1882.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
483 
to keep the extracted honey in open vessels, and i£ 
to be shipped, in barrels or kegs, these latter should 
be coated inside with parafine, or beeswax. Let 
no one be in a hurry to sell his honey. It should 
ibe thoroughly graded before it is sent to market. 
No pains should be spared to have the honey look 
neat, which will largely increase the price it will 
bring. In some parts of the country, the crop has 
been very good, in many others it is a total failure. 
It is to be expected that good prices will prevail. 
new subscribers come in some months earlier, and 
this seems a proper time to say a word about these 
columns and their objects. In the early years of 
the American Agriculturist , a fraudulent scheme 
was often exposed as “A Humbug.” In the 
course of time, when it became necessary to group 
several such under one head, they were given as 
■“ Sundry Humbugs,” the present convenient title. 
Do not Give Your Signature. 
The very first letter in our budget for this month 
has reference to note giving, but in this instance the 
note is given, knowing it to be a note. “ J. H. P.” 
writes us, from Darke County, Ohio, that his is an 
exclusively agricultural community, the farmers 
having large barns and broad-roofed houses, but 
hs there are no coal mines they know little about 
gas and gas-tar. He says that parties come into a 
neighborhood proposing to paint the roofs of the 
farmers’ barns and houses with a paint, the ingre¬ 
dients of which are described in technical terms, 
and referring to men who are seeking political 
popularity. Many agree to have their roofs painted 
in two coats at the rate of $1.50 per square (10 by 
10 feet), a note for the amount to be given when one 
coat is applied. Mr. P. says that the men come, 
mount the roof, and that with their brushes they 
paint 64 squares in half a day. He states that this 
remarkable roof paint 
Is Nothing but Coal-Tar, 
a substance that he became familiar with else¬ 
where. Moreover, after putting on one coat, and 
getting the note, the “ men are heard from no 
more, but the notes are.” The nearest bank held 
them, and in due time called for payment. We 
doubt the propriety of coating roofs with coal-tar 
at all, but if one wishes to do so, he ought not to 
purchase it at an outrageous price, with a high- 
sounding name, as somebody’s “Roof-Paint.” 
Fashions are said to move in cycles, and it would 
appear that humbugs revolve in a similar manner. 
Here turns up the antiquated 
“ Golden Buttei' Compound,” 
■with all the freshness of a novelty. We had not 
before seen it for several years ; now a friend in 
Maryland has received a circular. We exposed 
this nonsense years ago, and now can only say— 
Don’t....Nothing is more surprising to us than 
Swindles in Silverware. 
A friend in Kentucky who has received a remark¬ 
able circular from a Boston concern, is disposed to 
regard it as a humbug, but asks our opinion. If 
some one should offer our Kentuckian a lot of flour 
at one-half or one-quarter the market price, he 
would conclude either that the party had not paid 
for the flour or it must be of a very poor quality. 
These Boston folks offer for $3.25, silverware which 
they say is “usually sold for $8 to $12.” Silver¬ 
ware, if “ solid ” has the value of its weight in coin, 
with the cost of manufacture added. If “ plated,” 
its value depends entirely upon the reputation of 
the maker. The body of the ware is of some cheap 
metal with a covering, or plating of silver. The 
plating may be thick enough to allow of several 
years’ wear, or it may be a film so thin that its 
thickness (or thiuness) can not be expressed. The 
good and the bad look alike; there is no way of 
knowing about plated-ware, save the word of the 
maker. As no one engaged in raising tobacco, wheat, 
or other staple ever, as a business, sells it for 
less than it is worth ; our Kentucky friend may be 
sure silverware is no exception to the rule. If 
offered at half or quarter the usual price, it is 
doubtless so much the poorer. People in Massa¬ 
chusetts no more than in Kentucky, ever, as a 
matter of business, give more than a dollar’s worth 
of silver-plate for a dollar. 
Wonderful Cheap Guns. 
There was a run of these wonderful things a few 
years ago, and aside from the fact that the “ shoot¬ 
ing irons ” were worthless in themselves, those 
who sent their money did not get the trash that 
was offered. We call them “ mongrel,” for though 
“breech-loaders,” those we have seen were made 
from some unsalable revolvers by adding a barrel 
at one end or a stock at the other, making a thing 
that was “ neither fish, flesh, or good red herring.” 
If one wants a good revolver, rifle, or shotgun, let 
him get one, but to buy these mongrel tilings is 
money thrown away. These so-called guns are 
now being offered, proposing to send for $6 or 
$7.50, a gun equal to those costing $100. They are 
advertised in much the same style as were those of 
a few years ago, and will no doubt subside as did 
their predecessors. 
A Subscription Fraud—Look out for Him. 
One of our subscribers at St. Thomas, Canada, 
writes us that a good looking man (they are always 
good looking and well dressed) with a wooden leg, 
is taking subscriptions for various newspapers and 
giving receipts for the came, signing the name of 
the firm or party publishing the paper. He is the 
worst kind of a swindler, besides being a forger, 
as the parties whose receipts were used by him say 
that the signature is a forgery, and that they em¬ 
ploy no wooden-legged men or thieves in their busi¬ 
ness. 
Annother Correspondent 
writes us that he sent in response to a glowing New 
York City advertisement, $5 to pay for some of the 
goods advertised therein. He never received the 
goods, and wished us to look the parties up and 
get his money for him. He sent us an order on 
them for the amount, but he might as well have 
sent us a Deed for “ Lots in the Moon,” as we 
should have about as good a prospect of finding 
them, as of finding the firm he would have us look 
for. Moral.—Avoid all the flashy advertisements 
you see, as they are only a net spread to catch the 
unwary. 
Still Another 
complaint comes from Glens Falls in this State, 
and encloses an advertisement of a would-be Gent’s 
Furnishing House, situated (or supposed to be) in 
the immediate neighborhood of this office. We 
would say to our friend that it is only an old 
swindle under a new name. There is no such store 
as the company advertise, and any oue who sends 
to this man, whose name begins with R and is 
spelled with four syllables, $9 for six shirts and 
expects to receive them, will die of old age before 
they arrive. 
Procuring Pensions. 
The Fitzgeralds and the Fitzgeralds. 
The following are among the communications 
received in response to our inquiries regarding the 
various branches of the Fitzgerald family, who ad¬ 
vertise themselves as Pension Agents. 
No. 1.— HONEST AND NOT CONNECTED WITH THE 
SHOPS OVER THE -WAY. 
N. W. Fitzgerald & Co., Attorneys and Counsel¬ 
lors at Law, and Solicitors of Claims and Patents, 
write us from Washington : “So far as this firm is 
concerned, we desire to inform you we have been en¬ 
gaged in Pension Business more or less since 1865 ... 
We have treated our clients fairly and justly, and we 
are willing they should testify_We are responsi¬ 
ble for all our contracts ; we pay our debts, and do 
as we would wish to be done by. We have no con¬ 
nection with any other person of this name in 
Washington, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, or elsewhere ; 
in all these places named are persons by this Dame 
who are doing Pension Business... .The individual 
members of this firm are N. W. Fitzgerald and S. 
C. Fitzgerald-We hope this will be sufficient so 
far as this firm is concerned.” 
No. 2.— MONEY FOR POSTAGE STAMPS WANTED. 
T. Lyman Newell writes from Russell, Lake Co., 
Ill., inclosing several documents from N. W. Fitz¬ 
gerald, of Washington, D. C., and expressing him¬ 
self in this wise: 
“ I read your remarks in the May number on the Fitz¬ 
geralds, and will send you papers I found laid away. 
After writing back and forth a short time, they wanted 
two dollars or more to pay postage and other small inci¬ 
dentals. I sent it, and here is their receipt. I never 
had another letter until this February, nearly two years, 
when they or he wrote me a lovely, a very kind letter, 
asking me for balance due, $8.00, and my claim should 
be prosecuted to the end to my satisfaction. Two dol¬ 
lars was enough for me. I received my pension more 
than a year ago from Mr. Bentley.” 
No. 3.— A “ DEAD ” REFERENCE. 
Mr. R. Hunter writes from Bellwood, Blair Co., 
Penn., as follows : 
“ I wrote to P. H. Fitzgerald & Co., Claim Agents, at 
Indianapolis, and placed a pension claim in their hands. 
He wrote and wrote until I sent him $10.00, then he 
ceased to write. It was one year ago the 18th of this 
month. I have heard but once or twice from him. I 
have written to have my claim transferred, hut have re¬ 
ceived no answer yet. I wrote to one of his references, 
but Fitzgerald 'lifted’ the letter, and wrote back that 
the man was dead.” 
No. 4.—A CLERGYMAN SEEKING INFORMATION. 
Rev. S. B. Nelson, Pastor of the Presbyterian 
Church at Waterloo, Nebraska, writes : 
“ 1 would like to have you inform me if Fitzgerald & 
Co., Pension Agents, of Washington, D. C., are reliable. 
I have been corresponding with them, and have some 
doubts that they are frauds.” 
No. 5. — PROMPT WORK WANTED. 
John B. Gowdey, Redfield, Iowa, writes : 
“I employed N. W. Fitzgerald & Co., of Washington, 
D. C., Lock Box 588. to get my pension increased. My 
understanding was that 1 was to pay $1(1.00 when that 
was accomplished. They first sent for 30 cents in 
stamps for postage, which I sent them: then they sent for 
$3.00 for incidentals—I sent that; then they sent for the 
other $7.00 if I wanted prompt work done. I wrote to 
them that I would pay the balance when my pension 
was increased. I have not heard from them since.” 
No. 6. — TAKING THE BREAD FROM HIS FAMILY’S 
MOUTH. 
Uriah H. Owing, Kansas City, Mo., writes : 
“I employed N. W. Fitzgerald & Co.. Washington, 
D. C., two years ago. I paid him in advance to prosecute 
my claim to the final issue. I have the receipt for the 
money I paid him. When I first employed him it was N. 
W. Fitzgerald; now he puts it N. W. Fitzgerald & Co. 
I have almost taken the bread out of my family's mouth 
to pay him. and he will not answer any of my letters. I 
only hear from him through the advertisements in the 
paper. If you can do anything in finding out something 
about it for me, you shall be awarded. Please drop a 
poor Union soldier a few hints in regard to the matter. 
I send you one of his cards with his address.” 
No. 7.—SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. 
“Landspowne Farm, Lawrence, Ind. 
Editor American Agriculturist— Dear Sir : In ‘ Sundry 
Humbugs ’ for May, I notice you ask for information in 
regard to the Fitzgeralds. I can give you some informa 
tion in regard to P. H. of that tribe of Pension Agents 
who has lately moved from Indianapolis to Washington, 
D. C. I have taken occasion to call on the U. S. Attor¬ 
ney for this district, who cites me one case of his rascal¬ 
ity, and referred me to the Prosecuting Attorney of Mi¬ 
ami Co., Ohio, for others. The case that he knew of was 
this: Two swindlers sold a farmer a patent right for his 
county, and took his receipt for the churn or pump, or 
whatever it might be, which of course was a note for 
$7(10. Along comes P. II. Fitzgerald with the note, which 
the farmer refuses to pay. Luckily, the first party are 
caught in another act, and on the trial the evidence of 
collusion was so strong that Fitzgerald barely escaped 
the penitentiary. He has also been accused of extorting 
an illegal fee in pension cases. A. F. Broomhall, an at¬ 
torney of Troy, Ohio, can give you a detailed account of 
his violations of law. I consider your ‘Humbug’ col¬ 
umns worth thousands of dollars to the farming com¬ 
munity. ' Very truly yours, H. T. Fletcher.” 
NO. 8.—A DISGUSTED MEMBER OF COMPANY I. 
“ Hubbardston, Michigan. 
Dear Sir:— About two years ago P. 11. Fitzgerald & 
Co., of Indianapolis led me to believe that I was entitled 
to extra bounty, and forwarded to me papers to be made 
out. and to accompany which were required my dis¬ 
charge papers. After waiting until disgusted, 1 wrote 
them. Then they sent another set of meaningless papers 
(as I now believe) to be filled out and sworn to, which 
were doubtless intended to keep me quiet, as I request¬ 
ed the immediate return of my papers. Can any means 
be taken to recover them? A. V. Puister, Co. I, 3rd N. 
Y. Inf. and 195th N. Y. Inf.” 
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