104 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
Exhibitions in Prospect. 
Elsewhere we announce a Strawberry Exhibition. The 
display at the Agriculturist Office last year, was the finest 
one of the kind ever held in this country. So others tell 
us ; the writer was absent in Europe at the time. With 
the experience of last year as a guide and the many re- 
quests for a repetition, we expect to have a still greater 
affair next June.— A. Show of Pumpkins, Squashes and 
Gourds, is being planned for in Autumn. Other exhibitions 
of Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers, Sorghum, etc. are in con- 
templation, but the number, and their extent can not yet 
oe decided upon. The increased cost of paper and other 
publishing items, lead us to hesitate in the matter. The 
prizes are a considerable item for individual enterprise, 
while these are but a small part of the expenses attend- 
ing upon getting up and carrying through an exhibition. 
Still, as these displays of farm and garden products tend 
to excite general interest and improvement, we shall do 
all we can afford to this year, and more we hope, hereafter. 
Good Grape Vine Fremiums. 
These seem to have met a general want, judging from 
the tone of the many letters received. We have been 
able to procure a small addition of "excellent vines to our 
own slock, so that the offer will remain open through 
April and probably into May. It will be noticed that a 
slight change in terms is made, viz. one vine for every 
subscriber in a club of ten instead of fifteen as announc- 
ed last month. We do this in response to many requests 
from those who say they can get a club of ten if a vine 
be given for each, while they can not, at this late day, 
get fifteen. The unusual cold weather delayed the begin- 
ning of the distribution of vines to southern points until 
March 27th. They will be sent to other parts of the 
country as fast as the season will admit. See page 128. 
This is certainly a cheap and convenient way of ob- 
taining a good vine as a beginning. Where several go to 
one place those receiving them can, by choosing part of 
both kinds, exchange cuttings or layers hereafter. 
A Special Request to Advertisers. 
Every day almost, we receive advertisements from 
distant parties who are wholly unknown to us personally 
or by reputation. We must insist upon having references 
from such persons, or some kind of evidence that they 
are reliable men, who will do what they propose to do in 
their business cards, or we can not insert their advertise- 
ments at any price. The fact that an advertiser has 
been a subscriber for several years, does not necessarily 
make usacquainted with his mode of doing business, 
though he may know all about ours. The above may 
seem a hard rule, but it is necessary, for we desire to in- 
sert nothing either in our reading or business columns 
which will lead our readers into an unprofitable invest- 
ment. It is not enough that a man pays us for space oc- 
cupied. If for example he advertises trees and plants 
very low, we want to know first whether he will certain- 
ly send them of the quality and at the price he offers, 
and what is still more important, will they be true to 
name. The very worst cheating, is to sell trees and 
plants, which after tlK#3xpense of getting and years of 
core turn out to be untrue. The same of seeds, etc. 
We are obliged to return many advertisements sent in 
with the money, simply because we do not know the par- 
ties offering them. The above request is not only for 
the protection of our readers, but also to give value to 
the business cards of good reliable men. If any object 
lo the requirements, we shall very cheerfully do without 
the favor of their advertisements. 
A Good Time to Buy. 
The reader will find a large amount of interesting in- 
formation on the closing pages of this paper. We have 
this month allowed business men to have more than their 
usual space. The advertisements taken as a whole are 
of an excellent class ; a large number from unknown 
persons, and from known unreliable parties have been 
refused. While almost everything else has advanced, it 
will be seen that trees, plants, many seeds and some 
agricultural implements are offered more abundantly and 
cheaper than ever before. This is a good time to lay in 
a supply. It will pay to look through the whole of the 
advertisements, and see what is for sale, by whom and at 
what prices. It will cost but little to send for the Circu- 
lars and catalogues offered, and thus get acquainted with 
the dealers. We ask as a favor, that those writing to ad- 
vertisers will mention that the* saw their advertisements 
lu this Journal. We like to have them know who are 
the wideawake, enterprising readert Of the ZLffriculturist, 
and it will please them also to lean) where their business, 
cards are seen by the largest class of readers. See above. 
Seed Distribution— Special Notice. 
The distribution of seeds must soon close, for want of 
material. Never before has there been such a call for 
them, though we announced at first that, owing to several 
circumstances, the amount provided was unusually 
small. Just as we closed up the last paper, the en- 
velopes commenced pouring in by thousands with every 
mail. Two men have done little else, from morning to 
night for a month, but simply open letters. We have 
been forced to reduce the seed measures, and send the 
smallest possible amount to each, or disappoint thousands 
of others. Every parcel, however, contained enough 
seed of the annuals to yield a fair supply of seed for 
another year. As long as we have any seeds left, they 
will be cheerfully supplied. Any one sending for them 
hereafter should mark a dozen numbers, and we will se- 
lect the first numbers down the list, of which we have 
seed remaining. Of the Mammoth Millet Seed, owing to 
accident, we failed to get as many pounds as we hoped lo 
get bushels, and so, instead of half-ounce parcels, we 
were compelled to send- only a few seeds, as almost 
everybody seemed to want it. Every seed grown will 
produce thousands. In several instances the envelopes 
come with the slip of numbers omitted, or with defective 
address. This will account for some parcels not reach- 
ing the persons sending for them. The mail may have 
been at fault in other instances. 
Reports on the State of the Crops. 
It is of the highest importance to farmers and others, 
that there should be reliable information as to the con- 
dition and prospects of the Growing Crops, as the harvest 
season approaches, and soon after harvest, of the yield 
throughout the country, so that the producers may have 
some basis for estimaling the probable prices. Impressed 
with this fact, we last season went to a good deal of ex- 
pense and trouble to collect and publish reliable returns, 
monthly. It is not too much lo say that the reports thus 
given in the A merican Agriculturist were the best, and 
most complete yet attempted in this country. But the 
labor and expenses are so great that it ought not to be left 
to individual enterprise, though we should continue the 
work if necessary. Our new Agricultural Bureau at 
Washington should undertake the work on an extensive 
scale. We have had some correspondence on the sub- 
ject, and recently vlsiled Washington to press the matter 
upon the attention of the Agricultural Bureau, but we 
found the Commissioner and his associates too busy at 
the closing of the session of Congress to discuss the de- 
tails at length. We are happy to be able to announce 
however, that the matter will be taken hold of. In answer 
to our request for an official announcement, to be publish- 
ed, we have the following : 
Department of Agriculture. \ 
Washington, D. C, March 16. 1863. ( 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Dear Sir :— In reply to yours of the 14th, lam directed 
to say that the Commissioner of Agriculture is now pre- 
pared to carry out the Intended plan of collecting such 
Agricultural Statistics, for monthly publication, as shall 
show the actual and prospective condition of the various 
crops of the country during the coming season. 
Very respectfully yours, James S. Grinnell, 
Chief of Statistical Bureau. 
Premium List Still Open.— Changes. 
For want of room we omit the list of general premiums. 
(They are given on page 88 of March Agriculturist.) 
The good articles there offered are worth working for, 
and can still be secured by forming new clubs of sub- 
scribers, or by the completion of clubs partly made up. 
Owing to the advance in cost, the terms will be changed 
after April 1st, for the following articles : 
No. 1. — Books. Same terms as heretofore, in accord- 
ance with the prices of books as given on page 127, a 
few of which are advanced in price. 
No. 5 — Willcox if Gibbs^ Sewing Machine — advanced to 
$40 (always including Hemmer and Feller.) Terms of 
Premium ; 79 subscribers at $1 each, or 112 at 80 cents. 
This machine is coming more and more into favor. 
No. 6. — Aneroid Barometers advanced to $8.50. Terms 
of Premium ; 25 Subscribers at $1, or 57 at 80 cents. 
No. 7. — The Aquarius. The New Premium Terms 
will be : 25 subscribers at $1 each, or 54 at 80 cents. 
Nos. 13 to 18 — Back Volumes. The unbound numbers 
are intended in these Premiums. 
Melodeons.— No. 8, 5 octave: new price $80 (133 names 
at $1, or 252 at 80 cents) No. 9, 4% octave ; new price 
$65 (112 names at $1, or 197 at 80 cents) No. 10, 4 
octave ; new price $55 (110 names at $1, or 163 names at 
80 cents.)— All other premiums will remain the same as 
last month, at least until May 1st. 
The Prize Tohacco Book. 
We have just coming from the press, a very complete, 
practical work on the Culture of Tobacco. It has been 
delayed a little by two circumstances: First, the Com- 
mittee had eighty-Jive Essays to look over, instead of the 
expected fifteen or twenty. Second, we concluded to 
make it 4S pages, instead of 32 as at first intended. The 
price will not be increased, however, but it will be sent, 
post-paid, for 25 cents. The work contains 48 large 
pages of plain, practical directions given by thirteen ex- 
perienced cultivators, residing in different parls of the 
country. They tell, in a plain, straight-forward way, 
what is to be done, from the selection of the seed to the 
curing of the crop. All the details are given. What is 
omitted by one is supplied by another— some being more 
explicit on certain points than others. 
A Few of the Humbugs. 
In previous volumes we have shown up so many of the 
various humbugs, that our older readers scarcely need 
any further caution. But a few hints will perhaps be 
useful to the thirty or forty thousand newer subscribers, 
who did not see the former exposures. In the February 
Agriculturist, page 36, we took occasion to forewarn the 
reader against sundry wonderful discoveries in the seed 
and plant line that would come out in advertisement and 
circulars asthe plantingseasonapproached. The March 
number had just gone to piess, when we began to receive 
from the distant West (not from near home) copies of cir- 
culars sent out from Utica, N. Y., offering a new * Orien- 
tal Sugar Plant,' with a very specious statement of its 
wonderful properties.— Sugar beet seed can be had at 
any agricultural store for a tenth part of the price asked 
for it by this Utica advertiser. 
A good many advertise for agents at $50, $60, and $75 a 
month, and "all expenses paid." When replied to, they 
forward plausible circulars advising you to send them 
certain sums of money for sample Sewing Machines, or 
other articles, on which they offer great profits if you un- 
dertake the sale of them. If you ever get any return for 
the money, which is seldom the case, you are told that if 
you sell a certain amount you can make $60, $70, or more. 
Certain parties in this city and elsewhere send out one, 
two. or three copies of a professedly agricultural journal, 
and offer great inducements to postmasters and others to 
get up clubs. They get many to send in money, and 
sometimes pay the premiums, such as they are, but the 
paper soon slops, and the duped subscribers can get noth- 
ing more for their money, and no amount of writing will 
draw out a word of reply from the nominal publishers. 
They write to a friend in the city to call and inquire 
about it, but the reputed publisher is always out of 
town, or sick— at least he can never be found. 
The old lottery scheme Is still in vogue. The latest 
operation is by a party nominally In this city, and not 
in a back-woods one-house town in New-Hampshire or 
Vermont, the localily of those we exposed a year or 
two since. Early in February, Mr. Wm. R. Shipman, 
of South Woodstock, Vt., received a letter contain- 
ing a grand announcement of prizes to be drawn in 
the "Western Art Union Association, Music Hall, Lon- 
don, Indiana," under the management of " Harris <fc Co.," 
the drawing to take place February 20, 1663. There was 
enclosed a ticket numbered 1689. Mr. Shipman, being a 
sensible man, threw the whole into the fire, and thought 
no more of It until he received the following letter from 
New-York, covering a " list of numbers drawing prizes." 
"No. 12 Merchants' Exchange, Feb. 20, 1863. 
Wm. It. Shipman, 
Dear Sir : — You will see by the list 
that No. 1689 drew a prize of One Hundred Dollars. 
Now, I wish you to obtain it. and for this reason ; should 
you obtain the prize, and let it be known, and also.inform 
people whom to apply to for tickets, I should be able to 
sell many more in your vicinity at the next drawing. If 
you will aid me in this way, 1 will assist you to obtain the 
prize, and thus benefit us both. To have your ticket 
good you must hold the Managers' Certificate. To pro- 
cure this, send me a letter, dated on the day of the draw- 
ing, and enclose Five Dollars, the price of the ticket. 
As soon as received, I will go to the Managers' Office, 
and open the letter in their presence, saying, " This let- 
ter was mislaid In the P. O.. but the money and date is nil 
right." They, not knowing that your ticketdrew a prize, 
will take the money and send certificate. Send immedi- 
ately, and do not show this to anyone. 
Truly Yours, C. E. Howard." 
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of others were each no- 
tified that No. 1689 had drawn a prize for them. Several 
copies have been forwarded to us. Yet many unsuspect- 
ing believers In lotteries have doubtless sent in their $5 
each, never to hear from it again. *' C. E. Howard," 
offered to lie for them, and will be equally ready to lie to 
them. Mr. Shipman and others have betrayed the con- 
fidence of the ingenuous Howard by sending his letters to 
us. Wonder what he will do about it. 
