212 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
A Compound Microscope in Every 
Family. —The magnificent instrument described last 
month (pages 172 and 173) was contrived and prepared 
specially for the readers of the American Agriculturist, 
and we would be glad if every reader of this Journal, 
young aud old, could enjoy the pleasure and benefit af¬ 
forded by such an instrument. It is certainly a marvel of 
cheapness; no microscope of such power, efficiency, and 
good workmanship was ever before made or offered, in 
this country or in any other, for anything like so small a 
sum. This result has been obtained by the application 
of machinery to the construction of most of its separate 
parts, and by making them on a tenfold larger scale than 
was ever before attempted. The interest on the cost of 
one is only 50 to 70 cents a year—a trifling sum as com¬ 
pared with its value to the younger members of the fami¬ 
ly especially. A chance for them is given on page 232, to 
obtain one as a premium. We began this item, however, 
to call attention to what is said of it by several high 
authorities, as given on page 240. 
An Important Land Decision.— The Su’ 
preme Court of the United States has just given a very 
important decision affecting the right to and value of 
several millions of acres of land in Kansas, Nebraska, and 
the region beyond. The closing language of Section 3, 
Act of 1862, chartering the Pacific Railroads, after grant¬ 
ing lends, provided that all lands not “sold or disposed 
of” within three years after the completion of the roads, 
should be subject to pre-emption at $1.25 per acre. The 
application of a squatter to pre-empt came up last year 
through the various channels to the Secretary of the 
Interior, who held, construing this Section—that the 
lands were subject to pre-emption—the three years 
having expired—and that the land grant mortgage 
claimed by the Union Pacific Company to have 
been such, was not a disposal of the lands, though 
it was made before the three years expired. In 
the test case brought by the Company it was held that 
the mortgage was a disposal, and the lands, therefore, 
were not subject to pre-emption. The Supreme Court de¬ 
cides that the land grant was a final disposition of the 
lands, and therefore,, definitely settles the question, re¬ 
moving any doubts thrown upon validity of title by the 
Schurz decision, and leaves pre-emptionists in the atti¬ 
tude of squatters. These pre-emptionists began to occupy 
the lands after the Schurz decision was given last year. 
The decision applies also to the Kansas Pacific Railroad, 
whose lands, like those of the Union Pacific, have been 
(kept in abeyance for nearly a year by the decision of the 
■Secretary of the Interior. In brief, the railroads can give 
a full and perfect title to the lands sold by them. What¬ 
ever the decision might have been, it is fortunate that the 
Supreme Court has rendered it so quickly, inasmuch as 
the present condition of uncertainty is brought to an end. 
A Fine Collection of Orchids to be broken 
up. It is with sadness that we see a private library, 
which the owner lias collected, book by book, through 
many years, offered for sale, and it is with something of 
the same feeling that we learn of the breaking up and dis¬ 
persion of a collection of choice plants, which must be, as 
in case of the library, of more value to the owner than it 
can possibly be to a stranger. We regret to learn that the 
celebrated collection of Orchids, which Mr. Joseph now- 
land has been making these many years at “Tioronda," 
Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., is to be scattered. Orchid 
growers can secure from this collection at private sale, 
such specimens as are rarely offered anywhere. 
Tobacco Wash for Sheep. — “M. II. C.,” 
Clarksville, Tenn. Tobacco dip for sheep is made by 
steeping one pound of coarse tobacco, or twice as much 
tobacco stems in 5 gallons of hot water. It may be ap¬ 
plied at a heat of 110 degrees. Buchan’s Carbolic Sheep 
Dip is less trouble to use and is more effective than to¬ 
bacco water. 
Maying Tools and Their IJses.— Not long 
ago “ Haying Tools ” comprised scythe, rake and pitch- 
fork. The introduction of the mower made it necessary 
that all subsequent steps in the care of the hay crop be 
greatly facilitated, and we now have, besides rapid rak¬ 
ing, the loading, unloading, and mowing away done by 
machinery, which introduces as great a saving of labor 
over the old work with pitchforks, as the mowing ma¬ 
chine did over the scythe. A barn must now be built 
with a view to the use of the hay-fork and its carriers, or 
it is unsuited to t lie present style of farming. We are led 
to these remarks by a large and instructive poster issued 
by the U. S. Wind Engine and Pump Co., Batavia, III. 
This company, besides their widely known and exten¬ 
sively used wind machinery, are also engaged in the 
'.manufacture of the “ Noyes Haying Tools,” which con¬ 
sist of a grapple fork and carrier of the most approved 
styles. The poster referred to is of special interest, as it 
gives the details of the proper framing of a barn in which 
a hay carrier is to be used, and full instructions for put¬ 
ting up such apparatus, with the cost of building, etc. 
This also gives full details for making a field stacking 
frame, and many other points that can not fail to be of 
interest to every farmer, whether he uses these special 
implements or not. This sheet is sent free to all appli¬ 
cants by the U. S. Wind Engine and Pump Co., which has 
already won an excellent reputation as makers of the farm 
appliances, from which the company takes its name. 
American Jute. —In an article last month (page 
185), on the East Indian Jute and its culture, we mentioned 
the “American Jute,” which was the subject of specu¬ 
lation several years ago, and that this had been revived. 
It now seems that there is a very different plant from the 
one there described, that is attracting attention under the 
name “ American Jute.” The “Bureau of Statistics of 
Labor and Improvement,” of the State of New Jersey, are 
encouraging experiments with this other “American 
Jute," so called. We have not space for an extended 
account of this plant; this we hope to give another 
month. We can only say that it appeai-3 to be deserving 
of attention, and we advise those of our New Jersey 
readers who would know more about it to write, though 
rather late, to Sam’l C. Brown, Esq., Secretary of the 
above named Bureau, at Trenton, for circulars. 
More Imposition Upon Farmers.— Parties 
are selling in New England, a “Champion” Mower- 
Knife Grinder, thus conveying the impression that they 
are in some way connected with the makers of the well 
known “Champion Reaper and Mower,” and thereby 
gaining the confidence of the farmers. It should be gen¬ 
erally known that the makers of the “ Champion ” have 
nothing to do with these pedlers, nor do they endorse 
their grinder in any manner. It is movcover stated that 
these grinder sellers are up to the dodge of getting signa¬ 
tures to orders, which afterwards turn out to be signatures 
to notes. Farmers, look out 1 Do not let the assumption 
of a reputable name induce you to sign any paper what¬ 
ever for strangers—no matter what the pretence. 
Pigs with Weak Backs.— “M. 0. L.,” She]-. 
btirne Falls, Mass. The weakness or paralysis in the 
loins of pigs, results from several causes. Hereditary 
constitutional disease; indigestion; nervous disorder; 
rheumatism; inflammation of the kidneys or parasitic 
worms in them; or, disease of the spinal cord; each one 
may produce it. It is usually relieved by applying a 
counter irritant to the skin, such as Mustard-paste or 
spirits of Turpentine well rubbed in over the loins. The 
food should be of the most easily digested and nourish¬ 
ing kind, and a mild purgative, such as two ounces of 
Linseed-oil or Castor-oil is frequently useful. 
Erysipelas in a Colt.— “C. M. C.,” Bradford 
Co., Pa. The symptoms of erysipelas in the head of a 
horse are swelling of the glands and throat at first, then 
the whole head swells and the tongue is forced out of the 
mouth; saliva is discharged from the glands; the 
breathing is difficult from the swelling of the throat, and 
the distress causes sweating and trembling of the body. 
The disease is accompanied by fever arising from a dis¬ 
eased condition of the blood caused by continued disor¬ 
dered indigestion, imperfect ventilation, filthy water, im¬ 
pure food, or failure of the excretory organs. It is rarely 
cured by any treatment. 
Buchan’s Sheep Dip.— “W. B. W.” This may 
be regarded as a standard article, as it has been before the 
public for many years, and fully sustains its early reputa¬ 
tion as an efficient and perfectly safe preparation for the 
treatment of scab and other parasitic troubles of sheep. 
It will be seen, by reference to our advertising columns, 
that the present agents are Messrs.Kidder & Laird of N.Y. 
Common-Sense Chairs. — Common-sense, is 
said to bea very uncommon commodity, but Mr. Sinclair, 
whose advertisement appears regularly in our columns, 
has applied if to chair-making. He calls his wares “ Com¬ 
mon-Sense Chairs,” and one has only to use them, as we 
have done for years, in-doors and on the veranda, to be 
convinced that the name is most appropriate. The old 
style of chair, such as were made when farmers had to 
build their own, of hickory and oilier splits, is here im¬ 
proved and modernized. The chairs are good enough to 
use in the parlor, and not too good to take out-of-doors, 
and they are far more “restful” and common-scnsical 
than any of the so-called “ rustic ” seats that are oflon 
used (never by the same person twice), on verandas and 
piazzas. A very comfortable and useful chair will lie found 
in any of the many patterns of the “Common-Sense.” 
Gardner’s Grappling Tltehing Appar¬ 
atus. —Grappling forks are now meeting with general 
favor, and the apparatus made by E. Y. R. Gardner & 
Co., appears to be among the best. It was the hottest of 
the hot days of last July, when we went to see it work, 
and when it took up a “ mouthful,” we were in doubt 
which was the part to be taken and which to be left on 
the load, so big a grip had it. Its carrying arrangement 
and the ease of tripping seemed to be perfect. The judg¬ 
ment of a looker-on in a close barn on a sweltering July 
day would be worth little, but the opinion of the farmer 
who used it was worth much. He was as enthusiastic 
over it as a boy could be with a new toy, and his only re¬ 
gret seemed to be that that there was no more hay to get 
in on that day, that he could enjoy the ease and rapidity 
with which the fork took up the hay, put it just where it 
was wanted, and dropped it with a slight jerk of the trip¬ 
ping rope. The circular sent out by the makers, gives in¬ 
structions for making a stacking frame, by which the 
rapid unloading of the fork can be made useful in placing 
the hay in stacks or ricks. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
Large frauds probably do 
less harm to the community, 
in the aggregate, than small 
ones. Tiie number of those 
who have dollars to invest is 
vastly smaller than those 
who have dimes, and, as a 
general thing, the larger the 
sum the more the caution ex¬ 
ercised in investing it. When , - 
one is defrauded out of sever- 1 j 
al dollars the case becomes 
known, while we seldom 
hear of the small losses. In 
a large city like New York, 
the small retail trade through 
which the poorer classes are 
supplied, is honey-combed 1 
with fraud. A study of the 
tricks in measuring and 
weighing—the frauds played 
in the “small measure,” by 
which many commodities are sold, and by the spring bal¬ 
ance, a contrivance for cheating that should be prohibited 
by law—would show an astonishing amount of rascality; 
they present a topic which wo may discuss at another 
time. These minor frauds are like diseases, some so 
general that they may be regarded as epidemic, while 
others only appearing now and then, may be called spo¬ 
radic. The small frauds are not practised upon the poorer 
classes alone, but are perpetrated openly upon Broadway 
aud other thoroughfares. We described last year the 
humbug with the 
“ALLIGATOR PLANT” PROM FLORIDA, 
which was very successful that spring and the one before, 
but we have not seen it offered this season, probably 
through fear of the police, who last year had orders to 
suppress the traffic, after we informed the Mayor of the 
city of the fraud.. The small branches and young twigs 
of the common Sweet-gum tree or Bilsted ( Liquidambar ) 
are curiously winged with broad corky protuberances. 
The tree is quite common in the vicinity of New York, 
but as the majority of people go about the world without 
seeing what it contains, it was an easy matter for the 
street-venders to pass off these twigs, from the neighbor¬ 
ing swamps, as Alligator Plants from Florida, which I 
“ needed only to be kept in water for a few weeks when j 
they would produce most beautiful flowers.” Hundreds if 
not thousands of truncheons of this tree, a foot or two 
long, were sold last spring at 25c. each. Of course no ! 
flowers ever came_This spring men appeared on the 
streets with baskets containing what a placard said were 
“ MEXICAN CINNAMON BEANS, 
to perfume drawers; warranted to retain their flavor.” , 
The “beans” were of the size and shape of a large Lima 
bean, reddish brown, and with a decided odor of the 
Tonqua-bean or Snuff-bean. These Mexicans sold readi- j 
ly, being scent beans, at a cent apiece. Knowing that the 
odor did not belong to a bean of that shape and appear- ]J 
ance, but that it must have been imparted to it artificial- | 
ly, we procured some of them for examination. As they 
had been most likely wetted with a tincture of Tonqua- 
bean, we dropped two or three beans into a small bottle 
of diluted alcohol to remove the tincture, and put them 1 
aside to soak. In a day or two after we looked to see 
how they were getting on, but 
THE BEANS WERE NOT THERE ! 
There was the bottle, the diluted alcohol, a brownish 
sediment at the bottom, but no beans 1 This led to 
breakingopen one of those that had not been put to soak. 
It was a bean of sugar paste, with a covering of chocolate 1 
No bean at all. This incident shows how a preconceived 
notion will lend one astray. There is a rod bean about 
the size and shape of this brought from Florida, and wo 
