16CS] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
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and prat-Lice, if they choose, the very processes which ho 
finds most profitable. Willi this view ho lias written 
Practical Floriculture, in which hetollsall the "secrets 
of the trade iii Vigorous Hendorsdnian stj le, ami he gives 
ftill instructions to his way of doing things. Not-only is 
tho whole "ail ami mystery " of propagation explained, 
hut the reader is langht how In plaul ami -row the plants 
after they h tve hern propagated. The Murk is not one 
for florists and gardeners only, hut (lie amateur's wants 
are constantly kept in mind, ami we have a vcrycomplete 
treatise on the cultivation of flowers under glass, or in 
the open air. suited lo those who grow flowers for pleas- 
ure, as well as those -who make thorn a matter of trade. 
Tile work is characterized by the same radical common 
sense that marked his " Gardening lor Profit," and we 
predict lor it a similar popularity. Special contributions 
have been lhnii-!r <l by Me- irs. E. A. Baunlunn, .fas. Flclll- 
ing, and others. Boantifully illustrated ; ready In January. 
Semi as ji Holiday Present, to a 
country or other friend, a year's subscription to tho \</> ■> 
' ■■■■ urtsl. It will he useful, and will remind the recipient 
of the giver, every time it comes to hand. When desired, 
in such cases, the Publishers enclose in the first number 
an office receipt, marking on it the name of the donor. 
Cattle lMscases.-A new work by Prof 
John Gamgcc on Cattle Diseases, adapted to the needs 
of American farmers ami breeders, is in the course of 
preparation and soon to he issued by Orange Jndd & Co. 
Prol (i. his been for nearly a year past, and is now. 
studying the diseases of American neat cattle and will he 
greatly obliged for any information which will add to the 
accuracy of his knowledge on this subject. Address, 
caie of the Publishers of the American Agriculturist 
Xee«ls.— Please understand thai wc send out 
ed to subscribers, except in collections, as stated in 
oui premium list i. We nave no seeds whatever for sale i 
those wishing to purchase should apply to drain:, [he 
names uf several ol whom are to be found in our advertis 
ing columns, and who will 1111 orders by mail, with care. 
W»ssa«lry Hiistiltuss. — If any one supposes 
1 wehave routed and defeated tie- " Gift Enter. 
i ■ wehave done with humbugs, tic makes a great 
mistake. These were only the light artillery ol the 
grand army; being able lo move rapidly and change 
front often, we were obliged to follow them up- to the 
neglect sometimes of other divisions ol the enemy. Hav- 
ing driven back tins battery.aiid Congress having spiVcd 
their guns, we can intend to some of the intrenched Ibices. 
Mutual Benefit Associations. Be cautions here I 
Some of these arc doubtless started in good faith. -while 
others .ire pure frauds, as no such "companies ' are to be 
found »t the places advertised. We have called at the 
offices of several ol these associations, as designated i>y 
their circulars, etc At some we found a regular office 
with the usual outfit of desks, clerks, books, etc.. such 
as pertain to an ordinary Life Insurance Co., while in 
other cases we found ourselves confronted by the ' shin 
rlc of some old offender in the. quack doctor line. 
These old chaps avail thcmselvesof every dodge to bring 
fish into (heir nets, and '•agents "' for a Mutual Benefit 
As, oi iation is one of them. Assuming that an association 
of the kind i j managed by honest hands, of what " bene 
tit' is it 3 We have looked into the plans, and as they 
have been presented we fail to see any inducement for 
myhody to invest, An association of this kind is not a 
Life Insurance Co. but a " Mutual Association " for the 
benefit of deceased members. Let 113 look a little closely 
at the plan. One of these associations proposes to class! 
ly members by then- ages. For instance, persons between 
He- 1 .-I- ■ of 20 and 25 years make one class those from •.>) to 
SO another, and so on. We are told that each class, w hen 
complete, will have 5000 members. The "Mutual Bene 
in insists in this,— when one member dies inany class. 
• ach of He- snrvivorB i to payn dollar for the support of 
hi rainily Suppose you join (I class at 20 years of age 
and live until yon are 80 years old. What bar..- you to 
pa; eata a tax for deaths in your Class for forty years! 
Taking their estimate, that, thirty members will die in 
each class every year, you are taxed $1 for each death. 
nr 1 ■ net-ally a low cents more, to defray postage, Bte.), 
Which WOUld amount in forty years to $1,206. Bin al llii- 
ill lib rale it would like over 160 years for any on.- class 
tu die off which is over three times longer I ban the average 
duration of human life. s,, that, in reality. If you pay $1 
lor each member who dies, you will in forty years have 
paid My three limes $1,208,01 $8,600. Suppose at t|„. 
end of that lime yon die, what will your family get from 
tin- association • The $3,600 represent B.480 deaths out ol 
5.0 I > members ; so that your family gel for your outlay of 
$3,600 just $1,400, at lb-- time of yonr death. 01 course the 
association claims that the class is kepi up to the full ntun 
her by addition of new members, but this Is not pr.it 11 
cable. We arc well assured that an old organization of 
this sort of several years' standing has only a few hundred 
members including all ages, and that for a year or .more 
the admission of new members has not more than equal 
ed the death rate. From all we can learn, then, we feel 
assured that these ■■ Benefit Association-" are ill advis- 
ed, impracticable, and unsafe .We would suggest to per- 
sons visiting New York 10 avoid the various cheap jew- 
elry and plated ware venders in basement stores and on 
Btrcetfl leading from the R lilroad Stations and Steamboat 
Landings. Every few days we hear complaints of swin- 
dling at these places, principally of strangers who are 
spending a few days in tin- city. It is a sate rule never to 
buy a thing you do not want, no matter how cheap il may 
be. This holds doubly true with jewelry, platen 1 ware 
and the like. If one wishes to purchase articles of this 
kind, let hi in go to a. regular dealer, and il he is a stranger 
in New York, let him step into onr office and we will tell 
him where to find one; but let him keep out ol all tin 
dergronnd places of this kind "One Dollar" shops 
arc multiplying ; it is the old " anything on this board 
for 11 shilling " expanded to a dollar. These shops differ 
in extent and style, hut, take them as a class, there is 
no advantage in them, hut the contrary Persons may 
rest assured that merchants do not sell things lor less 
than their value. And we have yet to see the article 
worth more than *1.00 lo he had at these places. Their 
main slock in trade is " Fine Gilt Jewelry" and galvan- 
ized trumpery called -'plated ware." We deprecate most 
earnestly the laste that seeks after and uses such staff 
The Fair of the St. Louis Agricultural and Median i 
cal Association was a grand exhibition, and we regret to 
be obliged lo use the name of St. Louis or of Missouri in 
an article on Humbugs ; but the truth obliges us to pro 
test— and all right thinking people in Missouri will sus 
tain us in il— again- 1 coupling so noble a fair with abase 
swindle. Every lottery, every drawing, every game of 
chance of every kind, we hold to be a crime and a fraud 
against the public, and we cannot, except the "Grand 
Drawing of the Paschal House Association." Even if 
this drawing was held on the fair grounds, and even if 
the Mayor of St. Louis did so far forget his office as to 
preside at tile drawing, we can not the less denounce il. 
Many bought tickets, and but few drew prizes. Many 
fools lost their lnnney.aud a few sharpers made a " pile. 
Notwithstanding 1 he 'draw ing was held on a place dedi- 
cated to better things, and tile presence of the Mayor 
of St. Louis gave promise that " everything was serene," 
somehow - nobody can tell how, and wouldn't il he 
could— the chief prizes happened to go to the members of 
the association aforesaid. Didn't the St. Loins people 
over hear of the great "Crosby Opera House Lottery » " 
Wc will give Hie Mayor credit for being ashamed of his 
share in the swindle, as he has published an article 
slating that the whole thing was unlawful and wrong 
and " warns all persons from entering into any 
similar enterprise whatever." That warning is very 
good of the Mayor, and if. as Sambo said it Lad come 
"just previously before" instead of "just previously 
after ' lire "drawing.' it might have had some effect 
Wheat that produces 300 bushels to the acre ! Let every 
body send at once to the " Southern Experimental Com 
pany,' and get— beautifully sold. Mr. S E. Company — 
whoever you may be— you are very green. If you had 
pnl it at 50 or even 100 bushels, thp thing might have 
caught a few, but you have spoilt the whole with yonr 
800 bushels. "It outrivals all acclimated novelties' 
— we should say so. ltis " Rocky Mountain Mammoth 
Wheat," of course ll is, and wasn't the Pacific Railroad 
built by the S. E Company, all on purpose to bring 111 
this Mammoth thing? "It is unlike wheat in every 
respect, except it makes a very good flour." Why call it 
wheat at all ? Why not say what the thing is ? " Entirely 
new kind of Grain " — confounded li-Uely story How 
to send money " isa very necessary direction. Few will 
be fools enough to heed il. " Southern Experimental 
Company," try again Fanners are liable tO'be swiii 
died al their own doors. One ofthe latest dodges is for 
a couple of chaps with surveyors' instruments to come 
along pretending that they are surveying for a railroad 
the line of w Inch will run directly through your farm 
For a consideration of $50 or so, thoj can lie induced to 
go a little to one 6ide. If any Mich fellows come along, 
a- k to see their authority. If they can't show any, then 
show your-, and order them oil' of the promisee. 
Aiguariuni. — "Effle." — You will find a note 
on feeding gold-fish on page 118, lasl mouth. Any plants 
that grow in our ponds and deep streams, nearly or quite 
submerged, will do in an aquarium. The Water Ranun 
cuius, Water-Milfoil, and Honey-wort are among those 
most used. These are now probably in tln-ir winter 
state, and must be sought fer at the bottom. 
The Concord (.rape in llissouri.— 
A. A. Blinncr, Pike Co., Mo., writes t. in 1866 he 
pl&Bted UU vines ol Concord which fruited this yen. 
and proved a failure. Mr. B. says that, -apparently, the 
Concord does not improve here in Pike Co., but proves 
as bad in the West as in the East, any a- ertiou to tlie 
contrary notwithstanding." The Iona and Dclnw.-o, do 
well in his neighborhood. On the other hand, tin Mis 
sissippi Valley Crape Growers' A-soeiatini] have recently 
decided by a vote, which we think was unanimous, thai 
Hi- Concord is the best grape for Missouri. All llii 1 
goes lo show that the question of varieties is 11 local one. 
Ho one variety of taut can be the beet for everj pari 
of any State, especially for one BO large as Mi it 
Clinton Grape Blighting.— J. Wells 
has a row of Clintons on each side «!' a garden walk ; a 
drain from the cellar runs close by the roots of .air row . 
The same grape in other parte of the garden doe 
Tile trouble probably is the drain from lie- Cellar, whtl b 
keeps the soil around the roots unduly 11101-1. 
Salsify anil Parsnips.-" J. \Y.," \\ al- 
ien, III. These are left in the ground mainly as a matter 
of convenience, as it saves trouble in storing, ami som 
think that they are improved by the action of frost. In 
our notes for the month, wc always advise lilting and 
storing a sufficient quantity lo last during Hie time the 
ground remains frozen. There is no necessity for leaving 
them until spring. Either parsnips or salsify may b* 
eaten, when largo enough, ill summer or fall. 
Twelve Thousand Dollars' Worth 
of Engravings, at least, will be given in the Agri- 
culturist during 1869. To obtain neatly printed copies of 
all these, will cost only $1.50, or less lo clubs, with all 
the reading matter thrown in. 
A B008* to Make a <»oo<l f-'urmer, 
— "'Juvenile," Athens, Tenn. A young man desirous of 
being a good (armor wishes to buy •" the best book for 
beginners." The young man wants a practical book. 
Ec had better let theory alone until he has a good foun- 
dation of agricultural practice and experience to guide, 
him. This he will get leu times as last in tin- garden a 
in the held, ami so we thiuk the very best book we can 
put into his hands is Peter Henderson's "Gardening 'for 
Pioiit " In I his he will learn, 1st, He- value ofi lean, deep, 
thorough tillage; 2d. the importance oi manure; 3d, that 
well-directed labor pays; 4th, the importance of good 
seed; alh, the necessity of raising such crops as one has 
a quick market for. These lessons from the garden are 
the most important ones that u young farmer can learn and 
practice, anil are just as applicable on a 1000-aere farm in 
Illinois or Tennessee as ill a Jersey market garden. 
See book list. Gardening for Profit is $1.00 by mail. 
Tlie American Horticultural An- 
nual will be ready at the beginning of tlie year. II. will 
contain valuable coiuuiunic.il ion- and reports by many of 
the eminent horticulturists of the country, and in intrin- 
sic value and beauty of illustration will, to say the least, 
be equal to the volumes which have preceded it. Price, 
by mail, 50 cents, paper; 75 cents, cloth. 
How to S»lant Hickory Nuts.— "T. 
J." Wehave not had much experience, but found last 
year that Hickory nuts sprouted well* laid in sand under .1 
Hat stone, where they remained moist :-.!l winter. This 
year we are planting some upon a mass of forest leaves 
in a furrow, covering with leaves and soil 3 inches deep. 
Steaming Food for Cattle, etc.— 
Herbert Mead, of CroBS River. Wishes Information which 
we can hardly give without gratuitously advertising Mr. 
Prindle's apparatus, which it is not onr business to do 
So far as we know, the steaming is not don- under pn s 
sure, and the effects of steam upon fodderal high prcs 
sures has never, to our knowledge, been the subject of ex 
perimeut. and is an important subject 1 ttlon. 
A Christmas Show oi" B'onltr.v. 
We publish an advertisement of a Natioi 1 Bhov 
Poultry t" take place Christmas week in PhiUni 
under the auspices of the Philadelphia Ponllrj 1 llll 
which i composed of men v.le- ■ uami 1 
tor i" tie- undertaking, ami place i' above suepici 
The f*otoiuar Fruit Growers' As- 
sociation of Alexandria ami Fairfax counties, Va., 
v. 1 . _ inized on the 1 nh of September by tie- election 
,,1 Hon. Charles H, Bramhall, or Fairfax Co., as President, 
with Mr. Robert A. Phillips, of Alexandria Co., as first 
Vice-President, This is the first association of the kind 
yet formed in that section of the country, which has 
great aapabillties for fruit raising, and we trust that sim- 
ilar societies will be formed in all parts of the country. 
