4 338 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[September, 
•‘Subscriber” has a tree which bears an abund¬ 
ance of fruit somewhat like a small red plum. He takes 
the trouble to get a specimen, put it in a parcel and send 
It to this office. With the parcel is a note which shows 
that the writer wishes to know “all the particulars" con¬ 
cerning the fruit, and whether there is “anything inju¬ 
rious" about it. But the note comes with nothing to 
indicate where the writer lives, or who he is—he is merely 
‘‘Subscriber.’’ Such things are very trying to the 
patience. Any information we may have isalways at the 
service of our friends. As it is of no interest to any one 
but “Subscriber” to know what his tree is, we can not take 
up space in the paper to give it. All we can do is to wait 
until we learn howto communicate with “Subscriber.” 
Our meat Supply.— Mr. J. noward, M. P., made 
the following statement before a select committee of the 
House of Commons upon the meat supply for the English 
market : “The live stock of a country tain not be in¬ 
creased at pleasure as some previous witnesses seem to 
imagine....The agency of mothers is indispensable in 
bringing animals into Che world, and these cannot be in¬ 
creased at will. lean build a fresh wing to my factory, 
but if I wish to increase the number of my animals upon 
my farm, independently of the question of capital, it is a 
Blow process_Although there can be no question that 
the vast fields of America are capable of sustaining, per¬ 
haps tenfold more cattle than are at present possessed, it 
is obvious that considerable time must elapse before the 
breeding facilities of the country can be materially in¬ 
creased." In view of such a statement made by an 
Englishman, and the fact that London is our great foreign 
meat market, ii is to out interest to increase the number 
Of our breeding animals, in the great West, as rapidly as 
possible. To send heifers and young cows to market, is 
not to be commended under existing circumstances. 
Tlie Wheat Crop of 18 80 will not be far from 
480,000.000 bushels, an increase of 30.000 000 bushels over 
the unprecedented crop of 1879. It 20,000,0 )0 bushels are 
allowed for increased demand for food and seeding, there 
will remain for export at least 100 000,000 bushels. The 
foreign wheat crop is also generally good, though Russia 
will probably not market as much as last year. A low 
price for our wheat is inevitable; but this does not mean 
to us what it does to the English farmer. The London 
Telegraph" on this point says: “The low price of 
wheat in this country while it leaves a good profit to 
American growers, enables them to deliver grain at Liver¬ 
pool. at a price lower than the minimum cost of produc¬ 
ing wheat in England, and hence it is to be feared that, 
in spite of the fine prospects, the British farmer has a 
cruelly hard time in store for him, even if prices fall no 
lower. That they are likely to fall so low at least, that 
an American surplus of about 200.000.000 bushels can be 
marketed abroad, seems plain. The natural result will 
be a further abandonment of wheat-growing by British 
farmers, and a greater dependence hereafter upon Amer¬ 
ican supplies." The good wheat crop everywhere is, it 
Beems, working to the advantage of the American grower. 
Spreading Mann re. —From the time the manure 
is dropped until it is spread upon the land there is a con¬ 
tinual loss, by gradual decomposition and washing by 
rams. When upon the soil this loss is not sustained, as 
the rains carry the valuable solutions down into the soil, 
Where they are absorbed and retained. It is, therefore, 
the best practice to spread the manure upon the meadows 
and plowed land, iu fact anywhere that plant food is re¬ 
quired, both now and through the winter. There is a 
saving in labor to draw the manure in winter, when the 
enow is on, as it is easier to load it upon a sled than a 
Wagon, and the load can be drawn with greater ease. 
A Leading Crop.—In view of the diversified 
Character of farming and the many kinds of animals, 
grams, fruits etc., that can be grown, the question nat 
nrally presents itself to the farmer: How many kinds of 
produce can I grow, and with the greatest profit ? There 
are so many things to be taken into consideration, as the 
kind of soil, distance from market, climate, and not the 
least, the individual taste of the farmer, that it is often a 
hard matter to decide upon the crops to be grown. As a 
general rule, however, it is best to make some one thing 
a specialty—the one best adapted to the taste of the man 
and the circumstances with which he is surrounded, and 
let the other products of the farm cluster around it and 
play a secondary part. All cannot grow grain, neither 
can all be sheep raisers, or breeders of swine or cattle. 
We are not speaking against a mixed husbandry, but 
against a loose farming without system. 
The Death of M. B. Batehain, occurred 
at his residence; at Painesville, O.. on the 5th of August 
last. Mr. B. was at the time of his death, as he had 
bee» for many years. Secretary of the Ohio State Horti¬ 
cultural Society, and was one of the most widely known 
horticulturists of the country. He wrote frequently for 
the press, and if we mistake not at one time occupied au 
editorial position. We have no particulars of his death, 
the mere announcement of its occurrence having been 
sent by a member of the family. Mr. B. was an active 
member of the American Bornological Society, and the 
members of that body, as well as a large circle of other 
friends, will kindly remember him as a genial gentleman 
and an accomplished horticulturist of wide experience. 
Horses Feet.— Long exposure to wet and mud at 
this time of year frequently produces cracks and other 
troubles in horses feet. The prevention is in keeping the 
feet clean by frequent washing and wiping dry with a 
coarse cloth. A litt le crude petroleum applied to the feet 
before the horses are taken from the stable will help 
greatly in preventing them from becoming cracked. If 
the feet are already in bad shape they should be bandaged 
and the horse kept where it is dry. Cleanliness is the 
most effective prevention ol troubles with the horses feet. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
Correspondents are 
often surprised when 
we tell them that we 
know nothing of, or 
never before heard of, 
some party about whom 
they have inquired. Our 
friends have seen in far- 
ofl' country papers, 
flourishing advertise¬ 
ments, accompanied by 
pictures, representing what claims 
be the advertisers’ “ Empor¬ 
ium,” or “Manufactory,” or 
“ Hospital." as the case maybe, 
located somewhere in New York 
City. So great are the preten¬ 
sions of these advertisements, 
published at a distance, that it is not strange that those 
who do not know the facts of the case, think that the 
party must be, with such an immense establishment, a 
well-known and distinguished man. The “ doctor" who 
goes about the country as “ Doctor A.," from the “ Dis¬ 
pensary” or “ Hospital of Doctors A. & B.," or from some 
kind of a “ University,” will give a picture of the build¬ 
ing, and sometimes locate it by street and number. 
Other chaps, who advertise remarkable jewelry, some¬ 
times picture their store as an immense affair, and 
usually on a corner. If those who are attracted by these 
advertisements could accompany ns on a search for the 
place itself, they would be astonished to find the “Silver¬ 
ware Emporium,” or “Jewelry Bazar,” in a back room 
up several flights of stairs, in a dingy and obscure build¬ 
ing, while a ^search for a “Hospital” or “University” 
is quite lfkely to terminate in a fifth-rate hotel or cheap 
boarding-house, or wherever the advertiser can receive 
his letters. A large share of those who advertise so ex¬ 
tensively at a distance from the city are unknown in it. 
AN ILLUSTRATED PAPER 
claiming to be published in New York has been ad¬ 
vertised, especially in the Southern States, by means of 
show bills. Large posters 3\5 feet, filled wilh engrav¬ 
ings claiming to have appeared in the paper, have been 
put up in the country post-offices. The price of the 
paper was $1 a year, but the first ten subscribers from 
any post-office would be supplied for 40 cents each. One 
would suppose that such a discount would of itself excile 
suspicion, but it appears that a number of Post-masters 
sent their $4, but get no papers. As a consequence, 
letters of inquiry have begun to come to us. The cuts on 
the poster claimed to have been from last year’s issues, 
and it seemed strange that such a paper could have been 
issued for a whole year and we had seen or heard nothing 
about it. As its office was said to be 206 Broadway, we 
started out to make a neighborly call on such a flourish¬ 
ing contemporary. No. 206 Broadway turned out to be 
the large and elegant building of the venerable “ Even¬ 
ing Post"; inquiry of the janitor and the elevator man 
failing to give the whereabouts of the “Illustrated 
News,” we went to one of the proprietors, but with a 
like negative result. Many inquiries for the paper bad 
been made, but no such journal was located there—and 
probably not anywhere else_Now that the bogus stock 
brokerage, the “ put and call ” business has been so 
thoroughly broken up, the energies of the speculators 
must find other channels. Some parties have taken up 
persons will save their $2and let the scheme aloue.... 
A young man who thinks he has been defrauded by a 
“ BOOK AND BIBLE COMPANY ” 
wishes us, if we think the company is a swindling one, 
to publish his statement. His story is not sufficiently 
clear, but we can make out from it that he ordered books, 
not because he wanted them, but because they were 
apparently cheap, and when they came they had the name 
of the “ Company” pasted over that of the real publisher. 
If his experience teaches our correspondent and his 
friends to only buy such books as they need, and to 
get good, substantial editions, the lesson may not be a 
dear oue... .A number of inquiries have been made as to 
A ONE DOLLAR COOKING STOVE, 
for which the descriptive circulars make great claims, 
while they do not show at all clearly where the heat is to 
come from. One of our associates called to look at the 
stove, and rendered a written report of his investigations 
thus: “ A cheap frame of tin to set over any lamp. In 
fact, ‘cheap and nasty.’” ...There are few subjects 
about which people in general have less knowledge than 
they have of electricity, and it has consequently been 
easy for pretenders to turn it to account in various forms 
of swindling. In view of the new interest in the subject 
caused by the more or less successful attempts at lighting 
by electricity, it is notatall surprising that we should have 
A HUMBUG ELECTRIC LIGHT. 
Our attention was called to an advertisement of a 
Chicago dealer, which was made conspicuous by the en¬ 
graving here reproduced. The advertisement, after some 
remarks upon the electric light and its inventors, says: 
“But it remained for Mr. Krauss, of London, England, 
to accomplish the desired result. This cut accurately 
represents his wonderful lamp. It will produce instan¬ 
taneously an Electric Light of great steadiness and intense 
brilliancy ! Its action being automatic, it requires no at¬ 
tention, and will burn for hours, costing a trifle only. It 
is adjusted ready for immediate use, and is so simple a 
child can work it. Price, complete, only $1. Every 
lamp is warranted, and is imported.” The italics are 
the same as in the advertisement. Of course we knew 
that no lamp like that in the engraving could possibly be 
made that would of itself produce a brilliant light, and 
wishing to see “ the point ” of the swindle, we requested 
a friend in Chicago to invest $1 for us ia what the ad¬ 
vertisement properly calls 
A “ WONDERFUL LAMP.” 
The lamp came in due time, and consists of a glass 
shade upon a base, as shown in the engraving, with wires 
and carbon points within. The glass is 6 inches high, 2 
inches in diameter, and the parts are put together in the 
most rude and bungling manner. The fraud in this case 
consists in not telling the whole story. One unfamiliar 
with electrical matters would suppose from the adver¬ 
tisement, and its wording would warrant him in doing 
so, that the lamp was complete in itself. But after pur¬ 
chasing the lamp, he would learn from the circulars ac¬ 
companying it that he would be obliged to either pur¬ 
chase or make a battery in order to work it. The Eng¬ 
lish maker offers batteries ready made, and he kindly 
shows bow to make one from materials he has for sale. 
One of the circulars says: “Should it happen that any 
foolish individual has purchased the lamp with the idea 
that immediately he takes it 
from the box it will com¬ 
mence throwing out a bright 
light forever more, he will 
even now be enabled to cor¬ 
rect his mistake, and con¬ 
struct a battery, etc.” That 
is cool, indeed 1 The whole 
object of the advertisement 
is to convey the idea that the 
lamp is complete in itself, 
and then to call the person 
who gets deceived by it 
“foolish,” adds impudence 
to rascality. Thetliingclaims 
to be made by a “ Scientific 
Toy and General Novelty 
THE “ELECTRIC LIGHT.” Co.,” of London, and in enu¬ 
merating the various articles it deals in, among “ Me¬ 
chanical Models,” “ Parlor Fireworks,” etc., it offers 
“ Sundry Practical Jokes,” we judge that the electrical 
lamp comes under the head of “Practical Jokes.”_ 
There seems to be a strange lack of knowledge iu regal'd t« 
GAMBLING ON THE PRICE OF COTTON, 
MEDICAL MATTERS. 
and have sent out their circulars, especially to residents 
of the Southern States. The story is too long and too 
complicated to give here, but one by paying the chap at 
headquarters (he has no office, only a post-office number), 
the sum of $ 2 , one can fill out a blank directing the pur¬ 
chase of “a fractional part of one hundred bales of 
cotton, to be settled for according to the average price 
for September.” The account is very wordy, but it all 
means betting upon the price of cotton, and all prudent 
For example, a correspondent in Nebraska inquires 
about a “Doctor” who “guarantees to cure epilepsy," 
asking if he is “reliable,” etc. If our friend, evidently 
a man of intelligence, would think of the matter a min¬ 
ute he could answer the question himself. The very fact 
that the chap “guarantees to cure” anything, shows him 
to be a quack to be avoided. A regularly educated and 
conscientious physician has no such assurance— ho 
knows that he can not “warrant” a cure in any case; at 
