1884 .] 
AMEEIOAI^ AaRIOULTUEIST. 
2Y3 
Furnitni'e and Picture Auctions, 
flre very frequently swindles. The sale of the effects of ‘ a 
family breaking up liousc-keepiug, ’ often continues for 
months. The stranger in the city should avoid all such 
auctions. If he enters the place, he will find a gang of 
confederates ready to aid the auctioneer in making it ap¬ 
pear that he has bid a high price for their worthless stuff. 
One who is entrapped in such a place, should at once go, 
if he has to fight his way out, to the nearest police sta¬ 
tion and enter his complaint. 
Stock-Kaising- in 'I’exas. 
The ranchero who charged a dollar for what he called 
a “general description” of his spotted ponies, which 
did not describe anything, now proposes to teach “ Stock 
Raising in Texas.” Those who wish to know “ terms 
and contract of just what we will do,” can ascertain by 
sending, as before, one dollar. If young men wish to go 
to Texas, we advise them not to commit themselves to 
this man in advance, unless he gives satisfactory refer¬ 
ence. Unlike the regular Texan, this recent comer from 
Ohio is rather sharp after a dollar. Will some one who 
has been at this ranch give us his experience? 
Free Recipes at RocUester. 
New York and Brooklyn have heretofore been regarded 
as the headquarters of those who work the “ free recipe ” 
swindle, but now, W. A. Noyes, of Rochester, N. Y., has a 
formulafrom “an EastIndiaMissionary.” He, like all the 
rest, “feltit his duty to make it known to his suflering 
fellows.” J. Dwyer, Knox Co., Mo., writes us on behalf 
of a neighbor, who is taking the stuff sent him, and does 
not improve, asking what we know of the recipe chap. 
We know just what you know. He advertised to send 
the recipe free of charge. The recipe, when it came, was 
of no use, as the stuff was prescribed under names that 
were unknown to druggists. Noyes knew this, and pro¬ 
posed to furnish the stufi' himself. Your neighbor paid 
five dollars for syme kind of roots—no one knows what. 
There was an Intentional fraud at the outset—is it likely 
that the rest of the transaction will be honest ? 
Martin Meyer and Iiis Aottery, 
It is a long time since we heard of Martin Meyer, Juu., 
and his “Lottery of the City of Hamburg,” (Germany), 
but he now is annoying our subscribers in Iowa, and 
other Western States, with his veiy voluminous circulars. 
We are told that this lottery was established more than a 
century ago. “ Of little importance in the beginning, it 
has insensibly grown year after year, to such magnitude 
that its tickets are spread all over the civilisated world.” 
It must be a comfort to those who draw blanks, to know 
that their tickets all bear the arms of the “ Free City of 
Hamburg.” Meyer sends a “Promissory note,” in which 
he agrees upon the receipt of the money, to send the 
tickets—which is very kind of him. We believe in the 
encouragement of domestic manufacturers, and even in 
such nuisances as lotteries, do not think that the foreign 
product should have any advantages over the home¬ 
made. Under the working of our present laws, the City 
of Hamburg can carry on the lottery business among us, 
while the City of New Orleans is shut out of the mails. 
Still the law is a good one, until a better can be provided. 
The Tarioiis “ Oraplis.’* 
There is much that seems dubious among the“Arto-” 
“Color-” “Pearlo-” and various other” graph” operators, 
who offer great inducements to persons, especially ladies, 
to color photo-graphs for them. They each warn people 
agalnstall the others, and as we have had complaints of 
all of them, we last month, in order to get at the true his¬ 
tory of the matter, asked for the experience of “ our lady 
readers.” The very first response came from a gentle¬ 
man, a clergyman in Rhode Island, who for obvious rea¬ 
sons does not wish his name published. Wishing to do 
something to help out bis meagre salary, he replied to 
the advertisement of one of the Philadelphia concerns, 
sending a dollar. He says: “ I received circulars giving 
instructions bow to color pictures, but so bliud, that no 
one could hope to succeed. The real object is, not to 
sell paints and materials, but to get a dollar for a ‘ Book 
of Instructions,’ and the same is utterly worthless.” He 
adds: “I read it over three or four times, to try to make 
sense or reason of it, and failing, gave it up. I am quite 
satisfied that no one could color the pictures so as to be 
accepted and paid for by the ‘ Co.’ ” Next I 
“Tlie Oreatest MiniHS) Enterprise 
in tUe Woj'Id.” 
The above is the unassuming title that modestly heads 
a prospectus before us. It goes on thus: “See what 
great veins of gold, silver, copper, and lead the Atlantic- 
Pacific Tunnel is being steadily driven into,” and all this 
in fancy type and displayed lines. What follows is rich 
reading. This Tunnel, the precise location of which is 
carefully not given, goes right square through the Rocky 
Mountains and taps below those veins which miners 
have been working with so much labor from above. 
Here there is nothing to do but shovel out the ore—and 
such ore 1 Here’s richness 1 The reading of the accounts 
of the few fortunate persons who have visited this Tun¬ 
nel is fascinating. When the mine gets fairly at work, 
the out-put is expected to be one hundred thousand dol¬ 
lars per day I We can only say, that while three thousand 
five hundred and seventj'-eight persons hold shares, only 
about half are taken. The rest maybe purchased of— 
but these are not advertising columns. Such schemes 
as this can only affect those fond of speculation, and 
who can usually stand a loss without being distressed. 
But how can there be loss with one hundred thousand 
dollars a day f 
^kVoiiderltil Frail; Trees for Farm¬ 
ers. 
A Subscriber, Washington, Kansas, writes us that tree 
agents are canvassing his county. They represent, as 
they say, great nurseries, are on a salary, and therefore 
bound to go according to instructions, and always do right. 
They claim the nursery company has many millions in 
the business, and cannot afibrd to mislead, etc. These 
agents have fruit in alcohol, elegantly colored plates, and 
photographs of wonderful plants. They warrant apple 
trees to produce fruit in two years, and show how this 
can be, as follows: “ They bud on Russian crab stock 
two years old, with buds from bearing trees. The crab 
produces fruit at three years, and if the buds are from 
bearing trees, they must produce fruit in two years after 
budding.” The agents also state that the peach is 
budded upon plum stock, and the trees are never effected 
with borers or “blight,” and fruit every year. By cutting 
back two-thirds of the growth every year, and leaving 
only buds on the underside, a beautiful drooping top may 
be formed. This “ weeping ” condition of the peach is 
shown by a photograph of a tree grown at the nurseries. 
Those men are taking a great many orders for these won¬ 
derful trees at fabulous prices. Thus the sharks prey on 
the honest farmers in Kansas. 
How many times have we cautioned farmers and others 
not to invest largely in new and remarkable fruit trees, 
on the strength of smooth talk, and highly colored 
pictures. 
Newspapers witli an Annex. 
It is coming in fashion for journals and magazines of 
various kinds to have an attachment or annex of some 
kind. This at one time took the form of a lottery, but 
in spite of the fact that it was called a “ Distribution,” 
or by some other name, it brought the publishers to 
grief when they were deprived of the use of the mails. 
As there are difliculties in the way of running an annex 
in the form of a lottery, there are indications that it will 
in future assume the form of 
A BAKK OR A LOAK OFFICE. 
A few months ago, we mentioned the scheme of a 
Cincinnati publisher, who proposed to set aside a share 
of its receipts, to form a fund to be distributed in loans 
among the subscribers to the periodical. The Cincin¬ 
nati publisher is not alone in having a banking attach¬ 
ment to his publication. A competitor has appeared in the 
“INTEEIOR DOLLAR MAGAZINE.” 
Like the prospectus of the other, the circular of this 
shows by plain figures, that but one thing is needed to 
make publishing very profitable to the publishers, and 
allow them to aid their subscribers by making them 
loans in amounts of one hundred to five hundred dollars 
—that one thing is a subscription list of some hundreds 
of thousands of subscribers. This scheme, which is set 
forth by the “ Michigan Loan and Publishing Co.,” with 
its headquarters at Charlotte, Mich., reads so much like 
that from Cincinnati, and uses illustrations and figures 
so nearly like those in the other, as to suggest that both 
had one origin. This more recent affair has the advan¬ 
tage over the older one, as it offers its loans at three per 
cent interest instead of four. In looking through this 
prospectus, we have not been able to learn how often the 
“ Interior Dollar Magazine ” is published, what is its 
scope, or who are its writers. Indeed, there is an entire 
absence of names in the pamphlet, which shows won¬ 
derful modesty on the part of those who propose to rev¬ 
olutionize the publishing business. 
Mr. Hart’s Experience witli “ Mag;- 
iietic Appliances,'” 
Mr. S. N. Hart, of Southington, Conn., writes us, that 
in December last he received from a concern in Boston, 
Mass., “a belt and insoles. Their circular says: ‘ Bear 
in mind, we guarantee a cure, and will cheerfully refund 
the amount paid when they fail doing all that is claimed 
after reasonable trial.’ On Nov. 13th, they wrote me: 
' Yes, we will guarantee a cure, or take pleasure in re¬ 
funding the money.’ On Nov. 19th they wrote me: ‘We 
guarantee to effect a cure, or refund the money.’ 
On Dec. 4th I commenced wearing the belt and insoles, 
and used them faithfully for ninety-nine days. Neither 
my wife nor myself were able to see the least advantage 
from their use, and on March 5th I w'roto them to refund 
the money (ten dollars). March 12th I mailed them 
another letter, stating that I should send a sight draft. 
I returned the belt and insoles on Jlarch 12th, and can 
truthfully say that I have had no reason since to think 
that they ever did me a cent’s worth of good. The draft 
was returned, marked ‘refused.’”—We have examined 
numerous so-called “Magnetic,” “ Galvanic,” and “Elec¬ 
tro-magnetic ” appliances, and though some make a great 
display of “hardware,” we have never yet seen one 
that could produce any electric, galvanic, or electro¬ 
magnetic curative influence. Any form of electricity to 
produce any effect, must pass through the diseased por¬ 
tion of the body and act on the nerves. None ,of those 
we have seen do anything of the kind. The appliances 
we have seen consist of 
DISKS OF COPPER AND ZINC, OR OTHER METALS, 
riveted to Indian rubber cloth. That they have some¬ 
times been useful, we do not doubt, as a strip of rubber 
cloth applied closely to the skin is often very beneficial 
in rheumatic and other affections, and probably none 
the less so, if it has some metal disks attached. Very 
likely the alleged curative powers claimed for the vari¬ 
ous “ appliances,” is due to the cloth and not to the 
metals attached to it, which may serve as ornaments, 
and aid the imagination of the patient, as they look 
“ scientific.” As to our correspondent’s failure to get 
his money back, what can he expect from one who will 
propose the impossible—“ guarantee to effect a cure ” ? 
We commend Mr. Hurt’s example to others. He has a 
charge to make, and makes it boldly, without adding, 
“ please do not use my name.” We can understand why, 
in many cases, persons should not wish to have their 
names appear, but in instances like the above, where 
there is a direct failure to comply with an agreement, 
and there is nothing of a delicate nature involved, cor¬ 
respondents should be willing that their names be given. 
A warning substantiated by a name and address, has far 
more influence than when initials only are published. 
Still, where our correspondents indicate a desire to avoid 
publicity, their wishes are respected. 
Fvaud at tUe Rreakfast Table. 
To the average American, coffee is as essential to a 
good breakfast, as is tea to the Englishman. The frauds 
practised by the makers of ground coffee, are many and 
well known. These may bo readily avoided by the pur¬ 
chase of coffee that is not ground. It has been supposed 
that one who purchased the raw bean, and roasted and 
ground it himself, would have pure coffee. While this 
course avoids one set of adulterations, those which arc 
only possible with ground coffee, it may bo but a change 
of evils. While raw coffee is fi'oe from adulteration in 
the proper sense of the term—the adding of a cheaper ar¬ 
ticle to reduce its cost to the seller, the purchaser may 
fall upon what is still worse—poisoned raw coffee. It 
has recently been discovered by the officers of the Board 
of Health of New York City, that Maracaibo, Rio, and 
other cheap coffees, are manipulated and colored in their 
unroasted state, to make them resemble in appearance 
and color, the “Old Government Java,” and that in the 
process there are used various coloring materials which 
are of a poisonous nature, and which one would not, even 
in small quantities, willingly take into his system. 
Among the coloring matters are some, which, like umber, 
Venetian red, lamp-black, soapstone, etc., are no more 
harmful than the same quantity of any other kind of dirt. 
On the other hand, there are employed compounds of 
arsenic and lead, which one would not care to take with 
his coffee in even minute quantities, besides the prussiate 
of potash and other chemicals not usually regarded as 
essential to a good breakfast. The cheap coffees are 
green, and the surface has a dull appearance, while Java 
coffee has a yellow color, and the surface of the bean is 
