1878.1 
AMERICAN AGrRICULT URIST. 
207 
were suggested by the announcement by Wm. A. Drown 
Co., the great Philadelphia manufacturers of um 
brellas, that they make a “Wagon Umbrella,” especially 
for farmers, which may be applied to open vehicles of all 
kinds, including the mower, reaper, sulky cultivator, and 
other “riding implements.” The use of umbrellas by 
omnibus drivers, truckmen, cartmen, and other drivers, 
is now very common in cities, and farmers may take the 
hint from these, and use a wagon umbrella, or other 
shade, wherever it is practicable. 
W :il I ham Wutclics.—The Amer. Watch 
Co. call attention to their new model watch which em¬ 
bodies all the improvements of several years, and which 
they regard as superior to former styles — however good 
they proved to be. They are sold by the trade, generally. 
To You Gentlemen in Congress,- 
You have arranged some matters concerning the postal 
law most beneficially. Other matters are very indefinite, 
and subject to all sorts of rulings. Here is an example: 
A farmer in Illinois finds that his seed-corn is destroyed 
■about as last as he can plant it. The farmer probably 
labors under the impression that the mail is for the bene¬ 
fit of the people, so as one of the people, he whittles out 
;a neat 6-sided stick, bores a hole lengthwise, puts the in¬ 
sects into the cavity thus made, and closes the opening 
with a common cork. This is received at his office as 3d 
class matter. When it reaches us, we are charged 16 
•cents, because the contents can not be examined. Cases 
of this kind occur almost daily. The farmer is deprived 
•of the use ol the mail if he would send insects, unless 
letter postage is paid, while the merchant can send sam¬ 
ples and haberdashery by the pound. We suppose that 
postmasters follow what they understand to be the law, 
but would it not he well to see to the law, so that farmers 
■can receive quite as much benefit from what is called in 
England the “ parcel post,” as any other class. As it is 
now, farmers and naturalists are “ left in the cold.” 
A New Work, Veterinary Obstet¬ 
rics,—The periods o! gestation and parturition are highly 
important to the owners of valuable domestic animals, 
as thousands of young animals or dams are lost yearly by 
mishaps, of which perhaps the mysterious abortion epi¬ 
demic is by far the most serious. Hitherto stock 
owners could have no aid, but through (wi'h but few ex¬ 
ceptions) a notoriously defective and inefficient veterinary 
profession. Fortunately, some means of help is now at 
hand in a new work on Veterinary Obstetrics, by the well 
known writer, Professor Fleming, of England. This 
valuable book is profusely illustrated, and complete iu 
details, and we have studied it with great interest. It is 
necessarily an expensive book, but is worth many times 
its cost to any owner of but one really valuable breed¬ 
ing animal. A few copies have been received by the 
Orange Judd Company, which can be supplied at once ; 
others can be procured by ordering them. The price is 
.‘-$15.00, mailed free. 
Cotton Manufacture at the South. 
—A circular issued by W. II. Oliver, of Newbern, N. C., 
.gives some figures as to the cost of the machinery needed 
to furnish a cotton factory, and the cost of the supply of 
cotton in the South. Machinery capable of spinning 
1,500 lbs. of lint-cotton daily, will cost about $13,000, ex¬ 
clusive of a building 50X100 feet, and two stories high, 
with an engine of 75-horse power. By a new process, 
kuown as the Clement attachment to the gin, the seed 
■cotton is prepared directly for the card at a cost of 10% 
■cents per ponnd against a cost of 14 cents at ordinary fac¬ 
tories. In addition, there is left 3,200 lbs. of cotton-seed, 
which is valuable for its product of oil and seed-cake. 
The advantage of a Southern locality for this manufac¬ 
ture is very clearly presented in the circular 
Toe and HScel.— A man wears out his shoes 
at the heel or at the ball of the foot, while a child’s shoes 
are first “ stubbed out ” at the toes. Just when this 
transition takes place, from toe-wear to heel-wear, we 
are not prepared to say, but it is a question of more prac¬ 
tical importance than many over which philosophers cud 
gel their brains. We have had a great variety of con¬ 
trivances to prevent wearing away the heel, and within a 
few years there have been introduced “ tips ” for the toes. 
If a foreigner were to read the sign in Summer St., Bos¬ 
ton, of “The American Shoe Tip Company,” he might 
say sarcastically : “ In the name of the Prophet—Figs 1 ” 
“A company, for Shoe Tips, and an American Company 
-at that—here’s another Yankee notion.” — It. is a “Yankee 
notion,”—and a very good “ notion ” at that. Childrens’ 
-shoes are sold by millions ; if a slight “notion” put to 
-each shoe, will make it—as we have abundant evidence 
that it does—wear twice as long as the shoe without the 
“ notion,” the affair is not so trivial as it might seem, and 
^as this interests every family where there are children 
in the broad land, the company may properly call itself 
■^American.” These tips are merely a metallic plate 
formed to fit the toe of the shoe, and turned up in front 
about a quarter of an inch—just far enough to take the 
brunt of all the “stubbing,” and save leather. Thisgreat 
improvement began with copper tips, not desirable for 
fine goods. These were followed by silver tips, which 
seemed to be all that could he desired; but the greatest 
improvement of all is a black tip, finished to so closely 
resemble leather, that it may be used on the finest quality 
of shoes, without being conspicuous, or hardly notice¬ 
able. It is found that a cap of leather the same as 
that of which the shoe is made, is of very little service, 
while the tip places the resistance to wear, just where 
“ it will do the most good.” The Shoo Tip Co. claim 
to be able to prove that the introduction of their tips 
saves the 'buyers of shoes $5,000,000 annually; if the 
claim be well founded, this, at first sight trivial affair, 
becomes one of real commercial importance. The tips 
only are supplied, by the company, to shoemakers in 
every part of the country. 
Dircctioiis'I’o r Leveling or Terrac¬ 
ing Fields. —“ J. W. H.,” Marion Co., Fla. You will 
find ample directions for preparing the surfaces of slop¬ 
ing land, to either receive or carry off water without dam¬ 
age, in Stewart’s “Irrigation for the Farm, Garden, and 
Orchard.” Although this book relates chiefly to irriga¬ 
tion, yet to make irrigation practicable, the surface must 
be carefully prepared and drained. These related sub¬ 
jects are also treated in sufficient detail to render the 
book generally useful. 
Beatli of George Grant, of Kan¬ 
sas.—We regret to announce the death ol George Grant, 
Esq., of Victoria, Kansas, which recently occurred at his 
residence at that place. Mr. Grant had become widely 
known as an enterprising resident of Ellis Co., Kansas, 
where lie owned a very large estate, stocked with choice 
sheep, cattle, and horses. We have frequently noticed the 
interesting operations ot Mr. Grant, and the gratifying 
success which attended his efforts to introduce high-bred 
stock into that State. In this ho was a pioneer, anil his 
success has led many other persons to follow nis example, 
until Western Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, have be¬ 
come possessed of a large number of finepurc-oreil herds. 
Mr. Grant, a retired English merchant, was an enthu-ias- 
tic improver of his land and stock, and has done much to 
benefit his adopted State. 
American Berkshire Record.— The 
American Berkshire Association has done good service to 
swine breeders in providing a record for pure-bred ani¬ 
mals. The value-ofa pure-ored animal for breeding needs 
no remark; it is a universally accepted maxim that only 
a thoroughbred should he used to increase its kind. A 
record ot thoroughbred stock, whatever imperfections 
may necessarily be attached to it, adds a certain value to 
recorded animats. To popularize this idea is a good 
thing, and although some ridicule was at first cast upon 
a swine record, time lias shown good results from it. The 
Association works not for faine.or wealth, but for the in¬ 
terest of breeders, and we desire to call the attention of 
all breeders of Berkshires to the fact that there is such 
a Record of which they can avail themselves for a very 
small fee, and which has become an authentic organ of 
breeders of these swine. 
Cost of :i Cotton-Seed Oil Mill.— 
“ W. C.,” Wilmington, N. C. The cost of the machinery 
needed for the extraction of oil lrom cotton-seed, will be 
about as lollows, viz.: 
Cost of hydraulic presses.$3,500) 
Hulling machines. 85°L-ea i 
Pair of rollers for crushing. 450 ’ 
Hair mats and bags. 350J 
This machinery will have a capacity for using 10.J00 
pounds of seed per day, and making 160 gallons of oil 
and 3.500 pounds of oil-cake. The value of these pro. 
ducts will be about $64 for the oil and $43 for the cake. 
Some part of the expenses can he saved by making soap 
of the residuum of the oil presses and the ashes of the 
hulls. A cheap building, and a 10-horse power engine, 
would have to be provided. 
Cortland Board of Trade.— A Board 
of Trade for the sale of cheese has heen established at 
Cortland, Ohio. Sale days are Wednesdays of each week; 
the hours from 11 to 4. D. D. Marvin, President. 
How much Milk for a I*oun«l of 
Butter?—“T. L. B.,” Amelia Co., Pa. If milk con¬ 
tains 10 per cent of cream, it will require about 30 lbs. to 
make a pound of butter. A quart of milk weighs 
2 2 /io lbs., so that about 13} quarts will be needed. 
The Adamant Plow.—“ TV. L. B.,” 
Uion, N. Y. The two-horse A adamant plow is the one 
suited for general purposes. This is a very handsome 
and valuable implement, which has a remarkably easy 
draft, a perfectly bright polished surface, harder than 
steel,—whence the name—and the mould-board is so 
shaped as to turn a very neat furrow slice as nearly fl it ns 
possible. Having plowed our corn ground, both sod and 
stubble, the present season with one of these plows, we 
are able to say that it is all that can be desired in a plow. 
By using movable points, the plow is made much more 
effective and durable. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
The selection ofthc Candle 
to head tIre Humbug Col¬ 
umn, was suitable in more 
respects than one. It was 
originally intended ns a 
warning to those unfortu¬ 
nates who will go blindly 
for any scheme that prom¬ 
ises brilliantly, a n d who 
will, even after they have 
been singed once, try again, 
like the moths flying to¬ 
wards the candle. While 
the moths represent those 
who will, foolishly, be vie 
tims, we find, without iu 
tending it, that the candle 
represents a number of 
popular humbugs. The can¬ 
dle burns brightly for a 
while, then burns low. then 
sputters, and at last it is 
snuffed out altogether. We have had a hand in the work 
OP SNUFFING OUT HUMBUGS 
for these many years. Among those which have of late 
been most effectively squelched are the varied forms 
under which one Elias tries to conceal himself. We find, 
as in a “Punch and Judy” show, various figures going 
through with the motions, all with different names, but 
a look Dchind the curtain shows but one pair of hands 
moving the puppets, and the hands are the hands of 
Elias. This Protean operator does not operate so much 
as he did. It is but a few weeks since we received 
A OREAT MANY BETTERS DAILY, 
asking about Russell & Co., iletherington & Co., Blanck 
& Co., and others, who offered to dispense freely (for a 
consideration) gold watches and heaps of jewelry ; about 
various mining schemes, from the most tempting “ Silver 
Mountain Co.,” down to the one-horse dodges ot Clark & 
Co., and Keys & Co., with their slips, asking if “this 
signature is genuine,” a full history of ail of which is to 
be found in our former numbers. Apropos of 
THESE SIGNATURE SLIPS. 
A friend in Pa. writes that the signature which comes 
back to him must have been cut from his letter to a con¬ 
cern .ii Greenwich St., N. Y., which pretends to trade in 
inventions. Our correspondent feels sure that this in¬ 
vention shop is in league with Clark & Co., and all 
the rest of those who try the signature dodge. 
NEW WALL STREET SIDEWALK CIRCULARS, 
setting forth that those who send them have peculiar ad¬ 
vantages for making a small sum of money into a large 
one, have appeared of late. We can only say of these 
circulars as we have said oi former ones—The parties 
who Issue them, though they hail from Wall St., are not 
known to the regular business men ol “ The Street.” do 
not Deiong to the “Board of Brokers,” and are practical¬ 
ly unknown. They mainly come from the cheeky hangers 
on of the street, who are known to the regular busi 
ness men as “ sidewalk operators ” and “ gutter snipes.” 
We do not advise our readers to invest money with any 
one, for Wall St. operations, unless they can afford to 
lose every cent of it. If they have money which they 
wish to throw away, there are many respectable brokers 
who will (for a commission) lose it for them openly and 
above-board. Pay no heed to these circulars_The 
good work of the “ Massachusetts Society for the Im¬ 
provement of Agriculture,” which allowed us to make 
last month, such a complete exposure of 
JONES & CO., THE “BUTTER COMPOUND” CHAPS, 
has been most beneficial in its results, as it has saved the 
farmers of the country many thousands of dollars, for 
which these farmers owe abundant thanks to that vener¬ 
able, but still actively useful Society. Jones appears to 
be, for the present, perfectly squelched, lint he has turned 
up in so many shapes before (including that of defendant 
in suits before the U. S. and other Courts, in which he 
has been heavily fined), that we may look for him again 
in some other form—like “ the old woman who sold 
earthenware.”—“In some tall pitcher or broad pan, 
lie in Ids shop again may stand.” One of Jones’ dodges 
was, while living and carrying on his business nt Ashland, 
Mass., his letters were mailed and received nt South 
Framingham, three miles, and at Hopkinton, four miles. 
