1884 .] 
131 
AMElllCAlN AGRIC a.LTQRl^A 
Whoever engages in a contest with Uncle Sam is sure 
to come out second best, in the long run. Some parties 
eoncerned in lotteries in New’ Orleans, recently brought 
a suit against the Postmaster in that city. Finding that 
this official would not deliver their letters, they had 
them directed to the care of a Bank. The suit was 
brought to compel the delivery of all letters addressed 
to the Bank, without regard to whom that institution 
might transfer them. In the trial, some technical point 
was decided in favor of the lottery people. Forthwith 
it was telegraphed from one end of the country to the 
other, that Uncle Sam had been beaten in his own court. 
It is the worst victory the lottery chaps ever gained, as 
it only serves to indicate the weak points in the present 
law governing the use of the mails by lottery and other 
swindlers, and to sliow where amendment is needed. If 
they think that Uncle Sam will give up, just because a 
few skirmishers have been driven in, they do not know 
the old gentleman as represented by “ Congress Assem¬ 
bled.'’ The present Postmaster . General is known to 
be very much in earnest in excluding frauds from the 
mails, especially the lotteries, and will rigidly enforce 
whatever laws Congress may pass. The Senate Com¬ 
mittee on “ Post Offices and Post-Roads ” are reported 
to be in favor of laws for restricting the use of the 
mails, much more stringent than those at present in 
force, and it is likely that lottery dealers w’ill find more 
obstacles than ever. It is said that a law will be reported 
to exclude from the mails, not only the letters, etc., of 
lottery men, but to prevent the delivery of all news¬ 
papers containing advertisements of lotteries! That 
would be a severe blow, but when men undertake to 
fight Uncle Sam, they must expect to t.ike as well as 
give hard knocks. 
A JlSaiilitci-. 
A paper in Cincimi.ati proposes to set aside one-half 
its current receipts from subscriptions as a “ Suliscrib- 
ers Loan Fund.” As often as five thousand dollars ac¬ 
cumulates it will be divided in loans of one hundred and 
five hundred dollars, among “ selected subscribers,” 
who by signing a note and paying four per cent, interest 
yearly in advance, can keep the amount as a perpetual 
loan. It is not stated how the subscribers who are to re¬ 
ceive the loans are to be “selected,” but it is consoling 
to be told “ no subscriber is obliged to accept a loan.” 
After tSie S5,oya,l Aew ISrsisiswiclf. 
Those persecuted lottery people wlio fled from the 
tyranny of the laws of the United States, and left tlie ge¬ 
nial climate of Kentucky and exiled themselves to bleak 
New Brunswick, arc likely to fare no better with the 
British Lion than they did witli the American Eagle. A 
correspondent informs us that a bill is to be introduced 
in tlie Dominion Parliament to enable the Post-office au¬ 
thorities to take possession of all correspondence ad¬ 
dressed or mailed to or from the Royal New Brunswick 
Lottery office at St. Steplien, or any similar concern.” 
Alas, the tyranny of these “effete monarchies.” 
Electricity, in its various forms, including galvanism, 
magnetism, etc., is so little understood that wlicn great 
curative powers are claimed for various belts, garments, 
insoles and other appliances, including so-called “ bat¬ 
teries,” to lie worn next to tlie skin, many arc ready to 
believe them. As a rule tliese appliances make a great 
show of metals, but tlu-y are only for show ; so far as we 
have seen tliem they can produce no current of electricity, 
being mere “closed circuits.” The latest article of tills 
kind is not a belt, but a “ girdle,” wliicli is offered as “ a 
positive and unfailing cure” for numerous diseases. 
This girdle, which is claimed to be “one of the greatest 
inventions of tlie present marvellous age,” is thus de¬ 
scribed by a subscriber in Ohio, who says: “It is a 
cheap cloth strap, two and a h.alf feet long and an inch 
and a quarter wide, with ten copper and zinc washers. 
the size of a cent, attached: a mere toy concern, which 
could be manufactured for from three to five cents, and 
postage on the same is two cents.”—The venders of the 
girdle propose to send it on trial, on the receipt of forty- 
six cents postage, provided those who receive it will 
recommend it to their friends and neighbors. 
4'aiiie to B.iast. 
Several months ago the country was flooded with the 
circulars of Flemming & Merriam, of Chicago, who pro¬ 
fessed to have great facilities for speculating in grain 
and provisions, and asked for investments. We at the 
time advised our readers to let them alone. We did this 
on general principles, asllieir ofl’ers promised altogether 
too much. On January T4tli last the members of this 
firm were convicted in the United States District Court 
of carrying on an extensive grain swindle, and each was 
sentenced to pay a fine of five hundred dollars and to 
twelvemonths’ imprisonment in the county jail. 
Alt lnd.is'»sint S^arciit, 
Is a prominent citizen of Red Rock, N. Y., wlio sends 
us circulars, that came addressed to one of his children, 
only twelve years of age. He says: “They are vile 
things, as you will see by examination.”—These cir¬ 
culars refer to works which are either utterly useless, or 
absolutely pernicious, and ought never to be published. 
This, and other cases that frequently come to our knowl¬ 
edge, show liow important it is that parents should 
know the character of the matter sent to tlicir children 
by mail. The circulars to which wo refer are issued by a 
concern that is able to give good business references, 
and their advertisements, the real character of which is 
concealed, are admitted into respectable journals. 
A oil S*ayMn-iit of Kxpress 
CBisii’S'es. 
Not long ago a well-dressed, plausible individual called 
at an educational institution not far from Philadelphia, 
and advised the officers thereof that a benevolent old lady 
was desirous of making the school a present. She had 
numerous valuable coins, various antiquities, and inter¬ 
esting relics, which she wished to bestow where they 
would be appreciated. Those articles would be sent at 
once upon the payment of the express charges. The 
officers of the school for some reason did not accept the 
proposition, but it was afterwards learned that other par¬ 
ties had advaticed the “express charges” to a large 
amount iti the aggregate, and are still waiting for tlie 
valuable gifts from the benevolent old lady. This is an 
old dodge revived, and in tlie present cases worked as 
well as if it were new. 
“ ICtrsilBino AraiB, fBic BSiiitioo Ocsii- 
Circulars claiming that a drug with the above oriental 
name “ relieves deafness in twenty four hours and cures 
in from two to five weeks,” and assertitig that “ U is a 
true sjKCiflc for deafness as quinine is for malaria, btit 
many times more certain in its efi’ects,” liave been sent 
us for our opinion. Without refereticc to tlie value of 
the drug itself, the assertions in these circulars are likely 
to lead to miicli di.sappointment. They assume that 
deafness is a disease, while it may result from a variety 
of causes, and in many cases from the destruction of a 
portion of the hearing apparatus, is absolutely incitrable- 
Before treating deafness one should ascertain its cause, 
and if, as often happens after scarlet fever and other se¬ 
vere diseases, tlie car-drum is obliterated, all medication 
will be in vain. That any drug can be a “ specific” in 
deafness is simply absurd. 
A 'Free B8Bvig'ora.t«i*. 
A correspondent in Livingston Co., N. Y.. sends ns a 
circular headed, “A Revolution in Fruit Culture,” which 
is to be brought about by the use of “ A Fruit Tree In- 
vigorator.'’ The compound is to be applied by boring 
a hole in the trunk of the tree, filling it with the “ In- 
vigorator,'’ and closing the hole tight with grafting wax, 
or a cork. It is claimed for the compound that: “It so 
changes the flavor of the sap in the leaves and bark, that 
the aphis, that infest the tree, are unable to subsist on 
the leaves, and are therefore driven off. leaving the t"ee 
unmolested to bring forth its blossom and mature its 
fruit.” Our correspondent asks us, if this “ method of 
applying a fertilizer to fruit trees is a new discovery.” 
The claim that trees can be medic.nted by introducing 
substances into their trunks, is an old one; that it ever 
had any useful application wo doubt. If a wound is 
made in a tree, an effort will be made to heal it. If a 
foreign substance is-introduced, it will in time be cover ¬ 
ed up by a growlh of wood. That any useful results- 
can follow the introduction of an " invigorator,” or any 
other substance, into a trunk of a tree, we have no¬ 
proof. It is as unnatural a method of feeding a tree, as 
it would be to attempt to nourish a man by the intro¬ 
duction of food into his leg. 
Tlie Kii«l of E. fl». Tifliiny & Eo. 
The .above-n.amcd firm, in Fulton Street, New Yoik 
City, had for a long time been advertising fire-arms, 
watches, jewelry, and various other articles, to be sold 
at exceedingly low prices, and orders were sent from all 
parts of the country by mail. The Superintendent of 
Police received many letters from country people, to thc- 
effect that Tiffany & Co. had swindled tliem out of small 
sums by not filling their orders, or by sending articles of 
little value. These complaints were so numerous that 
the Superintendent sent detectives to the store to m.akc 
inquiry; they were informed that so m.any orders were 
received that it was impossible to fill them promptly, 
but that every one who had sent money would receive tin- 
articles ordered. Soon after, the Superintendent was in¬ 
formed that E. P. Tifl'any & Co. had sold out their busi¬ 
ness to J. A. Smith, they stating that the back order.s 
would amount to twenty-five hundred dollars, w'.'.ich he. 
Smith, assumed. An examination showed that Tiffany 
& Co. had received orders for .about fifteen thousand 
dollars, had taken the money, and left the State. This'- 
caiised Smith to make an assignment. The .assignee 
s.ays that the assets amount to between seven and 
eight hundred dollars, against which tliere is a iire- 
ferred claim of si,x hundred dollars, and “ tlie balance- 
after deducting expenses, will be distributed pro rata.” 
According to the Superintendent nothing can be done 
on behalf of those who have sent money to the firm, un¬ 
less they can institute a suit and obtain a warrant. Rath¬ 
er than do this, they liad better pocket the loss. 
Cautionary Signals. 
Pei'iticioai!^ BSooSc^. 
There is a whole class of literature, about which de¬ 
cent and educated people know nothing. These books- 
need not be obscene tthoiigli they sometimes are), to be- 
pernicious, but are useless, trashy stuff, that finds its- 
readers among young boys, servants, and people ignorant 
enough to have dream books and such works. A chap in 
Brooklyn offers a book called “ Gold and Silver, and How 
to Make It.” Wearetold: “It is a new science, enabling- 
every one to coin their own gold and silver.” We hope its 
science is better than the grammar. The reader is thus 
advised to try it. “ Give up that work which pays so 
little, for by this process you can coin more money in 
one day, than you could make in years at your work." 
Yet this wonderful book can be had for only ten cents, 
and what is more, if the purchaser is not satisfied, he 
can “ trade back” — return the book and get-his dime. 
Surely such trash as this should be excluded from the- 
mails. Another, also in a neighboring city, has a long 
catalogue, which includes works of 
CuoicE Romance, Fiction and Adventure. 
These, to judge from their titles, are the books which 
turn school boys into young ruffians and criminals. 
Among others are “ The Peep O'Day Boys: or,'Wild 
Life on the Mountains ” : “ Clerk Barton’s Crime, or the 
Adventures of a Night,” and more of like stripe. The- 
same catalogue offers “ The Book of Nature,” the an¬ 
nouncement of which states that the hook “ is not in¬ 
tended for promiscuous reading,” and we might add, 
or for any other. “ Love Making Secrets,” is the title of 
another volume in this set of miserable trash. 
i’of SI I%'siiii<‘.—S. Liken, Liberty 
Co., Tex., sends us a specimen, and asks if it is not Ber- 
muda-Grass. There are only stems and leaves, and 
one can not be sure about a grass unless it has flowers. 
Still upon compaiing it ivith specimens in our herbarium, 
we have little doubt that it is not Bermuda, but Buffalo- 
grass (Buchloii dactyloides). It has hmg, wiry, prostrate 
stems, a foot or more in length, which at intervals of a 
few inches, send up a tuft of leaves not more than six 
inches high. It spreads over the ground, and covers it 
with a dense mat of foliage, which is the principal food 
of the Bufl'alo. Mr. L. asks its agricultural value. That 
is a point which he can decide, as it has not to our 
knowledge been tested. The fact that the foliage is so- 
short, makes it doubtful if it can bo cultivated for hay. 
Its value for pasturage should be tested. Buffalo-grass 
is one of the few grasses that have staminate and pistil¬ 
late flowers on different plants. In this, the two flowers- 
are so strikingly unlike, that both forms have been de¬ 
scribed as distinct species. 
