406 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[November, 
lived NOW, commence at once, and the paper * 
sent with no extra charge to the end of 1877. sj: 
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##>*■***** ***# ************* #*** 
SJcad Hite Aalves-lis^BBaciats.—It would 
save much trouble in writing and replying to letters, if 
those who wisli to inquire about machines, implements, 
animals, breeders, fertilizers, books, and various other 
matters, would first read over the advertisements. The 
pages devoted to these always contain reading that is of 
interest to everybody, and those who read these pages 
may learn where to find what they want without writing 
tons for tlie information which is here placed before them 
every month. We can not say which article is the best; 
in many respects they are all the best, because nothing 
is admitted to these pages unless it is known to be trust¬ 
worthy. What may please one person may not suit an¬ 
other, and where all are good it matters little really which 
particular one is chosen. The proper plan is to write to 
more than one maker or dealer, and after hearing from 
them, choose that which will apparently suit best. 
“ Timely Topics,” is the title of an ad¬ 
vertising sheet issued by George Allen & Co., Newborn, 
N. C. These gentlemen arc large dealers in agricultural 
implements and machinery, building materials, fertil¬ 
izers, seeds, etc. The sheet is devoted to items especial¬ 
ly interesting to southern agriculturists, but not content 
with giving their customers this, they also supply them 
with the American Agriculturist , and we mention as a 
“ Timely Topic,” that this firm have just sent in their 
subscription for seven hundred (700) copies of this paper [ 
for 1877, for distribution to their customers. Messrs. 
George Allen & Co., have subscribed liberally for several 
years, and this increase of their list to 700, shows that 
they find it a good investment ; such enterprise as they 
exhibit is sure to succeed, and no doubt others might 
find profit in following their example. 
IVlint is Sine Mattes* isa tine Colton 
States ?—“Timely Topics,” a sheet published by Geo. 
Allen & Co., Agricultural Warehouse, Newborn, N. C., 
In discussing the present condition of the cotton growers, 
states that though the cotton sold since the war, produced 
an aggregate sum of $2,500,000,000, the farmers are still 
poor. It finds the cause of this poverty in the fact that 
pork, flour, bacon, lard, butter, shoes, clothing, and other 
articles of prime necessity, which should bo produced 
at home, are purchased from the North and West. It 
urges that farmers raise enough provisions to pay for the 
cultivation and packing of their cotton. In all of which 
there is much truth. 
The Growing 1 “WEacsat Crop.—The 
appearance of the growing wheat at the present is very 
promising, excepting where it has been sown upon the 
oat stubble. In these cases the abundant yellow patches, 
consisting of oats killed by frost, show how much the 
wheat lias been robbed and injured by these weeds. 
Where frost lias not been severe enough to kill the oats, 
the thrifty appearance of some fields is due in great, part 
to the oats which have grown rampantly under the in¬ 
fluence of the cool, moist weather, and the manuring 
given to the wheat. IIow much the wheat suffers is only 
partly shown by the thriftiness of the oats, or the seared 
condition of the frost-stricken fields. Had all these 
green bunches or brown spaces been wheat instead of 
oats, there would have been a useful growth instead of 
an injurious one. Not only lias the room needed for the 
wheat been occupied and the plants crowded out, but a 
greedy, intrusive weed lias been fed at the expense of 
the crop. There is not only a loss, but a damage in ad¬ 
dition, and this will occur so long as wheat follows oats 
in this too frequent objectionable rotation. 
Gostls !s» Yirjfiiiia.—The Superintendent 
of Public Instruction of Virginia, W. A. Ruffncr, Esq., 
twenty years ago published a pamphlet urging the in¬ 
troduction of Angora goats upon the waste lands of that 
State. Since then the feasibility of goat herding in that 
locality has become more probable than it was then, both 
for the reason that a market is now being established for 
the mohair, and for the pelts, and because the nature of 
those animals is now better understood than it then was. 
The hair of the goat is now consumed in this country, 
and the manufactures using it will probably increase ; 
the unshorn pelts are in demand for rugs and mats, and 
the shorn pelts are made into morocco leather. We see 
no reason why goat herding should not be made a profit¬ 
able industry, especially amongst the laboring people, 
who, if they possessed flocks of goats, would probably 
stop keeping so many dogs. Goats are hardier than 
sheepjand will resist dogs better, but when kept in herds 
they are subject to disease, if neglected, and dogs will 
kill them if permitted to do so. 
To»*e.st Tree Planting iti Mass.— 
In Juno last, p. 20S, we gave an account of the prizes, 
$3,000, offered by the Mass. Society for the Promotion! of 
Agriculture, for the best plantations of European Larch, 
and American White Ash, and stated the conditions of 
the nward. Wo would remind those who propose to 
compete, that their entries must be made before Dec. 1st, 
1876, by addressing E. A. Perkins, Esq., Jamaica Plain, 
Mass. We shall be surprised if a goodly number of our 
enterprising Massachusetts friends do not compete for 
these prizes. It is not often that one can put himself in 
the way of a handsome prize, and whether he succeeds or 
fails, be better off for having made the effort. Five acres 
in either European Larch or White Ash, is a capital tiling 
to have, and if, moreover, one can be paid for improving 
his own estate by planting it, lie will bo doubly fortunate. 
Mow to Slutly Surveying.—“J. W.,” 
Hannibal, Mo. To learn the theory of surveying, it is 
needed first to study a high school arithmetic; then al¬ 
gebra ; then geometry and plane and spherical trigonom¬ 
etry. Useful books for this purpose are Davies’ Arith¬ 
metic; Algebra, and the Elements of Geometry, etc., from 
the works of A. M. Legendre. In the meantime some 
practice in the field with a surveyor would be necessary, 
to learn the use of the implements employed. 
Wisent from Northern Maasmesota. 
—“ C. E. B.,” Duluth, Minn., Sends a sample of spring 
wheat grown six miles north of that city. The wheat is 
a dark flinty variety, and of a fair quality. This northern 
region is not exactly a paradise, especially in the long 
dreary winter which is common there, and which would 
. suit afarmer who loves a long resting spell, but yet it is 
productive of good grass, roots, and spring grains. There 
is a place for every one in the world, and the probability 
is that northern Minnesota will find inhabitants. 
Notice for Noventiliier. —It seems neces¬ 
sary to repeat one fact monthly, namely, that communi¬ 
cations without signatures go directly into the waste 
basket. What would any of our readers think were they 
to receive an anonymous letter? We know of no earthly 
reason why editors are not entitled to be treated accord¬ 
ing to the ordinary rules of politness, and we do not pro¬ 
pose to encourage the writing of anonymous letters by 
noticing them. If the matter of a letter is not of suffi¬ 
cient importance for the writer to sign it, it is not of suf¬ 
ficient consequence for us to read it. Some well-mean¬ 
ing persons, because they see answers given to “A Sub¬ 
scriber ” or “ A Constant Reader,” no doubt are led to 
think this the proper way to sign a note to an editor. A 
person may sign his article as suits his fancy, but the real 
name must be given besides. We never publish a name 
where there are any indications that the writer would 
withhold it. 
A Soaccessffaal Bbilclaiii"' Maclaine.— 
Ex-Governor and now Senator Randolph, of New Jersey, 
lias shown his interest in agriculture by contributing to 
it an important labor-saving appliance in Randolph’s 
Ditcher. We have seen this machine at several fairs, 
and all who have examined it and seen it in operation 
are impressed with its value. We may at another time 
describe the machine, which is a model of simplicity, and 
as is the case with all such inventions, the resultof much 
thought and costly experiment. It may serve for various 
uses, but its chief importance is as a ditcher to open a 
trench for laying drain tiles. The smallest size is for two 
horses, and larger ones require eight horses or steam- 
power. It is claimed, and guaranteed, that the use of the 
machine will effect a saving of not less than 300 per cent, 
over hard labor. 
“ TSic CiSy of MoIyoTke,” is the title 
of an illustrated pamphlet, intended to show the remarka¬ 
ble water power, and varied uses made of it, in Holyoke, 
Mass., a city noted for its industries. It is issued from the 
office of the “ Holyoke Transcript,” and its mechanical 
appearance is most creditable to the publishers. 
Fairs »='• November.— We find but one, 
the Texas State Fair, which begins this month ; that will 
be held from the 14th to 18th inclusive, at Austin. A few 
others continue into the early part of the month. The 
Virginia State Fair at Richmond closes on the 3rd. The 
Iowa Industrial Fair at Des Moines on the 5th. That of 
the American Institute, New York City, on the Kth. Be¬ 
sides these the Fair of Fairs, the Centennial, ends on the 
10th, the Centennial Poultry Show closing on the 6th 
“ Always Blandy ” is the name for a little 
household contrivance we illustrated in the Household 
Department in Dec. 1874. It consists of shelves of light 
open-work casting that, by an ingenious though simple 
arrangement, may be attached to any upright stovepipe ; 
these shelves, one or several, can be placed at any con¬ 
venient bight, and are so constructed that when not in 
use they will swing back quite out of the way. We had 
a set two years ago, and have found that for heating 
plates, keeping dishes warm, drying articles, and numer¬ 
ous other uses they illustrate the appropriateness of the 
title ‘ Always Handy.” The American Manufacturing 
Co., New Haven, Conn., make the article. 
Proper Floor for ;m Ice House.— 
“ J. R.,” Succasunna, N. J. The best floor for an ice 
house is one of boards or plank laid upon sleepers bed¬ 
ded in gravel. A gravel or sand foundation is the best, 
and the floor should be laid so that no air can gain ac¬ 
cess beneath it from without. There should also be pro¬ 
vided a drain so constructed that the water from the 
melted ice can escape into the ground, but which will not 
admit air to the ice. 
Sundry Humbugs. 
Nothing is more charac¬ 
teristic of our modern life, 
than the extent to which ad¬ 
vertising is used as a medi¬ 
um between individuals and 
the public. A stranger in a 
town, large or small, by 
looking over the advertise¬ 
ments of the local paper, 
can form a very correct idea 
of the place. If the adver¬ 
tisements are few, and have 
the appearance of being 
“ standing,” hois quite safe 
in concluding that lie is in 
one of those slow-going, 
dead-and-alive places, that 
were finished some years 
ago, and that the people are 
of a kind that know little 
about change , whether so¬ 
cial or financial. On the 
other hand, if the advertisements appear fresh, brief, and 
snappy, if it only be to announce the fresh arrival of salt 
fish, or a new invoice of clothes-pins, it is fair to infer 
that the paper is published in a wide-awake community. 
It is not necessary to enlarge upon the advantages of .ju¬ 
dicious advertising—to the individual who speaks, and to 
the many who are spoken to. Like other good things, 
it is liable to perversion to bad uses, and it is to the 
ABUSES OP ADVERTISING 
that we would call attention. Publishers in general dis¬ 
claim all responsibility for whatever of ill may follow 
their printing and issuing the advertisements of irre¬ 
sponsible parties, and even some will give to the world 
announcements that they would not allow their own 
daughters and sons even to read, much less to follow. In 
brief, wo aim to exclude not only all the advertisements 
that are on their face improper, but those that are am¬ 
biguous or liable to deceive. The sharp American ren¬ 
ders the old saying caveat emptor, (“let the buyer be¬ 
ware”), into “your eyes are your chaps,” and has no 
scruples of conscience at pocketing the price of a dam¬ 
aged garment or a spavined horse ; it is the buyers fault 
if he did not see the defects, which the seller knew, but 
did not point out. But these 
HUMBUGGING ADVERTISEMENTS 
are worse still, the buyer does not even see the article 
that ho may make his “ eyes his chaps,” and they are not 
designed for “ sharp Americans,” but for the people in 
general, who average very far from “ sharp.” The ad¬ 
vertising columns of the papers in every large city sup¬ 
port numerous sharks and swindlers ; these rascals reach 
their ends in so many ways that we can only allude to 
one or two of them, and these of a kind that come most 
frequently to our knowledge, i. e., the employment swin¬ 
dles. These chaps know that in every city there are 
many who have been thrown out of employment, and 
many others—usually foolish young men from the coun¬ 
try, who have left tlicir dull life on the farm in the vain 
