1882.] 
AMERICAS" AGRICULTURIST. 
193 
men to put it up, and the whole charge is some¬ 
times as high as $350. The company fall back on 
the order signed by the farmer, and know nothing 
of any promises made by the agent. We learn that 
some farmers will contest these bills, and all should 
renento/T 1 ‘V'* still exists the need of our oft- 
»t-peatecl caution - <‘i„ 
You Sign ” r akmjsrs, be Careful what 
Thp . 899thi/^iibscriber.” 
panion ” U Le “ Washington Home Corn- 
General whr * jeen ^ onoret ' by the Postmaster 
official ’’ J bas given his name a place in the 
.. list of Prauds. The 999th subscriber was 
to receive a tine piano. Charles K. Wilson is his 
name, and Charles notified a large number that 
each was The Fortunate Nine-hundred and Ninety- 
nine-er , merely suggesting that a remittance to pay 
the cost of boxing and expense of shipment would 
be acceptable. Remittances came and pianos did 
not go, hence the act of the Postmaster General. 
“The Marriage Assurance” 
schemes, under the name of “Mutual Aid” and 
“ Mutual Benefit ” Associations still send out their 
circulars, but the circle widens, and they now, in¬ 
stead of coming from Pennsylvania and other cen¬ 
tral points, originate in the far West and South. 
Several of our readers ask about them ; one in Ala¬ 
bama who thinks that the “Southern Mutual Aid 
Association,” as it gives as references some “ promi¬ 
nent men ” in Miss., ought not to be included with 
other similar concerns. We give little weight to 
such references. Some men allow their names to 
be used out of pure good nature, some as the 
■quickest way to get rid of the applicant, and others 
still, flattered at the idea that their name is sought, 
out of vanity. We look upon this scheme by who¬ 
ever conducted, as utterly uncalled for and open 
to so many abuses that it had better be let alone. 
“Variety Catalogues.” 
We have before spoken of what, for the want of 
a better name we have called “ Variety Catalogues .” 
The number of these is astonishing, and they are 
so nearly alike that they seem to be printed all at 
the same place. The amount of trash they offer 
would surprise one who had never seen them. 
They are mostly sent to young persons, and the 
articles offered are of a kind to attract the young 
and the ignorant. One before us professes to sell 
“A Great Book of Secrets or how to make $10 a 
day without capital“ The Golden Key to Busi¬ 
ness Life “ Galvanic Batteries to cure everything 
for 25c.!” “Fortune Teller and the Witches’ Key to 
Lucky Dreams,” and a long list of such stuff. But 
worse than these are numerous pictures and books 
which are advertised in a manner to make it appear 
that they are thoroughly bad. Whatever the books 
may be, the descriptions of them are vile ; indeed 
their titles even will not bear repetition. We do 
not wonder that a father in Missouri writes with 
indignation at finding such stuff sent to his son_ 
Some Remedies. 
A college student in Ohio, sends us a lot of circu¬ 
lars of what purports to be “Hr. Churchill's Reme¬ 
dies'' and asks us to investigate the matter. It 
needs no investigation beyond the circulars them¬ 
selves. While some others who benevolently send 
prescriptions, direct a lot of stuff which has no ex¬ 
istence under the names given, these order various 
drugs, poisonous and otherwise, that are obtainable, 
but give directions for their preparation which, to 
those who know about such matters, are simply 
laughable from their absurdity. After giving direc¬ 
tions that no one can follow, there of course comes 
the “ nub ” of the whole. These remedies must be 
prepared as directed. “Unprincipled druggists” never 
prepare “ according to our method ’’—but we will fix 
the stuff all right for $3—and that is what the whole 
talk means. These circulars are enough to frighten 
a well man into the idea that he is sick. But 
quackery under the pretence of being scientific, is 
carried rather too far, when a scrap of litmus paper 
is sent, with directions to dip it in the urine, dry it 
and send it with the order.—Hear this ! “ This 
chemically prepared paper will be carefully anal¬ 
yzed, and all the peculiarities of your disease can 
be determined as fully as if you had recieved a per¬ 
sonal examination, and medicine prepared spec¬ 
ially adapted for your case.”—We have no doubt 
just “ as fully,”—but the analysis of a strip of pa¬ 
per an inch and a half long, by half an inch wide ! 
“ Whew ! ” 
About Pensions—The Fitzgeralds. 
There are Fitzgeralds and Fitzgeralds.—The gen¬ 
uine ones will notify us promptly, as we propose to 
devote space in another number of the Agricul¬ 
turist to the Fitzgeralds, and do not wish to do 
any body injustice. All persons having informa¬ 
tion bearing upon this subject, whether it be in 
Kansas, or Washington City, or elsewhere, will 
please forward it immediately to us, and thereby aid 
us in informing our readers just how many genuine 
Fitzgeralds there are in the Pension Business. 
About Spring House Cleaning. 
Probably there is nothing in the whole routine of 
house-keeping that is more of a bugbear than the 
“ spring cleaning.” If, as is sometimes the case, 
the house is set in an uproar, the furniture moved 
out of doors, and all the rooms made uninhabitable 
at once, the operation may well be dreaded. Fortu¬ 
nate are those house-keepers who continue in the 
old-fashioned method, if colds and sickness among 
the children do not follow house-cleaning. Of 
course, where hired help is especially employed 
for the occasion, it is necessary to keep them occu¬ 
pied and to do in a day as much as possible. But, 
as a general thing, there is no need of the discom¬ 
fort that usually accompanies House Cleaning. Of 
course each house-keeper will have her own views 
about the matter, and we can only hope to make a 
few helpful suggestions. 
About the Stoves. 
Outside of cities, the majority of houses are 
heated by stoves, and one of the points in most 
house cleaning is to take down these stoves, and 
not put them up again. Not only a large share of dis¬ 
comfort, but much sickness, if not consequent death, 
comes from the too early taking down of stoves. In 
every house in the Northern States, and the same 
applies farther south also, there should always 
be ample provision for making a fire in the liv¬ 
ing room, at any time during the year. Cold storms 
may come unexpectedly, and a fire is sometimes as 
necessary in August as in any other month. If 
stoves are used for heating, the health and comfort 
of the family require that there should always be 
at least one stove in which a fire can be made at 
once, at any time during the year. 
Do not take Stoves Down too Soon. 
Those who observe the weather are aware that, 
in the Northern States, we do not have what is called 
“settled weather” much before the middle of 
June, and that, each year, there is likely to be a 
cold storm of several days’ duration between the 
first and the middle of that month. We have ob¬ 
served this matter through so many years that we 
feel warranted in saying to those who, in the North¬ 
ern Slates, depend upon stoves for warming their 
houses, do not take dow'n the stoves 
Before the Middle of June. 
When stoves are taken down, and before they 
are stored away for the summer, the first point 
should be, to make them ready to put up again. 
Do not leave this until the cool days of autumn, 
when they may be needed in a hurry, but make all 
needed repairs now. There are so many kinds 
that we can make but general suggestions. The 
weak point in all stoves is the lining, and, es¬ 
pecially where hard coal is the fuel, this may need 
replacing. Do not put the stove away until the 
repairs are made. All of the leading patterns have 
a name or number, and the parties from whom a 
stove was bought can furnish or procure the proper 
lining. Some stoves have air-passages and double 
linings; dust and light ashes may accumulate in 
these, and where such exist they should be thor¬ 
oughly cleaned. Then 
As to the Stove Pipe, 
that terror to all heads of families when stoves are 
to be put up. Carefully mark with chalk—lead- 
pencil will answer well—the parts that go to¬ 
gether. A little care now will save much trouble 
in autumn. In our house-cleaning talk, we have 
run away to stoves, and no part of the operation is 
of more importance. But we would say 
A Word About Cleaningr Paint. 
If a regular “scrubber” be employed, she may 
leave the painted work looking bright and fresh, 
but it will have been done with soap and sand. Sand 
should never be used upon painted or varnished 
work. Strong soft soap and sand vigorously ap¬ 
plied, will take off a large share of the paint. To 
clean paint, first make a moderately strong soap 
suds, and also have at hand another pail of warm 
water, with a soft flannel cloth for each, and also a 
plate containing “Whiting,” or “Spanish White ” 
—to be had at all paint or drug stores. One flannel 
being wet with the soap-suds, dip it in the Whiting 
to take up a small quantity, and gently rub the 
painted work. The surface coating of smoke and 
other matter will soon be removed, then wipe the 
surface carefully with the other flannel wrung out 
from the warm water, and the painted work will 
look “ as good as new.” 
Cleaning Wall Paper. 
The chief soiling of wall paper, especially those 
kinds in which some part of the pattern is slightly 
raised above the general surface, is due to dust. 
In many cases all that can be done is, to remove 
the dust; this is best accomplished by taking anew 
broom, wrapping a cloth around it, and sweeping 
with it from the top downward, with long, straight 
strokes—not up and down. This will remove the 
dust, and greatly improve the appearance of the 
paper. Sometimes the paper will be soildd in spots, 
as where persons have allowed their heads to rest 
against it. In such cases it is well to try a piece of 
stale bread, from which the crust has been removed, 
using it upon the spots as if it were a piece of 
India Rubber. At house cleaning time it is well to 
have an eye to, and 
Close Up All Cracks anil Crevices, 
whether in the floor, or between that and the base 
board, where insects may harbor, as well as larger 
ones in closets through which mice may enter. 
For cracks, common hard soap, which is usually 
soft enough for the purpose, may be used to fill 
them. It is usually soft enough to be pressed with 
the fingers into crevices, and no insect will venture 
to make its way through it. For larger holes, 
through which mice may come, Plaster of Paris, 
mixed with water to the thickness of batter, and 
quickly applied, will soon set, and stop the open¬ 
ing. Thin sheet-tin, from old fruit cans, may be 
tacked over the larger holes. In the spring clean¬ 
ing we must consider 
The Question of Moths. 
The common Clothes Moth was formerly the only 
one that troubled housekeepers, but of late years 
the “ Buffalo ” or “ Carpet Moth,” has in many lo¬ 
calities come to plague them. To keep woollens 
and furs from moths, two things are to be observed 
—1st, to see that none are in the articles when they 
are put away, and 2d, to put them where the 
parent moth can not enter. Tin cases, soldered 
tight, whiskey barrels headed so that not even a 
liquid can get in or out, have been used to keep 
out moths. A piece of strong brown paper, with- 
not a hole through which even a large pin can 
enter, is just as good. Put the articles in a close 
box, and cover every joint with paper, or resort to 
whatever will be a complete covering. A wrapper 
of common cotton cloth, so put around and secured, 
is often used. Wherever a knitting needle will 
pass, the parent moth can enter ; carefully exclude 
the insect, aud the articles will be safe. As to the 
Buffalo or Carpet Moth. 
This fortunately exists in but a few localities. 
No better remedy than that we gave a year or two 
ago has been offered.—Wet a folded sheet or other 
cloth, lay it over the place near the edge of the 
carpet, and use several hot flat-irons, moving them 
about from time to time so as to send the steam 
down through the carpet and into all the cracks of 
the floor, aud it will kill the moths. Where this 
has been properly tried it has been effective. 
