I 860 .] 
Sundry Humbugs. 
We have received abundant evidence that our 
caution last month rvas both timely and useful— 
particularly that part of it referring to “ gilded 
articles.” We have not kept account of the 
number of circulars, forwarded to us by those to 
whom they have been sent. As an example of 
our correspondence, we quote the following from 
Indiana: “.Enclosed please find two dol¬ 
lars for myself and a brother-in-law in Iowa. 
This money your article on humbugs in the No¬ 
vember Agriculturist saved me. I was just about 
to send it with four dollars more in response to a 
“private” circular. I was to receive a lot of 
things in return, including a magnificent 
gold pencil case and pen, and in addition I was 
to be appointed an exclusive agent in this region 
for a very paying, honorable business, requiring 
no outlay... .You will laugh at my greenness— 
and you are at liberty to do so, if you will with¬ 
hold my name—but really the private circular 
looked all so fair, and the names of the parties 
sounded so much like those of well known re¬ 
sponsible men, that it did not occur to me that 
the thing was not all ‘ on the square.’ Howev¬ 
er, I feel less mortified about it, for I learn 
that several of my neighbors whom I have 
always considered to be more intelligent and 
more wary than myself, received similar 
circulars, and at least three of them forwarded 
the money and of course they each get the valua¬ 
ble 1 agency ’ which was to be exclusively my own 
in all this region. One of them got a splendid 
looking ‘gold’ pencil and was exceedingly pleased, 
but his brother, a jeweler, ‘ took the starch out 
of him ’ completely, by showing how easy it 
was to rub the thin film of gold off from the out¬ 
side of his splendid pencil. After a little rub¬ 
bing, aqua fortis [nitric acid,] eat into it as 
readily as into any other brass... .Excuse this 
long yarn, but I wish to show what a good 
work the Agriculturist is doing in guarding its 
readers against Humbugs. The fact is, as you 
say, country people are not suspicious. They 
are accustomed to trust each other, and when 
an apparently fan-, plain, straightforward story 
is told them, even by those they do not person¬ 
ally know, they are apt to believe it. Keep on 
in the way you have begun. If the Agricultur¬ 
ist should do no more for the next year than to 
properly warn its country readers against hum¬ 
bugs, it will do the country far more good than 
all it will cost... .1 will just add, that three of 
my neighbors who carry gold pencils, are sure to 
be your subscribers next year. They have good 
reason to regret, as they do, that they did not 
heed my advice, and take it this year—it would 
have been money in their pockets in more ways 
than one.” 
“ Beware of Mock Auctions.” 
This caution was quite common in the news¬ 
papers of a dozen years ago. Latterly we hear 
little on the subject. But our daily observation 
gives abundant evidence that the caution is just 
as necessary now as at any previous period. 
We could show the reader at least a dozen of 
the “ red flags ” in a walk of as many minutes, 
and there are probably twenty or more “ Peter 
Funk” establishments within a mile from where 
we now write. Each of these supports from five 
to a dozen men, including the “ auctioneer,” 
clerks, and “ stool pigeons.” They pay enor¬ 
mous rents, which are required by the owners 
of the buildings in return for the risk of proper¬ 
ty and character involved. The net receipts at 
each of these establishments must average thir¬ 
ty or forty dollars a day to meet expenses, and 
enough more to afford a profit sufficient to in¬ 
duce the keepers to continue them. That they 
do receive this amount is certain, or they would 
not be kept up, and multiply in number. 
Their profits come almost wholly from visitors from 
the country. How often will it be necessary to 
caution every one coming to this city to avoid 
the “ red flag” as he would a nest of pickpock¬ 
ets? To such perfection have this class of 
swindlers carried their arts, that it is not safe 
for an inexperienced man to look into'one of the 
dens, even from motives of curiosity. Very re¬ 
cently an editor of a smart Yankee paper came 
here, who had “ read the papers,” and had pub¬ 
lished sundry cautions against mock auctions. 
He started out to see the “ sights,” and among 
others, visited one of these dens, just to see how 
the thing was done. He came out minus a good 
many dollars, but refused to let us help him get 
it back, lest the fact should in some way get be¬ 
fore the public in connection with his name. 
Perhaps it may be well for us to give some of 
the modes of operations at these establishments, 
when we have more space. On the whole we 
think it will. Our humorous artist has given his 
“ideas” on the subject. The picture will bear 
studying in detail. 
-O-.--OB®*—-> —- 
Book and Engraving Swindle. 
We have the particulars of several cases where 
persons have forwarded various sums of money 
for books, engravings, etc., to parties in this 
city, for which they can get no satisfaction, 
either in return of goods or money, nor so much 
as a response to their letters of inquiry. In 
every one of these instances, so far as investiga¬ 
ted, there is evidently a fraud. To some of 
these inquirers we have written; to others a 
marked copy of our caution last month has 
been forwarded as a sufficient reply. We have 
sundry investigations in progress, which render 
it desirable to withhold names for the present. 
We will now merely state, that our subscribers 
will consult prudence by addressing a note ot 
inquiry to this office, before sending money to 
any unknown parties in this city—enclosing a 
Post-Office stamp where a reply is needed. 
When no reply is received from us, the parties 
may conclude that their money is safest in their 
own pockets. This is undertaking a business 
which will involve no little labor, and which 
we would gladly avoid, did it not seem to be 
absolutely necessary. The only remuneration 
we shall expect is, that when this trouble on our 
part saves money to our readers, they will recip¬ 
rocate the favor by an effective word in behalf 
of the Agriculturist in their several neiglibox - - 
hoods. 
-O <-■ -» » 
One of the Quacks. 
Judging from the number and description of 
quack medicine advertisements that crowd the 
columns of American newspapers, one would 
think this the paradise of swindlers and fools; 
but the following from a Prussian paper, exceeds 
all the performances we have met with, in the 
humbugging line. A quack in Prussia, has pub¬ 
lished a tract entitled “ Cider, Milk, and Water 
the Only and Best Medicinal Agents.” Here is 
air extract showing the general style. “ The 
magneto-physical stream of this mighty fulness 
of the gifts of nature penetrates mari-ow and 
bone only for then - weal, alarms what is unnat¬ 
ural, excretes unhealthy humors, together with 
old deposits of medicinal substances, whereby 
the natural vigor regains its life and helps 
itself.” !!! 
The man who went “a fishing” with the 
“North Pole ” took “ Mason and Dixon’s Line. ’ 
Finding the pole too long, he cut it off with one 
of the “ Earth’s Axes.” 
