, etc., could 

 cause cholera. He replied in substance that the 

 vitality of the animals might be weakened in this 

 way, and thus make them more ready for disease, 

 but that cholera could start only when the hogs 

 came in contact witli the germs that produce the 

 disease, and when they were entirely removed from 

 them the disease would end. There is no question 

 about the advisability of taking good care of the 

 hogs, and feeding them properly, as a preventive 

 measure. 



Dr. Kamsey, Assistant State Veterinarian, Is also 

 an earnest, sensible, practical young man. I am 

 afraid much of his talk would not be relished by so- 

 called "horse doctors." When telling farmers how 

 to treat a horse that had the colic, for example, he 

 said: "Goto some old lady and ask her what she 

 would do for you if you had ilie colic, and treat 

 your horse in the same way. Cover him up warm- 

 ly, let him lie quietly, put cloths on the abdomen, 

 wrung out of hot water, or put on mustard, and, 

 perhaps, give some ginger tea." He said, in sul> 

 stance, tliat a horse with this disease is almost 

 certain to get batter soon. And when you dose him 

 with all sorts of nauseous medicines," and take the 

 horse out and ride him around, you are doing a 

 cruel thing; and if the animal gets better, it is in 

 spite of your treatment, not becau^e of it. I sup- 

 pose I enjoyed this talk more than some would, be- 

 cause I never did believe in dosing animals or hu- 

 man beings to any such extent as the common 

 custom Is. Our best doctors now give very httle 

 medicine, except to patients whose imagination it is 

 necessaiy to work on, and then they often give 

 bread pills, or some such harmless tiling. In fact, 

 there i.-, one great doctor in the West who is per- 

 forming the most wonderful cures without giving 

 any lUHdicine whatever. We have not a bottle of 

 medicine in our home, and have never had the tenth 

 part of the sickness that there was in my boyhood 

 home, where dosing was about as common as eat- 

 ing. 



THE DIVINING ROD, OR SWITCH, FOR FIND- 

 ING WATER. 



TELLING WHERE TO DIG WELLS, BY MEANS OF A 

 WILLOW OR HAZEL SWITCH. 



This is another humbug that needs to be 

 thoroughly exposed: and such good papers as 

 the Country Oentleman and Practical Farmer 

 have published communications defending the 

 institution, without any editorial or comment. 

 Perhaps they proposed to let their correspondents 

 discuss the matter. }>iitl protest against letting 

 such nonsense go unreproved, even in a single 

 issue. The writers of both the articles in ques- 

 tion seem to be men of sense, and should know 

 better. Look here, friends. There are but 

 three imponderable agents known to science- 

 heat, light, and electricity. One writer says it 

 is no more strange than that the magnetic 

 needleshould point toward the north pole, about 

 3200 miles away. That may be true; but in the 

 first place it is not the north pole that attracts 

 the magnetic needle. And, again, the magnetic 



