1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
We have before re- 
mfir. ls||fi|fijjjjyj ferred to the rela- 
“jfjlpBUjjjjj tions of Humbugs to 
' ^Sa^aBiRS the Almanac. In the 
iWWlfllgijjJjj old Farmers’ Alma- 
hi SiSfiM l Si nac, the predictions 
of weather were very 
1 . liberal. “ About—this 
jjjj time—look—out—for 
===s=s^a —rain,” ran down the 
column, in such a manner as to 
H| lSjg include half the month or more. 
lj ‘ Were we to mark an almanac 
bP||[ with the prediction as to the 
occurrence of humbugs for 
the last winter and early 
spring months, it would read : About this time 
Look out for Swindles upon Farmers. 
Not but what this caution is needed every month 
in*the year, but it is most especially so at the time 
named. This year the fraud hails from the State 
of Maine. Circulars were sent out by the “ Eastern 
Manufacturing Co.,” of Mechanics’ Falls, Me., in¬ 
forming the recipient that he had “been recom¬ 
mended as a suitable person to introduce our Ex¬ 
celsior Corn-sheller and American Mowing Machine 
Knife-sharpener , to the Farmers in your vicinity. 
Retail price of Shelter, @4.50; Sharpener, $5.” If 
the farmer will show these things to his neighbor¬ 
hood he shall have them for @1 and §2.50, respec¬ 
tively, and he shall be furnished with one of each 
free, as a sample to show and make sales. The 
company say: “ We make this offer to introduce 
these articles into each town in the U. S. at 
once.” To emphasize the matter, on the back of 
the circular addressed to the farmer, in very poor 
writing (and copied by one of the several copying 
devices), is the flattering information that: “You 
have been so favorably recommended to us, we 
hope you will accept our offer. Wherever we have 
introduced our Shelter and Sharpener we have re¬ 
ceived large orders.” This is a very liberal oiler of 
the Company, to send machines that sell for $9.50 
for nothing. To be sure, one is asked to send 
“ One Dollar to Pay for Packing: and Charges,” 
but what is that, when one can get $9.50 worth of 
farm implements! 
When it was evident that these circulars were 
being scattered in large numbers, we wrote to 
the Postmaster at Mechanics’ Falls, asking him 
about the “ Company,” and received the following 
in reply: 
“ Sir— One of our citizens in town has got up ma¬ 
chines to be used by farmers. He wishes to introduce 
them. He sent circulars in quite a number of places, 
and received all the agents wanted, ne will return 
money to all who send any now. He will not send any 
goods, only to agents appointed, but return their money. 
“Respectfully, “P. M.” 
Our note was dated January 3. The above came 
written on the back of that, without date or name, 
but the return envelope came postmarked January 
5. But it appearing that circulars, in spite of the 
above from “P. M.,” were sent out after January 
5ih, the day on which it was posted, we concluded 
that here was a case for the Post-office authorities. 
Before we could present the matter, the whole 
thing had fallen to pieces. It is reported that a 
“ continuous stream of dollars ” went into the hands 
of the 1 Company,” but the United States postal 
authorities interfered, and, in putting a stop to 
This Swindling by Mail, 
had occasion to “interview” the responsible man 
of the Company, and found that, in catching the 
chap who was at the bottom of this “Eastern” 
Company, they had one who was the “ Mechanics’ 
Fills Jewellery Manufacturing Company ; ” also, he 
was the “ Ricker Bake Company;” likewise, he 
was the “ Poland Manufacturing Company ; ” and, 
more especially, he was a member of the Maine Legis¬ 
lature! And, we must say, a very pretty speci¬ 
men of the law-maker he is! This “Eastern” 
Company were far above the common swindlers 
wtao return nothing for the money. We learn from 
95 
a business man at Mechanics’ Falls that they sent 
out a piece of sheet iron, which, properly used, 
might rub some corn off of a cob. The sharpener 
is a triangular piece of wood, two sides of which 
were covered with emery, stuck on with shellac 
varnish. Of course, this rubbed upon the knife of 
a mowing machine would sharpen it—some, per¬ 
haps. This whole outfit—sheller and sharpener— 
is estimated to have cost from 3 to 5 cents, and 
“packing, and charges of transportation”—trans¬ 
portation is very dear sometimes—could easily use 
up a dollar. The Maine papers are full of the mat¬ 
ter, but, unfortunately, the accounts are colored by 
political prejudices; some claim that the whole 
thing is a conspiracy against the legislator; others, 
that the one especially guilty is the Assistant Post¬ 
master, and it is difficult to get at any real facts in 
the case, except the important one that “ the game 
is blocked.” We have described this, one of the 
most recent of the many 
Swindles upon Farmers, 
as a typical one, occurring, with variations, every 
year. We have done this especially for the benefit 
of our new friends, and we would say to them : 
Farmers, will you accept this one earnest word of 
caution, based upon the experience of many years 
in the knowledge of, and investigation of, similar 
frauds, directed especially towards the - farming 
community ? No matter what scheme it may be, if 
it professes to offer you unusual profits, to give 
you great advantages over your less fortunate 
neighbors, especially when it is pretended that 
“you have been favorably mentioned,” or, “ know¬ 
ing cf your integrity and business habits,” be sure 
that it is just the very thing to let alone ! It is 
Founded iu Fraud and Will End in Loss ! 
Another matter which especially interests farm¬ 
ers and rural residents is the rascally tree peddler 
or nursery agent. Unfortunately, there are a few 
—a very few—decent and honest men engaged in 
peddling trees. It would be unjust to them to say 
that every seller or trees is a rascal, yet the ped¬ 
dlers, as a whole, are such a bad lot that we advise 
no one to buy of them without abundant proof 
that they are accredited by the nurseries they claim 
to represent. Peach culture is reviving in the New 
England and other older States; the people are 
learning that the borer can be subdued, and that, 
with proper care, peaches maybe as abundant and 
fine as they were fifty years ago. This revival 
of the trade in peach trees has given the humbug¬ 
ging dealers a chance. A few years ago, these 
chaps offered peaches grafted on the “French 
Willow ! ” but now we have one Casner, and others, 
with trees grown 
From Pits Imported from Persia f 
and which will live and produce for 100 years—a 
“ Centennial ” peach, as it were, and should have 
appeared in 1876. We have before us the circular 
of one Peckham, who hails from “New Haven,” 
and has his nursery in “Ontario Co., N. Y.” As 
there are a dozen or more “ New Havens,” and 
there is no post-office known as “ Ontario County,” 
the local habitation of Mr. Peckham is somewhat 
obscure, and we cannot write to him for those trees 
from “Prussian Seedling Pits.” What with 
“Persian” and “Prusian,” our peach culture is 
evidently looking up. One of the meanest tricks 
of these chaps is to get hold of the name of some 
promising new fruit that has had its good qualities 
descanted on in the journals, and offer it with the 
assertion that they, or the nursery they claim to 
represent, have the whole stock of it, • This has re¬ 
cently been done by some chaps respecting the 
“Champion” Quince_Though we take every 
possible care in the admission of advertisements, 
being human, we sometimes make a mistake or are 
deceived. We have had so many complaints of the 
“ N. J. Central Stock Farm and Poultry Yards,” 
bv H. C. Vanderveer & Sons, Somerville, N. J., that 
we have discontinued their advertisement. The 
number of complaints made to the Post Office at 
Somerville is large ; these added to those presented 
to us, make it evident that we can no longer recom- 
mend these “ yards ” or allow them to be adver¬ 
tised. .. .Not to be outdone by her enterprising sif¬ 
ters, Texas and Colorado, 
California lias her Land Swindle. 
Circulars have been widely distributed, mostly 
on the Pacific coast, that “A Town Lot Free ” 
could be had in “ Sycamore City.” It is the old 
story with the same machinery of maps, showing 
streets, avenues, parks, churches, and all the rest. 
There is the same old claim of amazing fertility of 
soil, which can yield every possible product. Land 
in the neighborhood is already “worth” $40 an acre, 
and the old story made familiar in other cases. 
Whoever would be prosperous and happy should 
go to “ Sycamore City,” where he can get a lot for 
nothing—of course paying for the trouble of mak¬ 
ing out a deed, only $5. A correspondent in the 
neighborhood says that the land is only the poorest 
kind of sheep range for which the owners, just 
outside of this “City,” would gladly take $3 an 
acre, and that the only vestige of a city is a small 
station from which wool is sometimes shipped_ 
Were our Patent System in any manner responsible 
for the annoyances that farmers and others are 
subjected to, vye should say “abolish it at once.” 
Every possible, device is made the subject of a claim 
upon the user for a royalty, but of all others, 
Farm Gates anil Fences, 
perhaps because they are the most conspicuous, 
are the source of the greatest trouble. It is said 
that in early New England days one was in danger 
of being regarded as a witch who made two tubs 
out of a barrel. It seems about as difficult at the 
present day for one to put up a fence or hang a 
gate, but some loafer, who ought to be doing the 
State service, in breaking stone or some other use¬ 
ful work, will come around, and claim that some¬ 
body’s patent has been infringed and demand a 
royalty. The most difficult cases that come to us, 
asking advice what to do, are those in which par¬ 
ties have had such demands made upon them. So 
long as we have patent laws they must be obeyed, 
and while we can not give advice in particular 
cases, both for want of full knowledge of the facts 
and of the law, we would give this general advice. 
If a claim is made of infringement of some one’s 
patent, do not be frightened into paying. This is a 
country of laws, and these chaps can not do any¬ 
thing hurriedly. Act upon the idea that if unin¬ 
tentionally a wrong has been done, you are 
I ready to right it, and if another has a just 
claim, he will be confident that he is right, 
will use no threats, but will take all proper means 
to show you that he is right and you are in the 
wrong. If a real infringement is certain, make the 
best settlement possible. But with a supposed 
false claim, and a large majority arc such, don’t be 
in a hurry. There seems to be just at present 
much trouble in Butier Co., Pa., with patent cases, 
where some scamps of lawyers are in league with 
the patent claimers, and bringing suits into one- 
horse justice courts. No patent case can be tried 
in any other than a U. 8. Court, and no local court 
has any business with it. If any local judge does 
not know this, he should go to some occupation 
for which he is better fitted. 
'“A Corresponding Society” in Oregon, 
(we intentionally omit the town), which has great 
capabilities for mischief, and which, we are sur¬ 
prised to know a California correspondent first 
iearned ot by seeing its advertisement m an East¬ 
ern Juvenile paper, usually regarded as respect¬ 
able. This society will furnish any young ,ady or 
gentleman with any number of correspondents ot 
the opposite sex that they may wish, either for the 
object of “fun, matrimony, or self-improvement'* 
—all for 25c. This “ society ’* publishes a list of 
over 150 names of girls in ail parts of the country, 
with ages from 16 to 30. Our correspondent states 
occurrences which show that, in some cases at 
least, the correspondence is written in the Oregon 
office of the society. Were this the case it would 
ne a simple fraud. If it does as it proposes, and puts 
thoughtless girls in correspondence with designing 
men; it is much worse than a fraud. Every thought¬ 
ful parent will guard against any such villamy 
but for those thoughtless girls who have no p:.rents . 
