AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Decembee, 
promised by lot to subscribers, are fraitds upon the com- 
munity. There are at lenst a dozen on a large scale, 
ihroughout the country, and many smaller local affairs for 
monuments, etc. We speak not of legitimate fairs and 
festivals, but of all those where gifts, presents, etc., aie 
offered for disiribution. Tliere are, universally, private 
parlies who really manage them, and into \\hQse pockets 
the main profits eventually go. This playing upon peo- 
ple's good intentions and kind feelings towards our sol- 
diers and their families, is the meanest kind of steuling. 
These enterprises are hnnajide. lotteries, except in name, 
and tiie most disteputable of all lotteries — wolves in 
sheep's clothing . ..liJ, There are a score or so of purely 
gift enterprises, where, for a smalt sum returned for the 
lickets sent you, often professedly, but not really, at your 
request, you are oflFered achance to dravv,or Aure drawn, 
a prize varying from $5 to $100, or more. We Iiave ex- 
amined rnnre than a hundred of these, and we here say 
that there is not one of all those ticket schemes, and gift 
enterprises that is not a fraud. Not one in a hundred 
of those who have sent their money fur the tii^kets liave 
ever heard from it, unless to hear the staniing falsehooii, 
that it was "lost by mail." Some showy prizes, not really 
valuable, have been sparingly distribute! as a bait to 
nthnrs, but the second crop invariably gets cheated, usu- 
ally the first <me too 3d, We have chased up so many 
advertised medicines, and doct'irs for all sorts of diseases, 
that we are prepared to brand tlie wliole tribe of adver- 
tising doctors as pernicious quacks. Not half of them 
can be found at ihe places they pretend to occupy.. They 
get letters at these places at hours when you cannot catch 
them 4th. '* Agencies"— There are a large number of 
persons in this city, and elsewhere, oflfering by private 
circulars " agencies," some for one thing, some for ano- 
ther, and some for a variety of things, household appara- 
tus, etc. A few of these are genuine; many are swin- 
dles, and some are about " half-and-half." It takes much 
investigation to get at the reliability and value of these 
concerns, anil we advise extreme caution, especially 
when any money is required to try them. Our silence in 
regard to several recently inquired about, implies that 
Ihey are bogus, or near to it, or of doubtful cliaracter. . .. 
5th, Eschew all "Art Associations." The "Michigan 
Art Association," with its only office in N. Y. City, is a 
fair specimen of many of Ihem swindles. So is Ilie pre- 
tended Masonic affair, at Medina. N. Y. Almost all are 
unmitigated humbugs. One or two, like the Crosby Art 
Association, may do what they promise, but how they 
differ from any other lottery is more than we can explain, 
except in accomplishing the same object in a meaner 
%vay ; they add the " sympathy dodge." — Bewaie of "One 
price \v.T,u-h companies," and of all watches by tickets ; 
of "Howard" and all other benevolent medicine associa- 
tions ;'■ of *' American Jewelry Association ;'' of Ann Ar- 
bor S'- tickets; of Jas. Pendeigast & Co.; of " H. Camp, 
M. D.. \\\io insults respectable young ladies, by sending 
(hem circulars offering disgusting medicines;" of ail cheap 
sewing machine offers, etc., etc .. P, S.— A villainous 
scheme just comes to liyht— a nrctented Franklin Benefit 
Assocuation in Chicago, claiming Gen. AVin. B. Logan as 
President. — It is impossible he could officer such a 
scheme. One Jno. L. Andrews of Ohio, writes to ladies 
off"ering for $50 to lie them tickets thvoujjh woiili $500? 
—A deep-dyed villain ! 
MuresclEiil :^iicl Kose'.— An "Old Flori^^t" 
objects to the engiaving of this rose given in the Novem- 
ber J5TiCii//(irts(, which he says does not do justice to 
this sjiiendid variety. With him the flowers were as 
large as those of any good rose, au'l tiie color — wliich 
cannot be given in an engraving— is as yellow as saffron, 
improving as the flower opens. Our engraving was from 
the only aceessibic material, a partly opened flower. It 
is not strictly a Tea Rose, but a Noisette, and is a runner, 
after the style of the Lamaniue. and like that, adapted to 
planting out in the open ground of the green-house ; 
treated in this v\:iy, it attains its greatest perfection. 
^rape Vines ^ni-OAviug' \ia Aitttii»ii. 
T. Bost, Hennepin Co., Minn., writes, that the leaves of 
his small vines were killed by frost in September, and 
that subsequent wai m weather has started the buds for 
next year, and asks if this w ill hurt llie vines. It will be 
iipt to injure them, and the young vines will require care. 
It is probably only the upper buds that liave started, and 
that good budsstiil remain near the grourul. Prune back 
severely, aiid start a new cane from a bud near the base, 
li*i'i;;*stlio]ft — ^VintliMills,— W. Hawkius 
and sever;d neighbors, of Sayville, (Stale not given) are 
interested in the subject of irrigation. Theie are two 
plans, one to " pipe" the water IJ^ mile, the other for 
each to dig a well and ^et a windmiUand tank on the up- 
lier pai t of his lanJ. The former plan would be very ex- 
pensive for one man to do, but miglrt do for several com- 
bining to lay a large pipe. The windmill plan is feas- 
<jb!e, and yet iinotjjf ) ijiay be he\\^\. A well on lii^i^ 
ground will often furnisli a sup[»Iy of water wiuch may 
be delivered by a syphon (a simple pipe extending from 
near the bottom of tiie well to a lowtr level on the slope 
of the hill.) at a tank or reservoir. Windmills for simple 
pumping are advertised at about $150. 
I'ajsve's Puiiftp stud Spriukler. — Wc 
saw this new contrivance for throwing water at the 
Cleveland Grape Show, and it impressed us as being very 
simple arid efficient. .Some apparatus for throwing a jet 
of water is very handy in various ways, and if this one is 
found to work as well in the hands of every one as it did 
in those of the exhibitor, it will take the place of more 
expensive machines. 
"^Vliifte '^Villoiv. — E. F. Duiiuu, writes from 
Humboldt Co., Nevada, saying : *' Aw:iy out liere, 
' Where the wild sage-stems of the desert die, 
In the cold white marshes of alkali,' 
we live, farm and read the Agriculturist, and have a bet- 
ter home than tlie writer of the quoted lines imagined. 
We raise, fiist crop on the sod, 1,500 pounds of barley to 
the acre, and sell it. in bulk, for Sc. per pound coin. We arc 
much exercised though on the subject of hndge-fences. 
Won't you tell us about tliat White Willow that Levi Smith 
writes to you of in September number, 1S66. Where we 
can get it and how to manage it. Won't you put an item 
in the ' basket ' for us ? "~Ans. It is not hard to get the 
While Willow ; almost any good nurseryman would send 
you the right thin?, and once obtained, you could mulli 
jdy it indefinitely in a few years- A few cuttings might 
be sent by Post. Your California nurserymen probably 
have it. But whether it will grow "in the cold white 
marsiies of alkali," that is another question, which indeed 
you lio not ask. Remember it bears several names, 
white, gray, powder, etc., besiiies the Latin, Salix alba. 
l^ug'li^li ^larUet Meusiires. — lu read- 
ing over the reports of the Covent Garden Market, one is 
puzzled at terms not in use in this country. We have 
been at a little trouble to look them up, and perhaps the 
result may interest others besides ourselves. Pottleis a 
long tapering basket made of shavings, and holding a 
pint and a half. Putmets are shallow baskets, varying in 
size for different articles ; radish punnets are 8 inches 
across and 1 inch deep ; those for mushrooms are 7 
inclies by 1 : while salad ptmnels aie 5 Indies by 
2 inches deep. A Sieve is a basket 15 inches in diame- 
ter and 8 inches deep, and holds 7 imperial gidlons. The 
Aa(/"-Sicre liolds 3}^ gallons, and is 12.^ inches across by 
6 inches dee|i. Tlie Bushel sieve is I7?i inches in diame- 
ter at top, 17 at bottom, ll.V deep; the Bushel Basket \ti 
at top 14M inches, at bottom 10 inches, 17 inches deep. 
WliadoM ot* 4JoIof ill OiEt?*ii(le Psiiiit- 
iiig of Houses.— J. W. White, of Mifflin Co.. Pa.. 
asks :— " In painting a wooden house should the cornice, 
window-facings, etc., be of a lighter or darker siiade tlian 
the body of the house? Also, should the panels of 
doors, window shutters, etc., be darker or lighter than 
the panel frames?" The colors appropriate to wooden 
houses are Jiglit ones of some agreeable neutral tint, 
avoiilingail positive colors, and all dark colors. The 
cornices, base and corner strips, pilasters, door and win- 
dow casings, etc.. should be of a slightly darker shade 
than the body of the house. So likewise should the pan- 
el frames be a liltle darker than the panels. 
Tlie Illii«*tr»to<l Annual Kegrister 
ofRural Affairs lor 1867. By J. J. Thomas. 
Albany: Luiher Tucker & Son.— Another volume is 
added to this series, and. like its predecessors, is a useful 
compendium of agricultural and horticulturjil matters. 
It is sufficient praise to say of this volume that it is as 
good as tlie pievious ones, and is well worth the modest 
sum it costs — 30 cents. We would gladly slop here, but 
one of its contributors has been guilty of an act that we 
cannot, and ought not to allow to pass unnoticed. Upon 
page 84 is "A Chapter on Various Practical Subjects.' 
[Written for the Annual Register, by S. Edwjirds Todd.] 
This ilrticle -contains nine illustrations ; eight of these 
.are re-di awn from the Agriculturist for 1865 ; and the re- 
maining one is taken bodily and literally from a w^ork of 
which we hold the copy-right— American Weeds and 
Useful Plants— without the slightest acknowledgmenl. 
The figures from the Agriculturist are re-drawn, slightly 
modified in one w;iy or another, so as to avoid the copy- 
right. iOui' original articles are paid for well, and every 
number of the paper is copy-righte-l in full, and not to be 
copied without credit.) The author of this article was, un- 
satisfactorily to us, for a short time employed to aid upon 
the Agriculturist, and he may possibly thinh that he has a 
right to illustrations drawn for some articles of which he 
made the rough notes. Other people think differently. We 
are quite sure that neither our good friend, the editor of 
the Regisler, nor its publishers, had any suspicion of the 
trick of which they have been made the victims. They 
pftiJ t\K (lie ai liole as new, n'M \v\\\ feel cli?.|rinBJ \9 fi»|i 
Ihey have instead a le-hash of old matter tliat has 
already appeared in a wideiy-ciiculateLi paper, illustrated 
by figures that will appear old an<i familiar lo a large 
proportion of tho^e who may purchase the Regi'-ter'. 
The publishers have our .sympathy, as they will that of 
all honest men. 
Ti-oiible ^vitha !!itecp Patli.— "A Sub- 
scriber" in Tennessee, who lives on a mountain side, 
finds that every hard rain tui*ns his path into a gully, and 
wishes to know what he can put upon it, as stones wash 
out and planks w arp. Perhaps a Utile engineering would 
turn the bulk of the water in another direction. In such 
a pl:ice we should try gas-!ar and gravel, or sand. As 
much tar as will stick tlie s-'ind together, will soon harden 
and make a durable ;ind pleasant waik. If. as appears 
likely, the path Is below the general surface, then the 
cement should belaid upon the sides of the depression, 
as well as to prevent the water from working under. 
Another plan would be to pave Ihe foot way, and make 
very capacious gutiers on each side of tlie pavement, and 
plaster them over with a mortar of water lime. Tiie lat- 
ter plan is followed in some portions of Central Paik. 
■tar<liues*» of tlie Quince.— D. P., 3,000 
feet upon the Catskiils, wishes lo know^lhe probable suc- 
cess of Qinnces in that locality. As he raises apples and 
pears, we doubt not that Quinces would succeed. Do not 
plant in low wet ground, give good and well enriched 
soil, and take care uf them as if they \vere pet pears. 
'I'Uc Study or Cweo;^i*apUy, as u&ually 
taught, involves a great waste of time. The pupil strug- 
gles through a long list of names which his burdened 
memory refuses lo retain, aird manyof «hich would be 
mere rubbish if relarneil, so far as any practical use i.s 
concerned. A new primary work by Miss Hall, publish- 
ed by Samuel F. Nichols, Boston, is a step in the riglit 
direction. By means of interesting reading lessims, ac- 
companied with common-sense maps and illuslrations. it 
leads the child to acquire information, and a relish for the 
subject at the same lime. Teachers and parents will do 
well to examine the work. 
** The ^letliodist " has made an important 
arrangement with Rev. Henry Wiird Beecher, and otht r 
eminent clergymen, for a weekly sermon to be published 
in its columns.— See advertisement. 
A ^'e-n- Iflap of N. Y. City and 1/200 fequarc 
miles of the adjacent region, just publislied by the reliable 
firm of Messrs. H. H. Lloyd & Co.. N. Y.. gives a very 
complete view of the region, locating ail rail-ro:id sta- 
tions Willi their distances from New York, the country 
roads, small streams, etc., more minutely and accurately 
than we have seen in any similar publication. It is a 
valuable work of reference. — Price Su.OO. 
l>oc*iiiueiit<>i AoKiio^vledgx'il. — The fol- 
lowing catalogues of general nursery stock have been re- 
ceived : "The Evergreens." Saml. Edwards, La Moilie, 
111. ; Central Nurseries, Edward F. Evans & Co.. York, 
Pa.; Thomas Wright. Rochester, N. Y. ; Georgetown 
(Conn.) Nursery. Geo. Perry A Son; Erie (Pa.) Com- 
mercial Nurseries, I. A. Plattmann; Weslbury Nurseries, 
Isaac Hicks & Sons, North Hempstead, L. I.. N. Y. ; 
Greenvale Nurseries. W. D. Sirowyer & Co.. Oswego, 
N. Y. ; John Mui-phy. Dansville. N. Y. ; South Bend 
(Indiana) Nursery and Fruit Farm, A. M. Piirdy ; Read- 
ing (Mass.) Nursery. J. W. .Manning .."The three best 
Alarket Berries," Wm. Piiriy, Ciimaminson, N. J 
Catalogues of Gr.apes from A. M. Burns. Manhattan, 
Kansas ; J. M. JPCulloueh A; Son, Cincinnati. O. ; II. B. 
Lum, Sandusky, O. ; Hollon & Zun'leil. Haverslraw. N. 
Y.; A.J. Hatfield, Mies, Jllch.. ..Catalogues of Bulbs, 
Seeds and Strawberries, Vilmorin, Andrienx & Co., 
Paris, France Catalogue of Farm Stock. Dogs, Fowls, 
etc., S- & W. S.Allen. Vergennes, Vt...Cat;dogue of Edge 
Tools, Collins <fc Co., Hartford, WZ Water St., New 
York Catalogue of German Periodical Literature 
(Zeitschri/ten-Liste)y 1866, E. Steiger, New-York. 
XIic Festival ol' Song-.— This is a gift 
book, published by F. J. Iluniington & Co., i^ew York. 
It consists of choice extracts from ancient and modern 
poets, compiled by Frederick Saundeis, Librarian of the 
Astor Library, and prefaced by a brief account of the au- 
thors. The work is splendidly printed and hound, illustrat- 
ed with original di'awings by leading artists of the National 
Academy of Design — some of which ;n"e really charming. 
Xhc " Golden B^oiives Scries."— These 
are neat volumes, containing selections from ihebe-t pro- 
ductions of the older British, modern English, dramatic 
and American Poets. The selectioos, by J. W. S. Howe, 
Bp?ij( to be made "with taste an I goud judgment. 
