1877.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
7 
“Proceedings” remain as a lasting record of his pains¬ 
taking industry. Personally, Mr. Bragdon was one of 
the most positive of men ; as one writer aptly expresses 
it, “ he did his own thinking.” He was one of the most 
-out-spoken of men, and an opponent had never any doubt 
as to his position; on the other hand he was one of the 
most devoted of friends, a large circle of whom will miss 
his genial presence, and when they mourn, what seems 
his untimely departure, mil think with pleasure upon 
his brilliant talents and his winning ways. 
The Death of .9. 16. Root, oi’Rock- 
ford, Ill.— A circular received about the middle of last 
month informs us of the death of Mr. Root, after a short 
illness, but gives neither the date of his death or other 
particulars. Mr. R. was one of the leading market gar¬ 
deners and seed-growers of the West, and was the 
author of a very useful " Garden Manual.” He was an 
■occasional contributor on gardening matters to our col¬ 
umns. His writings are of an eminently practical char¬ 
acter, and show great fertility of expedient, and we are 
informed by those who have visited his gardens that they 
■were managed with skill and showed the most careful 
■culture. Such a man is a los3 not only to his own State, 
but to the whole country. 
The Uses of Asl»estos. — Mr. H. W. 
•Johns, besides using asbestos in his roofing, has recently 
perfected a paint in which asbestos is largely employed, 
to protect wood-work of all kinds from ordinary exposure 
to fire. He also works it into a covering for steam and 
hot air pipes, which prevent all danger to wood-work 
from these, and at the same time, by preventing the 
waste of heat, make a saving in fuel. 
Tost Tetters.—Who is to ISlame ?— 
The Dead Letter Office not long ago made out an esti¬ 
mate that one letter in every 75, is defective in date, or 
direction, or signature, or sealing. We, in common with 
others, often receive letters of this class. Letters come 
with considerable sums of money, entirely unsealed— an 
invitation to anybody to help themselves to the contents. 
Others contain an order with money, but lacking either 
name of place or signature, or both. In such cases they 
must be held until the writer sends a second letter, 
“ blowing up ” the Publishers or the P. O. Department. 
In one such case the writer omitted his residence in the 
second letter. In those cases, “Who is to blame?”— 
Moral. — Always date a letter in full, giving P. <?., (not 
merely the town), and give the State ; sign it; seal it; 
■direct it plainly and rightly, and read over the direction. 
The Complete American Trapper, 
■or the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making, by Wm. n. 
•Gibson, N. Y.: James Miller. This adds a handsome vol¬ 
ume to the list of works on trapping, a subject always 
fascinating, as it leads to a life in the woods, and the 
pleasures, (and sometimes the reverse), of camping out. 
This work is especially intented for boys, and is illustrat¬ 
ed with a profusion of engravings, which, with'the excel¬ 
lent style of the work, make it a capital gift for boys, 
especially those who live in the country. Trapping in¬ 
volves the destruction of life, and so far as that goes, 
seems cruel, but it is often useful and sometimes neces¬ 
sary, and as boys will set traps at any rate, it is proper 
that they should know how to do it in the best and most 
merciful manner. Sentfromthis office, post-paid for $1.75. 
llooks on Sheep,— “Dr. Wm. C. P.” 
Hooversville, Md. Randall’s “ Sheep Husbandry,” and 
“Fine Wool Husbandry,” refer chiefly or wholly to the 
Merino. Mr. Randall devoted his sole attention to this 
breed, and his books are useful, although not altogether 
recent. The only book that treats of all the breeds of 
sheep, kept for mutton or wool in this country, or that 
might be desirable to keep, is Stewart’s “ Shepherd’s 
Manual.” In this book Lincolns, Leicester.?, Cotswolds, 
Southdowns, Hampshiredowns, Oxforddowns, Dorsets, 
Welsh sheep, Blackfaced Scotch, Cheviots as well as Meri¬ 
nos, are treated of, as well as several promising cross 
breeds such as Leicester-merino. Cotswold-merino, Cots- 
wold-sonthdown, and Beacon-downs, the latter a na¬ 
tive American cross. The “Shepherd’s Manual ” is pub¬ 
lished by the Orange Judd Company, and sold for $1.50. 
Bergen Co., N. JT., Poultry Exliibi. 
tlon. —The first annual exhibition of the Bergen Co. 
<N. J.) Poultry Association was held at Hackensack, 
Nov. 29 and 30. It was a very creditable affair. Over 
1,000 birds were exhibited, and many of the specimens 
were very fine. The largest exhibitor was Mr. J. J. 
Berry, of Hackensack, who took first and second pre¬ 
miums for White Cochins, Light Brahmas, Plymouth 
Rocks, White Leghorns, and White Crested Black Pol¬ 
ish. Some very fine Silver-Penciled Hamburgs, exhib¬ 
ited by Thos. W. White, of Ridgewood, took first and 
second premiums. J. C. and D. Pennington took first 
premium for some splendid Black Hamburgs. Some 
very excellent Plymouth Rocks were exhibited by D. 
Benedict, of Rossville, Staten Island, N. Y. Theexhibi- 
tion was well attended and was a well deserved success. 
To be had without Money.— 
There will be found upon our Premium List (see page 
33) a large number of most useful and valuable articles, 
all of which are new and of the best manufacture, and 
any of which can be obtained without money and with but 
little well directed effort. Among these are: Beautiful 
Silver and Gold-Plated Articles—Magic 
Bell-Head and Charm Pencils and Gold 
Pens—Fine Table Cutlery—Pocket Knives 
—Children’s Carriages and Toys—Swings 
—Clocks—Table Croquet—Pianos—Micro¬ 
scopes — Watches — Guns — Sewing and 
Washing Machines — Books, etc., etc.— 
Read all of page 33, and see how easy you can obtain one 
or more of these good and desirable articles. 
“ The Farm-Yard Club ol'Jolliam: 
An Account of the Families and Farms of that Famous 
Town,” is the title of a work by George B. Loring, and 
published by Lockwood, Brooks & Co., Boston, Mass. 
Dr. Loring has long been prominent in agricultural mat¬ 
ters in Massachusetts, and being President of the N. E. 
Agricultural Society, is widely known elsewhere. This 
work had its origin in a series of articles furnished by Dr. 
L. to the “Boston Globe,” and while it presents a view 
of New England agriculture, also gives an insight into 
the social life of the farming community. How far 
those works, which aim to convey solid instruction under 
the guise of fiction, succeed in accomplishing their ob¬ 
ject, we are not prepared to say ; if people would not 
skip all the useful part and pick out only the thread 
of the story, there would be no doubt as to the value of 
this method of instruction. The present volume should 
go it- to decide this question, as the narrative is well 
sustained, the characters are well individualized, and so 
far as we have examined them, the teachings according 
to the best practice. To adapt the work as one of refer¬ 
ence, and to suit the matter-of-fact people who do not 
care for the story, there is a separate index to the agri¬ 
cultural topics. The book is abundantly illustrated, and 
in the way of paper, printing, and binding, most credit¬ 
able to the publishers. Pp. 603. Sent from this office 
by mail for $3 50. 
drape Culture.— Hyatt's Hand-book, by 
T. Hart Hyatt, San Francisco, Cal.: A. L. Bancroft & Co. 
Pp. 279, Price $2. The climate of the Pacific coast being 
quite dissimilar to that of the Atlantic side of the con¬ 
tinent, allows of the open air culture of those varieties 
of grapes that here can succeed only under glass; hence 
a work on the culture of our hardy grapes would be of 
little use in California, and the need of a “ Hand Book,” 
especially adapted to the varieties cultivated in that very 
different climate. Mr. Hyatt, who has furnished’such a 
work, has been a g-eat traveler, and in his long sojourns 
abroad made himself familiar with grape culture in foreign 
countries, before ho engaged in the pursuit on the shores 
of the Pacific. The extent of the grape interest in Cali¬ 
fornia is but one among the many wonderful features of 
that wonderful State. The number of bearing vines in 
1876, is estimated at 40,000,000, and the number of gallons 
of wine at 10,000,000; besides there were 20,000 boxes of 
raisins produced in the State, showing that the manufac¬ 
ture of grapes into raisins is rapidly increasing. The 
work bears all through the impress of practical experi¬ 
ence, and though especially intended for California, it 
contains much that will be of interest to grape growers 
in the States east of the Rocky Mountains. 
Kniglil’s American Mechanical 
Dictionary, by Edward H. Knight. N. Y.: Hurd & 
Houghton. This work, which is in three large volumes, 
is a cyclopaedia rather than a dictionary. We received 
some of the earlier parts of the work when its publica¬ 
tion was begun by another house, several years ago, and 
found those so useful that we have often wished that it 
might be completed, and were especially gratified to re 
ceive the final portion from the present publishers. The 
author, long engaged in the Patent Office, has expended 
25 years of labor upon the work, and it is one of the 
most complete, as it is one of the most useful ever issued 
from the American press. It describes the tools, ma¬ 
chines. implements and appliances used in every art, and 
gives an account of the processes and also the histories 
of the arts themselves. Its method of indexing and 
cross-reference is very complete, and adds greatly to its 
usefulness; one often misses the information a work 
contains through not knowing just where to look for it, 
a difficulty that is avoided here. The work gives very 
complete lists of technical terms, such as are not to be 
found in the usual dictionaries. One of the striking fea¬ 
tures of this dictionary is the profuseness of its illustra¬ 
tions. While the publishers state that there are 7,500 
engravings, there are practically at least twice as many, 
as several forms are often given on the same block. The 
work is sold in 44 parts, or in three volumes. 
Practical 16otany, by Dr. A. Koehler, 
N. Y.: Henry Holt & Co. After a careful examination of 
this work we are unable to discover why it was written. 
Our views in regard to such works are, the author 
should either have something new to tell, or should tell 
the old story in a better form than had been done before. 
This work does neither. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
It is not necessary to set 
forth to our older readers 
the objects of this column, as 
too many of them have re¬ 
ceived useful warnings, or 
have been able through its 
agency to warn others. As 
the new year always brings 
its hosts of new readers, a 
word to them may not be 
out of place. The “Hum¬ 
bug Column” has long been 
a marked feature of the 
American Agriculturist; 
many years ago it began to 
notice such frauds as need¬ 
ed exposure, in separate 
items, but the number of 
these was found to be so 
large, and so rapidly increas¬ 
ing, that after a while these 
matters were brought to- 
conaensed form under the 
title given above. Its prime, and we may say, 
ITS SOLE OBJECT 
is to expose all designs that have for their object the de¬ 
frauding the community at large, but more especially that 
portion of it in which the American Agriculturist finds 
the greater share of its readers—the farming, or rural 
community, as it is against these that a large proportion 
of these schemes are especially directed. We need not 
enumerate the many species of the genus Humbug. It 
appeals to the love of money, to the desire for health, to 
personal vanity, to the baser passions—in short, to every 
possible motive which will induce people to part with 
their money, for which they will receive in return some¬ 
thing, which, if not absolutely useless, is positively harm¬ 
ful. Every scheme of this kind that has come to our 
knowledge, which we have good reason to believe to 
be detrimental to the intents of our readers and the com¬ 
munity at large, has been thoroughly exposed, and held 
up as something to be avoided. Of course this cannot be 
done without resistance on the part of those implicated, 
and the suits that have been commenced against us are 
numerous. These cases have rarely reached a trial, proba¬ 
bly because the lawyers of the complainants, on learning 
the particulars, have advised their clients not to appear 
in court. In a f jw cases that have been prosecuted to the 
end, we have not only been acquitted, but have received 
the commendations of both court and jury. We mention, 
this to show how careful we are, while 
PROTECTING THE COMMUNITY 
from fraud, to be sure that we are right, and to let onr 
new readers see, what our old ones already know, that it 
is of no use to send us unsubstantiated charges. It is 
very easy for one who thinks he has been defrauded, to 
write: “ So and so is a fraud. I sent him $5 for such a 
thing, and have had no reply ; show him up in your Hum¬ 
bug Columns,”—but if such correspondents reflect upon 
the matter, they will see how unjust it would be to hold 
up a man as a cheat, from one end of the country to the 
other, upon an unsubstantiated charge like this. Every 
accusation must be accompanied by abundant evidence, 
or by such details that wll allow us to investigate it, be¬ 
fore it can be made public. These columns are not to be 
used to set forth personal grievances, and unless the ex¬ 
posure of a case will warn others, it is of no use to make 
it public.This time it is some one in Michigan, who 
is after the farmers with 
“ A NEW CEREAL.” 
We are told that it is of “ South American origin ; ” 
that it has oeen “ acclimated ” in Michigan since 1872 ; 
that it will produce from 75 to 159 bushels to the acre, 
and that it is called “ Pampas or Upland Rice.” We add 
that it was “acclimated” before Michigan was even a 
Territory, much less a State : it did not originate in 
South America, and that it is not “Pampas” or any 
