104 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
What the Humbugs are Doing. 
That “Japanese TVJieat” Swindle. 
Abundant evidence lias been received of the 
necessity of our article exposing this humbug, 
(see February Agriculturist , page 38.) A great 
number of persons have already written that 
the caution was just in time to save their dol¬ 
lars. The circulars appeared so plausible, and 
the seed so wonderful, that though many feared 
a cat in the meal-bag, (or seed-bag,) yet they 
were disposed to venture a dollar in hopes that 
there might be something in it, at least. The 
Agriculturist now goes to nearly five out of six 
of all the Post Offices in the States, Territories, 
and Canadas. When, by advertising, by the of¬ 
fer of premiums, etc., we can push one or more 
copies into every neighborhood, we hope to be 
able, by timely warnings, to circumvent seed 
swindlers at least; though it is next to impossi¬ 
ble to keep up with the operators. A few 
shrewd rascals, one or more of whom are be¬ 
hind the scenes in all these swindling operations, 
are continually turning up in some new enter¬ 
prise under a new name, and they will continue 
to do so until their ardor is checked by a diet of 
bread and water, within stone walls. 
The Humbug upon Editors 
proves to have been more extensive than we had 
even supposed, as is shown by an increasing 
number of letters of inquiry from various parts 
of the country. One editor writes us, that by 
various “failures” and other subterfuges, such 
as the plea of hard times, etc., he has been 
cheated out of more than half of the promised 
pay for all the advertising he has done during 
two years past. (From the character of the ad¬ 
vertisements he has published, we can hardly 
pity him—we do pity his readers.) A few days 
ago an editor came here to buy printing mate¬ 
rials with the avails of large advertising bills 
and notes for advertising, which he fully ex¬ 
pected to collect. Instead of buying type, etc., 
he actually had to borrow money to get home 
with. We hope he will take the hint from this, 
and return us the money borrowed, though we 
let it go partly as an act of charity —hardly 
hoping to get it again. ( N.. B. All! After this 
notice, we shall have no more money to loan or 
give away in any such case. If any one comes 
with $500 worth of advertising bills to collect, 
let him bring money enough to get home with.) 
We will only add, that we have discovered at 
least two other advertising concerns, which ap¬ 
pear to be of the same character as the one 
described last month, page 72. 
Tlie “ Hard Times ” Jewelry Dodge. 
Only yesterday we overheard one lady telling 
another, in the cars, how cheaply she had just 
bought several coveted articles of jewelry. She 
Baid: “A large house in New-York, to avoid 
failure, on account of the 1 hard times,’ had sent 
out a man to her village to sell off a lot of valu¬ 
able articles for what he could get, and he was 
disposing of them at one quarter their value.” 
Etiquette did not allow us to say anything, but 
if that lady sees this, she will learn that the 
“ five dollar article ” which she bought for $1, is 
gilded (galvanized) brass, or “oreide”—manufac¬ 
tured at a cost of 17 cents! And this leads us 
to say that, just now, there are several scores 
of bogus jewelry concerns in this city, and they 
are turning up in almost every large town and 
small village throughout the country—under the 
“ Hard Times ” cloak. When one of them 
opens a temporary “branch of a Ncw-York 
House ” in your town, better pass by on the 
other side. All is not gold that glitters. Inge¬ 
niously colored glass is not precious stones or 
pearls. Gold is always worth its weight in 
coin, and more, when manufactured. Nobody 
sells $5 worth of gold manufactured, for $1 in 
coin. (See December Agriculturist , page, 357.) 
“Hard Times” Tree Sellers. 
We hear that several tree sellers are abroad, 
claiming to be “agents” of some of our lead¬ 
ing nursery establishments, and offering to con¬ 
tract to deliver trees at half price and less, on 
the plea that owing to “ hard times,” the pro¬ 
prietors are willing to supply stock at any price, 
“ for just this Spring.” We believe all reliable 
dealers are willing to fiftnish trees and plants at 
fair and even moderate rates—but when a ped¬ 
dler offers trees at less than it would cost to 
take them up and pack them well —they will be 
of a kind very costly even if given to you. 
There are some trustworthy agents of reliable 
nursery establishments; but the safer way is to 
send or go and get trees direct from the nur¬ 
series themselves. There is then a party having 
a local habitation and name, responsible for the 
quality of the trees, and the genuineness of the 
varieties purchased. If purchasing of traveling 
agents, it should be only on condition (in writ¬ 
ing) that the proprietors themselves guaranty 
the trees actually delivered, and that too in 
writing. 
“ Rats.” 
“ Rat- Charming—Japanese Mode of Charming or 
Bewitching Bats, etc., etc., etc., etc." 
The above is advertised extensively just ntw, 
the whole secret being promised for 50 cents by 
one man, and for $1 by another man; and pret¬ 
ty soon somebody will offer it for 25 cents. If 
anybody invests any one of these sums in it, he 
will be a bigger fool than we are. We did in¬ 
vest 50 cents, but with our eyes open, and just 
to be able to positively pronounce it a humbug ! 
Here is the substance of one of the “ secrets:” 
Tie a string to a red herring; put on rubber 
shoes; trail the herring around the room or 
field nightly for a week or so; and the rats will, 
bye and bye, get familiar, and follow you into a 
bag, or any where you wish to take them! 
There now, hand ms over the 50 cents ! 
Lime—Sundry Experiences. 
We asked for experience with lime, expecting 
a dozen replies or so, as farmers can seldom be 
induced to write. The result is—a small cart¬ 
load of long letters. This is well, for every man 
that has written has been set to thinking and 
observing more carefully, and so the writers at 
least have been benefited, if we do not use a 
tithe of then - letters. But what shall we do with 
these letters—they would fill three papers ? We 
will take them up as they come, and extract a 
little of the pith—some here, and more hereafter: 
Jacob Hall, Stark Co., Ohio, has used lime 
15 years. Soil dry upland, yellow loam, lime¬ 
stone land, with clay in low places. Cost of 
lime, delivered, 6 cents per bushel. He applies 
it air-slaked, because more pleasant to handle, 
and he thinks it holds out longer, though not so 
effective on the first crop as if water slaked, ex¬ 
cept when applied to grass. Uses 60 to 75 
bushels per acre, once in from nine to ten 
years, spreading it from a wagon, on the new 
plowed ground just before sowing wheat or 
planting com, working it in with a cultivator 
harrow. Finds it most beneficial to grass, and 
next, to corn. Applied alone to exhausted land, 
it has little effect upon the first crop of wheat 
following; but if clover and timothy seed be 
sown in Spring, the increased yield of first crop 
of grass pays for lime.— Example : Ten acres of 
a 12-acre field was limed ten years ago, anu the 
whole field has been treated alike both before 
and since. At this time a clover crop shows 
exactly where the lime was applied; the young 
clover takes better, grows larger, and yields 
much heavier than on the 2 acres not limed. By 
turning in clover, lime improves land. Lime 
will make clover grow on our poorest soils, and 
plowing in the clover improves the soil, so that 
“ lime without manure ” does not “ always 
make the farmer poor.” 
“ Chester County,” Pa., has used lime 25 
years, on rolling land, made thoroughly dry by 
drainage when not naturally so; soil, light 
loam, inclined to gravel. Cost of lime 19 to 19| 
cents per bushel. He applies about 50 bushels 
per acre once in 9 years; air slakes and spreads 
with a shovel from the cart. He hauls from the 
kiln in Spring and early Summer, putting it into 
heaps 2 to 2j feet high, where it lies until Au¬ 
tumn, when it is spread on wheat stubble. He 
applies it to the ground before sowing oats, and 
on the stubble of corn land after cutting; 
thinks it keeps corn back in the Fall, if put on 
the sod in Spring before planting. 
Samuel S. Thompson, Salem Co., N. J., has 
used lime 20 years on light loam, wet and dry; 
costs 7 cents per bushel 3 miles distant; applies 
30 to 40 bushels per acre, at each planting of 
corn, or once in 4 or 5 years; spreads it on the 
soil in Autumn, and plows it under in Spring, 
planting on the inverted sod. He follows com 
with oats; then fallows and sows to wheat, seed¬ 
ing w T ell with grass—mostly clover. He esteems 
clover and lime by far the cheapest mode of 
improving his land. A field of 14 acres, that 13 
years ago would not yield 100 bushels of wheat, 
has, by the use of clover and lime only, been so 
improved that last year it yielded 420 bush¬ 
els, or 30 bushels per acre. He has tried shell 
lime with good effect; thinks it acts quicker 
than stone lime, but that it is not so permanent. 
He has known several cases where corn has 
been injured by too free use of lime without 
enough manure or other vegetable matter. 
S. Utter, Milford Co., Pa., has used lime 11 
years; finds it cheap at 12 cts. a bushel, un¬ 
slaked ; applies much more on heavy than on 
light soils; it always brings good clover, and 
restores wheat land to productiveness. He 
spreads it fine slaked and dry, from a wagon, 
on the plowed ground, harrows it over, sows 
on seed, and harrows again thoroughly. He 
finds lime to pay two-fold at least. 
Thomas Burt, sen., Hillsdale Co., Mich., takes 
lime fresh from the kiln, deposits it in heaps of 
a peck each, around the field, and covers it with 
4 or 5 inches of earth. This is done on wheat 
land two weeks before sowing. As soon as the 
lime is slaked, each heap is thoroughly mixed 
with 5 or 6 wheelbarrow loads of earth, finished 
up nicely in conical heaps, and left until ready 
to sow the grain, when it is spread and plowed 
under. A heavy rain, however, should it come, 
makes a mortar of the lime, and materially in¬ 
jures the process. 
A. Mordorf, Cumberland Co., Pa., bought 16i 
acres of worn out land 15 years ago, “ all covered 
with chamomile and wild flax.” Ten years ago 
he began using lime; has used 2200 bushels, and 
all the manure he could make, sowing plenty of 
timothy and clover to plow in. The wild flax 
has disappeared, and the land now yields excel¬ 
lent crops. 
(To be continued.) 
