1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
189 
friends,” would be sent for 75 cents, which was 
merely to cover cost of packing and charges. We 
figured the “ Machine ” in April of last year, 
showing it to be a gimcrack that could not cost 15 
cents. But the “ United States Washing Machine” 
now hails from Boston, and what appears to be 
essentially the same card as that sent out by Lynn, 
Sisson, and the rest, comes now from Jones. But 
Washing Machines seem to be declining, the price 
having gone down to 60c.,. though it must be, as 
before, shown to not less than “ ten lady friends.” 
....When the Lottery business first went to New 
Brunswick, it was a “ Soiree,” but it is now a 
“Cash Distribution,” 
and by the tone of its circulars we infer that busi¬ 
ness is dull. They quote papers in praise of the 
honesty of the management, but conveniently omit 
to say where the papers are published... .The old 
story of offering 
Counterfeit Money, or “Queer,” 
turns up with a new version ; not long ago it was 
offered as “cigars ;” the latest dodge is to call it 
“ U. S. Chromos ” and at the low price of $15 per 
100. The game is such a very ancient one, and has 
often been exposed so thoroughly all over the 
country, that we wonder that those engaged in it 
can get enough to pay for circulars and postage.... 
There are chaps in two or three small New England 
towns engaged in a dangerous business. They 
Sell Books by Samples, 
because persons “ have been deceived a great many 
times as to the nature of the books, by sending 
for books that they thought were good, by the high 
sounding titles, and paying a high price for a book 
that was not what they wanted.”—This concern 
proposes to send books as “ samples” C. O. D., and 
a beautiful set of books it is ; we can not with pro¬ 
priety even give the titles of the stuff they offer to 
send out. No names appear on the circulars, etc., 
and we do not wonder. The rascals show that 
they have some sense of shame left, by hiding 
themselves behind the title of 
“The Sample Company,” 
and it is an ex-sample of a very mean company. 
These chaps, and all like them, do their business ex¬ 
clusively by mail, and lend emphasis to our former 
caution to parents, to be sure and know what mat¬ 
ter their children receive through the post office.... 
Various concerns advertise from N. T. City, mak¬ 
ing attractive offers of books and of music, to be 
sent by mail on receipt of the money, at prices 
which seem to be astonishingly low. The latest 
case gave its number only a block away from our 
present location. One of our most careful associ¬ 
ates failed to find the music man or any one who 
knew him. As the building is one where there are 
many offices, we have no doubt that this advertiser 
has his times to-meet the letter carrier somewhere 
in the building and thus get his letters. How the 
music goes out remains to be discovered. 
Remedies for Deafness. 
One who is wholly or only partially deaf, is de¬ 
prived of a great deal of enjoyment, and will natur¬ 
ally catch at anything that offers a relief. Some 
of the appliances, as the various 'phones, are not 
humbugs in themselves, because in some eases they 
are really useful, but these cases, we are frankly 
told by a dealer, are about one in twenty. Another 
set of proposed remedies are the 
“Artificial Ear-Drums.” 
Several of these are offered, each claiming to be 
the original. These appliances are, all that we 
have seen of them, a bit of sheet rubber, about as 
large as a silver five cent piece, attached by the 
eenter to a piece of small wire about an inch and a 
half long. Such a contrivance as this, which could 
not cost 5 cents,but is sold for several dollars, might 
at first sight be set down as utterly worthless ; but 
-we have the testimony of one of the most eminent 
aurists that it is not always so. That there are cases 
of deafness in which such a trivial thing as this 
placed in the ear will greatly relieve deafness. That 
the bit of rubber can act as an ear-drum, is impos¬ 
sible, but it has been found that in some cases a 
wad of cotton or lint, or even of soft paper when 
placed in the outer ear, will aid the hearing, 
and in such cases this rubber “ ear-drum ” is just 
as good as a lock of cotton—and not more so ! The 
venders of this “ear-drum” can get genuine cer¬ 
tificates from those who have worn them that the 
thing has been useful in their cases. The humbug 
consists in calling the thing an “ ear-drum,” and 
charging a high price for it. We are assured by 
the highest authority that a bit of cotton will do 
all that such a thing can effect... .Some of our 
letters, though from entire strangers, are often 
quite touching, especially those from persons with 
an incurable disease, like consumption, and who 
Catch at every Promise of Cure. 
Physicians are aware that the hopefulness of the 
patient is a marked characteristic of the consump¬ 
tive, who never gives up hope so long as life lasts. 
The quack medicine chaps know and act upon this, 
and their advertisements are framed to meet this 
characteristic of consumptive patients, who, long 
after the physician has pronounced them beyond 
cure, will continue to try every compound adver¬ 
tised to meet their cases. One in inclosing an ad¬ 
vertisement which offers to send some of the “ posi¬ 
tive remedy” free, writes: “If good, it must be 
very good, but if a fraud it js a very bad one, but 
seeing it in such a paper as the-and the-,” 
he could not help noticing it, and asks our opinion. 
Our opinion is, that one who sends for and takes 
the stuff will probably feel so much better that he 
will send for more and pay for it, as it will be some 
tonic or stimulant that will make the consumptive 
feel really better for awhile, or until the reaction 
comes. So far as our experience goes, and it has 
been rather extended, all of these consumptive 
cures are bodily stimulants accompanied by a trea¬ 
tise to act as a stimulant to the imagination. 
Scarcely less reprehensible are those so-called 
“Restorative Remedies,” 
which profess to cure the “diseases of error,” the 
results of “youthful indiscretion.” Those who 
know anything of the subject, are aware that the 
imagination is morbidly active concerning all that 
relates to the generative function. Hence the cir¬ 
culars of medicines professing to treat this, not 
only act by means of portraits of the victims of 
“youthful indiscretion,” but in the description of 
the symptoms of the disease, include every pos¬ 
sible ache and pain to which any one may be sub¬ 
ject, and act upon the imagination to that degree 
that the patient is ready to welcome the stuff as 
the only escape from a premature grave. Unlike 
Inman, I. T., whose “free recipe” callfe for things 
unknown to any apothecary, a circular at hand pre¬ 
scribes well known and powerful remedies, but for 
preparing them, gives directions which are absurd 
and impossible to follow. Of course, this difficulty 
has been foreseen, and the advertiser will kindly 
furnish the stuff ready made at a good round price. 
_We had supposed that our “opinion” con¬ 
cerning all 
Advertising Physicians and “Institutes” 
was sufficiently well known, but from a far-away 
comer in British Columbia, there comes a letter 
with two advertisements cut from American papers, 
asking the “ standing of these men.” We might 
answer—“ Standing, they haven’t any.” That any 
one should ask what is the “ standing” of a “ Dr. ” 
Willis, is quite beyond our comprehension. Any 
one who proposes to prescribe for the sick as this 
Willis does, by an examination of the patient’s hair 
and hand-writing, is out of place just now; he 
should have been around several centuries ago. 
The “ Institute ” at Boston is probably like other 
“Institutes” and “Universities” in New York and 
elsewhere, a concern of one-man power. The 
“Institute’s” advertisement concludes with “Heal 
Thyself ” in large letters, which is very good advice 
for our friend to follow, so far as it induces him 
to let the “Institute ” very severely alone.” 
Bs I£lnial»s«rl> Poisonous V —Every now 
and then there appears an item to the effect 
that tomatoes contain an acid injurious to 
the teeth, or that rhubarb owes its acidity to 
oxalic acid, and is consequently poisonous. 
So far as rhubarb goes, the use of it as a wel¬ 
come substitute for fruits is yearly increasing. 
The soumesg of Rhubarb stalks is due to 
Malic Acid (the acid of apples) and to Cit¬ 
ric Acid (found in lemons), both of which 
are as healthful as they are agreeable. 
A Halter for a Pulling Horse. 
Mr. Alexender Kossman, Columbia Co., N. 
Y., writes : “ The improvement in the halter 
to prevent horses 
from pulling, shown 
in the March num¬ 
ber, is a very good 
one, but a still better 
form can be made by 
using a small chain 
to pass over the nose 
instead of a strap.” 
The throat strap, as 
shown in the accom¬ 
panying engraving, 
made from Mr. K’s. improved halter. 
sketch, passes in a loop through a ring, and 
carries a ring, to which the halter strap is 
fastened. For a horse that is headstrong, 
and inclined to pull upon the halter, this 
form is especially useful. 
The U. S. Pomological Society. 
The receipt of the volume of Proceedings 
for the Session of 1879, reminds us that the 
present is the year for the biennial meeting 
of this important Society. The late appear¬ 
ance of the volume is due to the fact that 
Mr. Robert Manning was engaged on other 
work, as he informed the Society when it 
actually forced the Secretaryship upon him. 
The volume is more portly than any of its 
predecessors, and it is of course more valu¬ 
able, as, aside from other matters, it records, 
in the revised catalogues, the latest experi¬ 
ence of the members with the various fruits. 
The proceedings and discussions at the meet¬ 
ings are given, preceded by the address of the 
President, prepared by CoL Wilder while yet 
suffering from the accident which prevented 
him from attending the meeting. The reports 
of the several committees and the essays pre¬ 
sented at the meetings make up the bulk of 
the volume, which bearp throughout evi-, 
dences of the careful work of the Secretary. 
It is not too early to give conspicuous no¬ 
tice to the members and to all other fruit 
growers that the meeting will be held this 
year at Boston, Sept. 14th. The Society is a 
National one, and welcomes every one inter¬ 
ested in fruit culture, whether as an occu¬ 
pation or an amusement. The biennial fee 
is $4, which entitles the member to the Pro¬ 
ceedings ; Life Membership, $20. No fruit 
grower should stay away because he is not 
yet a member, but should go to the meeting, 
and become one. Those who have attended 
a former meeting at Boston will not need 
any persuasion to go again ; to those who 
have not, we may say that Boston may be 
regarded as the chief center of horticulture 
in the country, and there is probably no 
place, in which, and its surroundings, is so 
much to be seen and learned by one interested 
in any department of horticulture as here. 
Besides this, it is the home of the venerable 
President, to whom a full attendance on this 
occasion will be especially gratifying, and it 
would be a graceful tribute to his long and 
devoted services to make the coming meet¬ 
ing the largest and most successful that the 
Society has ever held. 
