126 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
at $’75,278,281. Of oysters. 4,000,000,000, 
valued at $50,000,000. (This equals 100 oysters 
for every man, woman, and child, in the country.) 
S< v sadiB6*»- IPapers. — We again ask our 
friends who send us papers containing articles they wish 
us to see, to mark the articles by pencil or ink line (blue 
pencil is best), so distinct that it will readily catch the 
eye. The clerk who opens the paper mail can not pos¬ 
sibly read, even the headings, of the articles in the hun¬ 
dreds of papers that come daily. Also notify us by let¬ 
ter or postal, by the same mail, of the sending of the 
paper. We now and then get a card—like the one at 
hand—saying: “I sent you last week a copy of,” etc. 
The paper, not being marked, is no doubt on its way to 
the paper-mill, to be ground over. The Post-office 
rulings allow an article to he marked by a line, to call at¬ 
tention, but, of course, there must be no writing. 
Maicli lielay sttjtul Bf>isaj>poisitmeMt 
result from mixing editorial and business matters in the 
same letter. A letter on business, of course, goes first 
to the business department to which it belongs, whether 
it relates to matters concerning the paper or to the book 
business. When those having charge of such matters 
have done with the letter, it is passed over to the ed¬ 
itors. It may, and often does, happen, that a question 
for the editors, in this way, often loses a whole month, 
through the delay of a day or two thus caused. This 
may be avoided by putting the editorial and the business 
matters on separate sheets in the same envelope. 
Sosg»jslystng- Esperssaseasfjsl lFerlil- 
Izers.—In proposing the Farm Experiments, described 
last month, and elsewhere in the present number, it be¬ 
came necessary to make arrangements at once with some 
one to supply the fertilizers to be used in the experi¬ 
ments. We consulted witlx several responsible dealers 
that were most accessible, and as the Manes Formula 
Company were the first we met who cheerfully and heart¬ 
ily entered into the project, arrangements were made to 
have the fertilizers put up by them. The reason why we 
did not merelyname the fertilizers, and suggest that they 
might be had of any reliable dealer, was because, in a 
first effort, it seemed desirable, important even, to have 
the work concentrated at one point, to secure the needed 
analysis and oversight, and the necessary uniformity in 
the materials furnished. Tt is due to Messrs; Wm. n. 
Bowker & Co., well-known dealers in fertilizers, at Boston 
and New York, to say that, on seeing our announcement, 
they at once offered to supply the trial samples on the 
terms named, and with all desifableguarantees. Wo would 
have been glad to have them do so, as we have every con¬ 
fidence in their ability and character; and we might say 
the same in regard to several others first-class dealers. 
But it is hardly practicable, at this time, to make any 
other arrangements than those announced last month. 
We hope some similar project may be carried out another 
season, embracing the entire country, and a number of 
those dealers who guarantee the quality of their articles. 
Ssiil© ©f E^iaxe .Jerseys susail IFaiaiily 
Cows.— Mr. Thomas Fitch, of New London. Conn., an¬ 
nounces a sale of thoroughbred Jersey cattle and high- 
grade animals, bred especially for family cows. No 
breeder has been more successful than Mr. Fitch in mak¬ 
ing crosses on the Jersey with the effect of producing 
high milk and butter-yielding cows. This has been an 
especial business with him for more than 30 years. His 
herd numbers over 100 head of young and mature thor¬ 
oughbred and cross bred animals, many of them being 
rich butter-makers, and all of them good. Mr. Fitch’s 
announcement will be seen elsewhere. 
Cisleiesilite is the name adopted by the Averill 
Chemical Paint Co. for a very convenient article, which 
will allow those who wish to calsomine their own walls 
to do so, if they have only ordinary skill.—The materials 
for the wash are in cakes, which need only to be dis¬ 
solved in boiling water, to be ready to use. The shades 
are delicate and pleasing, and we have no doubt that the 
Averill folks have hit upon a most popular thing. 
Skimps on :s Morse’s SHnowlUler.— 
“ J. L. R.,” Chillicothe, Mo. When collar-galls have ir¬ 
ritated the bone of the shoulder, and hard lumps have 
formed there, they can not be removed ; they are growths 
of the bone, and beyond the help of the surgeon. 
CJrsiss for Montana Territory.— 
“ J. S. H.,” Cheyenne, M. T. makes several inquiries, 
which we would have answered by mail, but he gave 
only the initials, as above. As stamps were enclosed, a 
reply by mail was probably looked for, but, of course, 
this is impossible. There is a book on irrigation, in 
which all the information as to grasses for sowing, mode 
of preparing and cultivating the ground, making ditches, 
laying out meadows, and the manner of irrigating and 
generally managing them, is fully given. This is “ Irri¬ 
gation for the Farm, Garden, and Orchard,” by Henry 
Stewart, sent, post-paid, for $1.50, by the Orange Judd 
Co. For planting along the ditches, the common cotton¬ 
wood, or white willow, would be easy to procure, and 
would grow readily from cuttings. Oats should be sown 
as soon as the frost is over, and the ground is fit for 
working. Timothy-seed can be procured at Omaha, or 
Lincoln, Nebraska. The cost is about 5 cents per pound. 
The Tittle Washer, made by Geo. D. 
Bissell & Co., Naugatuck, Ct., having been advertised 
in our advertising columns for some time, we have re¬ 
ceived numerous letters concerning it. To such we 
would say : The washers in the marketare of two kinds; 
in one the clothes are washed by rubbing, or squeezing, 
and in the other by a continuous flow of boiling suds over 
and through the fabrics. In an article on page 144, we 
have shown the difficulties that attend the introduction 
of all aids in washing, where the “help” (so-called be¬ 
cause they hinder) are prejudiced against them: We 
have tried the “ Little Washer” sufficiently to know that 
an intelligent person, one who is not “sot agin” it, can 
make it a useful aid in the family washing. The same 
principle is employed in establishments for cleansing large 
quantities of fabrics. Where stupidity and prejudice 
combine against it, no domestic appliance is of any use. 
TB«e Asl»es6os B B :titta3s, made by the H. 
W. Johns Asbestos Mfg. Co.—To those who write, in¬ 
quiring about these paints, we would say that we can not 
give a final opinion until five years after we have applied 
them. Wo can say now that they promise well. We used 
them last year on several buildings. The tints are pleas¬ 
ing, and the one who applied the paint found it to cover 
well. We used it upon both old buildings and new, and, 
judging from its workings, we should not hesitate, had 
wo more painting to do, to use this. 
IEy11>r3«liziB»«;- IPiUixuSs. — J. W. Tower. We 
wrote you a letter giving the title of the best work on the 
subject, but when we came to direct the envelope, we 
could not find the State — so our letter and yours kept 
company in the waste-basket. 
S’Ssax lor Sect!.—“ J. B. G.,” Rockwell, 
Iowa. When flax is sown for seed, one bushel per acre 
is sufficient. When if is thinly sown, the plants branch, 
and have many more seed-bolls than when sown thickly. 
For the fibre, which should be fine, two bnshels per acre 
are sown. Flax-seed should be sown early, about the 
time that oats are put in the ground. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
Alas for Russell & Co. 1 
Has their glory departed? 
From a dozen of their cir¬ 
culars a day, the thing has 
gone down to three or more 
in a whole month 1 Those 
watches “valued at $150.- 
00,” and those lots of jew¬ 
elry “ valued at $250.00, 
$280.00,” and all sorts of 
other values—can they have 
been exhausted ?...Ourlast 
intelligence as to this “ Lot 
of Jewelry,” comes from a 
jeweler in Laporte, Ind., 
who, just for the fun of the 
thing, had a $280 lot of the 
“ Jewelry ” sent to him. 
He writes: “ I find them to 
he a lot of very well fin¬ 
ished, but worthless trash, 
the wholesale price of which 
at $o to $8.”— Here is the testimony of an 
Expert, which those innocent people, who think that 
any one will give them more than a Dollar’s worth 
for a Dollar, will do well to remember. Exit Rus¬ 
sell & Co., but “powers behind the throne” are by no 
means dead. “ Draw it mild,” Messrs. E. & Co. Some 
one is now on the track of your latest developments.... 
We hope that our warning against 
farmers giving notes 
have been sufficiently strong and frequent to, at least, 
make the leaders of the American Agriculturist stop and 
think a little before they get caught in such a trap as 
three of New Jersey farmers walked into. Wo again 
repeat, to not only farmers, but to all other readers, 
Be careful how tou sign a paper of any 
kind, AND TO ANY TRAVELING agent whatever.— 
DON’T SIGN ANYTHING. 
Many of these cases do not get into print at all. the 
victims bearing their losses in silence. The Trenton (N. 
I would 
J.,) “State Gazette” gives a recent case of this kind, 
and we mention it in brief, not to expose the folly of the 
victims—for men who are honest themselves are the 
most easily taken in by such scoundrels—but as a warn- i 
ing to others. 
“ Two men named Clarke ” presented themselves as 
agents for a patent wind-will. They sold the “right” j 
(farmers, mind how you buy “rights,” for they often 
turn out big wrongs ,) for Warren Co., to James De¬ 
reamer, Isaac Dehart, and Abraham Pursell. These 
gentlemen gave a note to these Clarkes for $700.00. 
Having a note from well-known and well-to-do men. the 
Clarkes went to a neighboring town, where there was a 
bank, and had no difficulty in getting it discounted. [ 
But the Clarkes were well up in their business ; they 
came back to the makers of the note, and told them that 
they could not get it cashed. The account ends thus: 
“The farmers then gave them $700, since which time 
nothing has been heard of the agents, nor have the farm¬ 
ers received their wind-mill.” We hazard nothing in 
predicting that those agents and that wind-mill will not 
be again heard of in Warren Co., N. J. The chaps have 
made a clean $1,400, and they will not again be found in 
Warren Co., or in any other Co. in New Jersey. Four¬ 
teen hundred dollars in a State no bigger than New Jer¬ 
sey is j. big haul. Can we add anything to this plain | 
statement of facts? This is a specimen of 
THE SWINDLES UPON THE FARMERS 
that are being practised all over the country. We would 
not say, “ Have nothing to do with any traveling agent,” 
as that would be unjust to many honest men who are 
engaged in introducing articles of real value to farmers ; 
but we would ask every farmer to exercise proper busi¬ 
ness shrewdness, and to distinguish the swindler from 
the real seller. A few weeks ago a seller of mowing ma¬ 
chine kuive sharpeners, coaxed, worried, and finally 
bullied an honest man in Pleasantville, N. Y., into sign¬ 
ing a note for a lot of worthless machines, and now the 
note is sued in a distant town, requiring as much expense , 
for time and lawyers to defend, as the amount of the note 
itself ($200). We may state it as a safe rule—if you can 
not make a trade without signing anything, you had bet¬ 
ter let that trade go by. The land is so full of swindlers, 
that there is no safety in any other course. So we re¬ 
peat our caution—and it would he well if it were put 
up in large letters, where it can be seen daily — “ With 
all strangers, with all traveling agents, 
FARMERS, BE CAREFUL WHAT TOU SIGN.” 
Let no “ Exclusive Agency,” let no prospective profit, 
let no palaver of any glib-tongued salesman—no matter 
what he has to sell, no matter what hopes of a sudden 
fortune he may hold out — induce you to put your name 
to any ldnd of a paper. If one comes to you well recom¬ 
mended, if he is honest, he will willingly wait until you 
can find out if his credentials are true. Make no snap- 
agreements ; jump at no great chances. Whoever comes 
along with an honest thing will be ready and willing to 
have it examined through and through. Deal with no 
others ; and wo now say to You Farmers— you for whom 
we have worked year in and year out in examining 
“ Humbugs ” of all sorts, we say, with renewed emphasis, 
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SIGN. 
MEDICAL MATTERS 
are not many, but we can not say that they are dull this 
month, as we have one first-class one, worth a score of 
the common kinds. About a year ago, we saw a small 
sheet announcing it, but have only recently come into 
possession of the work, giving a full account of 
“THE METAPHYSICAL DISCOVERY” 
of one Mrs. Brown. In that remarkable paper, the “ N. 
Y. Tribune,” Mrs. B. speaks of her work as “ the most 
valuable pamphlet in tiie world.” We are quite sure 
that there is not another like it. “ Metaphysical we 
should say so ! We never met-a-physical, or physic-ing 
thing, that could begin with it. We can say, without any 
metaphor, that we never met-afore anything that pro¬ 
posed to work a greater metamorpho-sis in the sys-teni 
of medicine than this work; and we never met-a-phy- 
sician who could meet and physic one equal to this meta¬ 
physician. The Indian doctors are nowhere. Metamora 
was a big Injun, but we never met-a-more astonishing 
piece of indian-ooity than this metaphysical discovery. 
Whatever Mrs. B. may be on doctoring, none can dis¬ 
pute her literary ability in presenting her doctrine. We 
first received a paper called 
“ THE LEASE OF LIFE,” 
which professes to be issued by the “ Metaphysical Uni¬ 
versity in New York.” The “ Lease ” is not “ signed,” 
but it. tells us at the very top of the first page what it is. 
For it says: “When the Mucus Membrane connected 
with the nose is plugged up— for want of suitable 
moisture—the death warrant of the body—is signed." 
This plugging is awful business, for we read: 
“There never was a fever since the world began that 
was not produced from a plugged-up head." Has this 
anything to do with a “plug-ugly ?” Is one who wears a 
