1881.] 
AMERICAN" AGRICULTURIST. 
273 
lie is here given a prescription, this time contain¬ 
ing articles that are generally kept by druggists, 
hut it is when 
The Mode of Preparation 
is given that the joke is apparent. With an ap¬ 
pearance of seriously giving real directions for 
the preparation of the prescription, after one has 
procured the ingredients, he is told to do things 
as absurd as anything we have seen in print. 
Did we tell one to “ boil down an ounce of tal¬ 
low, wash some molasses in a proper vessel, heat 
the ingredients to southwest by the barometer, 
pulverize in a mortar and make into powders,” 
It would be no more nonsensical than the direc¬ 
tions given. To one who has no knowledge of 
such matters the directions for preparing the pre¬ 
scription may seem all right, but they are really 
as absurd as those we have supposed. The di¬ 
rections for making pills are still more ridiculous 
than those for the powders. These recipes, we 
are told, will cure any case, 
“When Used and Prepared as Directed,” 
a safe assertion, as no apothecary who ever lived 
•could prepare them “as directed.” But the key to 
the whole follows : We are told that a druggist or 
■chemist, who is a graduate in Pharmacy, can pre¬ 
pare the stuff if they have the “ necessary appara¬ 
tus.” This looks very fair and very learned, hut 
is not true. Then we are told that Druggists “gen¬ 
erally substitute different medicines,” which is a 
libel upon a body of most conscientious men. Or, 
that they do not prepare properly—all of which is a 
preface to the “nub” of the story. All this “fol- 
derol ” about methods of preparing, all this malign¬ 
ing of druggists, when put into plain English 
mean's just this : All the knowledge of the world 
■centers in us—we are the Original Jacobs. We on¬ 
ly c.'.u prepare these things properly—we have the 
true apparatus. Send your money to us and get 
the real stuff, and Jive. Very funny is the descrip¬ 
tion of the individual drugs used in these remarka¬ 
ble prescriptions. For example, we are told that 
Hydrastis has “a pleasant taste.” But few per¬ 
sons, living in the Western States, at least, do not 
know Hydrastis as “ Golden-seal,” and as of all bit¬ 
ters, the bitterest—“ pleasant taste ” indeed ! But 
the whole of it is a tissue of stupid nonsense.... 
Those who have kept the run of the literature of 
quackery, and it has been our painful duty to do 
this these 40 years or more, have seen the “ Indian 
Doctor ” at his prime, and have observed his gradu¬ 
al displacement by a new comer. 
“Old Mother’’—Somebody, 
It makes little difference who—so that she is an 
“old Mother.” The Intelligent, the educated 
physicians, who have given their lives to the study 
of medicine, are assumed to know nothing, while 
the unwashed savage, or the unlettered old woman 
are assumed to have wonderful medical skill. It is 
a sad comment upon the intelligence of the commu¬ 
nity that these things are believed—but it is so, and 
this belief is the foundation of a large share of the 
quackery of the day. The “Big Injun” has had 
his day, and the “Old Mothers ” are now having 
theirs, hut they are on the wane. “Old Mother 
Noble,” in full bloom a few years ago, declined 
after we showed what his medicines were made of, 
hut still he survives, as an illustrated City paper, 
that should have been in better business, recently 
gave his portrait, diamonds included. But this will 
not avail—“Old Mother Noble ” has had his day, 
for he is a small personage by the side of 
“ Old Mother Siegel,” 
whose story is told in a large pamphlet. It reads 
not unlike a story we have seen before, and we ad¬ 
vise the “ 7 Barks ” man to look out, as some one 
is stealing his thunder. “Seven Barks” chap 
went to Germany to see old doctor something. 
Some other chap goes to Germany to see “ Old 
Mother Siegel,” aud his story is a funny one. He 
admits that he practised medicine in New York for 
20 years, and states that he found his German pa¬ 
tients knew more than he did—which is not un¬ 
likely. These Germans brought from home some 
stuff that would cure “impurity of the blood,” and 
that was just what was the matter, and just what 
this fellow couldn’t do—not he. “ Old Mother Sie¬ 
gel’s Curative Syrup ” was the stuff that did for the 
blood, and for old Mother Siegel did he go and 
cross the salt sea, all for to see her. The story is 
lovely, but we can not dilate—though this doctor’s 
patients, no doubt, died both early and late. He 
got old Mammy’s sto¬ 
ry. In brief, she was 
much out o’sorts, not 
to say sick—she went 
and ate some leaves, 
which others said were 
‘pizen.’ Being‘pizen- 
ed,’ she waited to die, 
but didn’t, all because 
the poison cured her. 
The rest of the story 
is, in brief: poison 
leaves — syrup — Old 
Mother—ass of a “doc¬ 
tor” from America came home—and the syrup 
is now made here by-, but as we are not 
advertising it, we refer to the circular. We are 
willing, however, to say that it proposes to cure 
“The Strange and Peculiar Disease” 
of this country. It is well to know that we have 
but one disease, even if it is “strange and pecu¬ 
liar.” From the symptoms given we should say 
that it was “Spring Fever,” or may be laziness. 
The unpleasant thing about this “ Old Mother Sie¬ 
gel’s ” stuff is, that it is in this country called the 
“ Shaker Extract of Roots.” That the Shakers, 
whose name has always been a synonym for hou- 
esty and fair dealing, should have their good name 
attached to a miserable quack medicine,, is to be 
regretted. Non-resistance is one of their principles, 
and we suppose they will submit to the injury of 
having their good name misapplied, rather than 
prosecute for libel those who have thus misused it. 
A New Commissioner of Agriculture. 
Hon. Geo. B. Loring, formerly member of 
Congress from Massachusetts, will take the 
place of Gen. W. G. Le Due, as Commissioner 
of Agriculture, on July 1st. Having care¬ 
fully watched the operations of the Bureau 
of Agriculture since its first origin, we can 
but have our own views as to the sphere and 
capabilities of that Department, So far as 
Mr. Loring may accord with these views, in 
opinion and future action, this Journal will 
most cheerfully give him full support and co¬ 
operation. The Department of Agriculture 
we fully believe may, if rightly directed, ac¬ 
complish a great work in developing and 
promoting the agricultural interests, of our 
country. To this end it should, like the 
Smithsonian Institution, the United States 
Fish Commission, etc., be entirely discon¬ 
nected with politics. It should call into its 
service a large working force of the best 
scientific and practical talent of the country. 
Tlie maximum Crop.— There is a point 
in the increase of crops, beyond which it does 
not pay to carry it. The extra bushel, or five 
bushels, of wheat, for example, costs more in 
time, attention, manure applied, etc., than 
the increased yield is worth. It is a great 
satisfaction to have the largest crop of grain 
grown in the neighborhood, but it may take 
away what would have been a profit in an 
ordinary yield. It is for the farmer to do all 
he can to reach the maximum crop,—that is, 
the amount which is the most profitable •, but 
once attained, it does not pay to put in any 
increase of manure or other fertilizer. The 
average farmer in this country does not run 
much danger in farming too highly, but 
there is, nevertheless, such a thing as over¬ 
doing, even in growing a crop of grain. 
The New “ Trichine Tester.” 
Since the preliminary description of this in¬ 
teresting and valuable new instrument, on 
page 235, an important improvement has been 
added—the transverse movement of the lens, 
and we now have the completed form, of 
which an engraving is herewith presented. 
The larger figure (1) is of the exact size of 
the instrument itself. The frame consists of 
two strong nickel-plated brass pieces, /, /, fig. 
1, with long openings, j, through them, and 
hinged at one end, h. Two strong pieces of 
plate glass, g, g, cover the entire inner sur¬ 
faces of the frame, including the openings. 
Closing the frame brings these plates togeth¬ 
er. The screw-rod, hinged below, is brought 
into the slot of the upper frame piece, and 
by turning the thumb-screw, s, the glass 
plates are brought as firmly and closely to¬ 
gether as may be desired. Any bit of flesh, 
indeed of any substance to be examined, 
placed any where between the plates, as at t, 
is thus reduced to a mere film, if desired.—A 
carrier-plate, c, with its ends fitting into 
grooves along the edges of the upper frame, 
is readily moved from 
end to end of the in¬ 
strument, or slid out and 
off at the end, if the 
lens is desired for sepa¬ 
rate use otherwise. An¬ 
other carrier, to, turning 
on a pivot, can be mov¬ 
ed to the right or left. 
The eye-piece, e, carry¬ 
ing a strong lens, fits in¬ 
to to, with an adjusting 
screw, so that the focus 
can be readily obtained 
for any eye, or any ob¬ 
ject, thick or thin.- 
Figure 2 shows the in¬ 
strument in use. It is TESTE R in use. 
held up to the eye, and turned to a weaker 
or stronger light, as needed by the par¬ 
ticular specimen under examination. The 
double motion of the carrier, c and to, enables 
one to bring the lens successively over every 
point of the glass plates exposed through the 
openings, amounting to nearly two square 
inches. This Instrument is a remarkably sim¬ 
ple arrangement of several features of a mi¬ 
croscope—stage, holder, movable and adjust¬ 
able lens, etc.—By its use, any flesh of swine, 
fish, poultry, etc., can be tested in less than a 
minute for trichines, and other causes affect¬ 
ing its healthfulness. At the same time the 
instrument supplies the place of a first-rate 
Simple Microscope, and has several features 
of the simple forms of a Compound Micro¬ 
scope. In fact, aside from its important use 
as a Trichine Tester, it is a most convenient 
and usefid Microscope, at a remarkably low 
price. (See page 299.)—Full directions for 
using it will be sent with each instrument. 
