1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
49 
Canada, and where he has made no application.” 
From what we hear of Mr. F. Barritt we eau not 
recommend him.... 
New Subscribers and New Readers 
come as a matter of course in large numbers at the 
beginning of each new year. To many, if not all of 
these, our manner of dealing with Humbugs is 
something new, and these new comers often write 
us about matters that we have treated of frequent¬ 
ly and disposed of long ago. To such we may say, 
in brief, that we can “ show up as a humbug ” no 
one without abundant evidence that the party in 
question is engaged in schemes dangerous to the 
community. No anonymous letters are noticed. 
If a charge is to be made, do it in an open manly 
fashion. Say nothing that can not be proved, and 
sign your own name to it. To farmers we would 
say, as spring approaches, you will be called upon 
by various persons with new machines and imple¬ 
ments. It is so rarely that a farmer can afford to 
neglect his farm work and undertake the sale of 
machines, that it will be safe, as a rule, to decline 
all such temptations. A large share of these offers 
are fraudulent and their whole object is, under one 
pretence or auother, to get 
The Signature of the Farmer, 
who should sign nothing, tinder any pretext what¬ 
ever, for a stranger; do not even give your address 
—“just as a memorandum.” When least expected 
this address will turn up as a signature to some 
kind of a promise to pay. Avoid every kind of 
“Gift Distribution,” or easy way of making money. 
No matter by what name it is called, the scheme is 
likely to be fraudulent. Let every farmer and 
others, who live in the country, be sure that trees 
and shrubs with fruit of heretofore unheard of ex¬ 
cellence, or flowers of unsurpassed beauty, are not 
introduced by hawkers and peddlers. If a peddler 
has a new and wouderful fruit or plant, it is one 
that no reader of the American Agriculturist wants 
to buy. 
Swindling in Mackerel. 
This deserves a notice, if only for the novelty of 
the thing. Pennsylvania is the field of operations, 
and the operators are said to be well dressed and of 
polished manners—swindlers always are. They 
offer farmers mackerel in half-barrels at very low 
prices. When the purchaser opens the package he 
finds a thin layer of fish on top, while the rest is 
filled with rubbish. The preparation and the hand¬ 
ling of such bulky parcels must be so troublesome 
as to make this far from a profitable enterprise.... 
Various inquirers ask about the “ Denton Man¬ 
ufacturing Company,” stating that they have sent 
money, but can get no Washing Machines. We 
understand that the “Company” has come to an 
end, and satisfaction is promised_Several appa¬ 
rent “swindles” are under investigation, which 
will be reported by us hereafter, whenever proved 
to be bogus. For an alphabetical list of about 
Three Hundred doubtful parties or concerns, see 
American Agriculturist for November last. 
Profit in “Walnut” Planting.—“ C. C. 
S.,” has seen “in the papers,” that young “walnut- 
trees” will mature so rapidly in 10 years, that a 
tract of 200 acres will, in that time, yield 8150,000. 
He writes for information on the subject. So it 
seems that this venerable news item has started on 
its rounds once more ; we hoped that it had gone 
to its rest years ago. It illustrates the vitality of 
such items and the manner in which careless state¬ 
ments may convert a fact into nonsense. The 
original statement was not about walnuts at all, but 
about Hickories, and started in this way. When 
Mr. A. 8. Fuller, jn 1866, wrote his little hand-book, 
“ The Forest Tree Cnlturist,” the growing of forest 
trees was a new subject to our farmers ; to illustrate 
that in some cases it might be profitable, he made 
an estimate to show what might be the returns 
from an acre sown to Hickory nuts. If these were 
in rows four feet apart, the trees one foot distant 
in the rows, an acre would contain 10,890 trees; 
when five to eight years old, every other tree 
should be taken out, and would bring as hoop 
poles 8217.50. In three more years another thin¬ 
ning of every other tree would yield 8372. This 
is as far as Mr. F. went with figures, but remarked 
on the value of the trees left. Some itemizer tak¬ 
ing the statement could safely estimate that the 
whole product, if sold at the end of 10 years, would 
bring 8750, and to make the figures large, he only 
need to assume there were 100 acres of such trees, 
875,000, but that was not a round enough figure, 
so he estimated that 200 such acres would bring in 
the handsome sum of 8150,000. It is strange that 
he stopped here. This is the foundation of the 
“ Walnut ” story which has puzzled many others 
besides our friend “ C. C. S.” 
Live Stock Trade of 1881, and One of 
Its Lessons. 
Great hopes were awakened in 1880, of an im¬ 
mense European demand for our Live Beef Cattle, 
for the substantial reason that New York City 
shipped about 85,406 live bullocks, and 316,466 
quarters of fresh dressed beef in 1880, against 
33,295 live cattle, and 288,116 dressed quarters in 
1879. The anticipations for 1881 have not been 
realized; the exports, instead of advancing, have 
fallen back to 38,923 live beeves, and 287,302 dressed 
quarters, and the shippers also claim to have lost 
money. This has not come from loss of popularity 
of American fresh beef in Great Britain or on the 
continent, for it has steadily grown in favor. 
There are three or four causes for the decline, 
which happily will not be permanent, for it is un¬ 
doubtedly true that our broad western pastures, 
with unlimited supplies of fattening corn, in aver¬ 
age years, can produce fresh meat, and put it in 
the markets of Great Britain and some other Eu¬ 
ropean markets at lower rates than it can possibly 
be produced on their limited areas of high priced 
land. Three of the reasons for the decline are: 
First, owing to a succession of bad grain seasons, 
the British agriculturists turned their attention 
more to live stock, and the past year there was 
temporarily a much larger supply of home raised 
meat. This may continue during 1882, for though 
increased attention is again given to wheat and 
other giain, on accoqgt of the more encouraging 
crop of 1881, and the great advance in breadstuffs, 
this will not operate at once upon stock farming. 
Second, the depressed condition of farming and 
manufacturers left far less resources among the 
masses abroad for buying meat, while the boom in 
business, the higher wages and better employment 
in our country largely increased the home con¬ 
sumption of all meats, and especially those of 
better shipping quality. This advanced the average 
wholesale price of beef in New York fully ten per 
cent over 1880, and of shipping grades still more, 
and which rendered exporting less profitable. 
Third, superior qualities of beef can alone com¬ 
pete in the foreign markets, and only these grades 
can ever be shipped, at a profit, as a rule. But the 
supply of such beef, and of good mutton, is quite 
limited in this country, the great mass of cattle 
being “natives,” yielding only medium quality of 
meat. The demand for shipping in 1880, led to a 
gathering up from all over our country, of all 
available cattle of the higher grades, including 
many that would have ordinarily been kept for 
another year’s growth and feeding. So, during 
1881 there was scarcely more of such cattle to be 
had than were required by our own increased con¬ 
sumption of this class. 
The Lesson indicated above is one we have often 
urged, and it is now enforced by the results, viz., 
the importance of greatly increased and immediate 
efforts to raise the quality of cattle in all our west¬ 
ern pasture fields. Texas cattle will continue to 
be driven to the northern and mid-region pastures, 
and, if well fed, will supply a fair quality of 
meat for ordinary home consumption. But all 
western breeders, and those of Texas as well, 
should spare neither effort nor expense to secure 
at once as the sire of every calf to be grown, a 
thorough-breef or high-grade Shorthorn, or other 
improved breed. It will pay every way. A Short¬ 
horn steer will at least grow as much, and be as 
mature, at three years old, as a native at four years 
old—a gain of a whole year’s feeding and time and 
interest, and quite enough to warrant a high rate 
for the service of a good sire. Then the higher mar¬ 
ket price which the better animal will bring, with 
the same expense for care, freight, commissions, 
etc., will pay another large premium. 
It comes to just this: intelligent, enterprising 
farmers and stockmen can not afford to grow or¬ 
dinary animals. They had better sell off a part of a 
herd and put the avails into better breeding blood— 
blood that will soon raise the quality of the balance 
of their herds. The supply of high-grade bulls is 
still limited, and the prices high, but when a single 
bull will in a year produce a hundred or more 
progeny that will, by saving of time, and by greater 
value, at two or three years old, be worth $20 to 
$40 more per head than the average natives, any 
one can see the advantage of securing such animals 
at almost any cost. When one smaller farmer, or 
stock-raiser, can not meet the expense, several can 
combine and procure one or more animals for com¬ 
mon use. 
While the price of all cattle sold in New York 
Markets during 1881 has averaged a trifle over 10 
cents per lb. for the estimated weight of the dressed 
quarters, the lower grades have sold at times 
even below 7c., and the best grades up to 13c. and 
14c. and above, with the estimated dressed weight 
greatly in favor of the better animals. 
N. Y. Live Stock Market Summary for 1881. 
Beef Cattle. —Despite the decline in exports of 
over 45,000 head, this market, which feeds a con¬ 
siderable adjacent territory and the large steamers 
and other shipping, has taken, and paid 10 to 12 per 
cent advance for 5,000 more beef cattle in 1881 
than in 1880. Total receipts, in round numbers :— 
1881. 684,000* 
1880.677,000 
1879.570,000 
1878 . 545,000 
1877 . 480.000 
1876 .477,000 
*An average of (about) 2,200 for every work day In the year. 
Average price for the estimated dressed weight of 
the quarters for all sales, 10 cents and 2 mills per lb. 
Sheep and Lambs. —The exports of live sheep 
were only about 10,000 in 1881, against nearly 40,000 in 
1880, and of dressed carcasses (fresh) 70,000 in 1881, 
against 83,000 in 1880, yet this market took nearly 
90,000 more Sheep and Lambs iu 1881 than in 1880, 
the receipts being, in round numbers: 
1881.1,770,000 
1880.1,680,000 
1879.1,550,000 
1878.1,350,000 
1877. ..1,210,000 
1876...1,248,000 
The dry pastures of autumn caused a great rush 
of sheep to market towards the close of the year, 
sometimes over 50,000 in a -week during August, 
October, and December, and prices declined greatly, 
some of the poorest grades selling as low as 2 cts. 
per lb. live weight early in December, though the 
best sold then at 6c. The closing rates of the year 
were 4c. to 7c. for Sheep, and 5c. to 71c. for Lambs, 
or about 20 per cent below last January. 
Milch Cows.—The receipts at the New York 
markets fell off to about 6,500 for 1881, against 
6,600 for 1880. The natural increase of offerings 
occurred the first half of the year, but dairy and 
milkmen were obliged to increase their number of 
cows during the excessive drouth of summer and 
autumn, fewer were sent to market, and prices of 
good cows went up $5 to $15 per head. 
Veal Calves. —The receipts during 1881 and 
1880 were the same, about 185,000 each year, aver¬ 
aging full 3,500 a week, the year beginning and 
ending with about a thousand head, and running 
to 6,000 to 8,000 a week in May and June. Prices 
varied greatly, being highest in November, March, 
October, September, December, and July—that is, 
3c. to 10c. per lb. live weight; and 3c. to 7c. or 71c. 
in April, May, and June. 
Swine.— The increased packing at the west is 
diminishing the number of live hogs sent to New 
York. The receipts here f®r 1881 were a little 
over 1,500,000, or about 30,000 a week during 1881, 
against 1,750,000 in 1880, or 33,500 a week. The 
usual fall and winter rush did not come. The 
prices during the year ranged at 5ic. to 7c. per lb. 
live weight, closing at 6c. to 61c. or 61c. for extras. 
