1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



279 



FoT the New England Farmer. 

 CAUTION IN" PURCHASING SEEDS OR 

 IMPLEMENTS NECESSARY. 



Mr. Editor : — I perceive that some of Mr. 

 Crandall's Egyptian Corn victims are a little dis- 

 posed to find fault with the Neio England Farmer 

 for containing such advertisements. Now, with- 

 out admitting the right of publishers to insert 

 every advertisement offered, I am not disposed 

 to limit them very closely in that class relating 

 to new varieties of seeds, plants, &c., because it 

 is not always possible for them to know whether 

 an article is what the advertisement recommends 

 it to be, and because I think it best to give those 

 who have the disposition and plenty of "tin," 

 an opportunity to try everything, and throw out 

 the chaff, leaving for the rest of us nothing to do, 

 but to take that which proves clean grain. With 

 proper precautions, I think no one need be badly 

 sold, even though surrounded by bogus adver- 

 tisements, and with your leave, I will give your 

 readers a few words of caution drawn from my 

 own experience and that of friends. 



1. Eveiy one who is really able to invest much 

 in anything, not fully proved, is able to furnish 

 himself with information to act understandingly 

 by taking two or more agricultural and horticul- 

 tural journals, which he should read carefully, and 

 note particularly every article on any new plant, 

 fruit, or fertilizer, in which he thinks of invest- 

 ing, as well as all advertisements, not forgetting 

 the signature, and in this way, a shrewd observer 

 will soon learn to estimate pretty correctly what 

 amount of credence is due to the advertiser for 

 honesty, or to the correspondent for judgment 

 and disinterestedness. 



I have found the New England Farmer, Coun- 

 try Gentleman, Horticulturist and American Ag- 

 riculturist all very useful in this respect, as well 

 as others, and while they are all first class peri- 

 odicals, they do not at all encroach upon each 

 other's territory, each one being about as nearly 

 indispensable while taking all the others ; the 

 Agriculturist would have saved our "Egyptian 

 Corn" friends from being sold, if they had read 

 and heeded it, this particular humbug having 

 been exposed in the number for last March. 



2. Never send money to transient advertisers 

 whom you never heard of before, unless recom- 

 mended by responsible agricultural editors, or 

 others whom you know to be disinterested, and 

 well informed upon the subject in question. 



3. Never order anything, however highly 

 praised by the advertiser, if he cannot point to 

 well-known and respectable parties who have 

 tried and are ready to recommend it. It is rare 

 that anything really valuable is offered at the 

 present day, until it has been submitted to the in- 

 spection of some one or more persons competent 

 to decide on its merits, and recognized by the 

 public to be such. 



4. Take all possible precaution in sending or- 

 ders, that you send to dealers who are strictly 

 honest and honorable in their dealings. Better 

 apply the rule to all whose advertisements are 

 not entirely consistent and straightforward. 



5. If you arc not fairly dealt by, when you send 

 orders, give an opportunity to correct the mis- 

 take, if it was such, and if this is refused, with- 

 draw your patronage, and report the offender to 



friends who would otherwise be likely to order 

 from him, and to your Farmers' Club, if you have 

 one. 



6. To be sure that the mistake is not with you, 

 and also to have the evidence on your side, it is 

 well, when ordering to any great amount, to write 

 beforehand and ascertain particularly what is to 

 be the quality of your purchase, terms, &c., then, 

 when making out your ordei*, make an exact du- 

 plicate, and preserve it, as well as all correspon- 

 dence on both sides. With some nurserymen 

 when ordering trees or plants, it is necessary to 

 state expressly that you want what you order, or 

 nothing, as otherwise they take the liberty of sub- 

 stituting something else when they cannot fur- 

 nish exactly what is ordered. 



As an illustration of how I apply some of the 

 above rules, when the Chinese Potato excitement 

 first began to rage thoroughly, I received copies 

 of three different editions of a small pamphlet, 

 praising it up beyond all reason, and urging those 

 who wished to make sure of seed, to send imme- 

 diately, "as first come, first served," and the sup- 

 ply was limited. Now the evident anxiety to sell 

 indicated anything but a scant supply, and of 

 course a want of consistency in the advertiser, 

 and the result proved it a great humbug. The ad- 

 vertisements of that firm I seldom read. 



Another nurseryman, a few years since, started 

 a new grape, recommending it as very fine, and 

 offering it at a high price ; but neglecting to bring 

 forward any evidence other than his own word, I 

 not only distrusted his "grape story," but dissuad- 

 ed a friend from buying Norway Spruces of him, 

 on the ground that a man who is dishonest in one 

 thing, cannot be trusted in another. Since then 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society have 

 pronounced the grape no better than most of our 

 wild grapes. 



Now let every one adopt such rules, and nur- 

 serymen will become honest from policy, and 

 such men as Crandall will find their "occupation 

 gone." Wm. F. Bassett. 



AsJifield, April, 1861. 



Food of Cows after Calying. — It is cus- 

 tomary with many farmers to feed cows immedi- 

 ately after calving, with warm slops — a pail of 

 bran or meal and warm water, well salted — and a 

 better diet is commenced at once in order to get 

 as much milk as possible. A writer in the Home- 

 stead objects to this proceeding as contrary to 

 nature, and very likely to induce caked bag and 

 milk fever. He contends that the cow should 

 have rest and quiet, rather than "a dose of physic 

 and v;arm mashes," as is often given, and adds : 



"It is an error to suppose that tasking the 

 stomach after the fatigue of parturition can bo 

 otherwise than hurtful. A drink of water and a 

 little dry hay is enough for the first day, and she 

 should have nothing better than the best hay 

 for three or four days — until all infiammatory 

 symptoms are passed." 



Colic in Horses. — The Farmers' Advocate 

 prescribes for colic in horses, a blanket wrapped 

 around the body and drenched with cold water. 

 It steams like a boiling pot, and cures in fifteen 

 minutes. 



