4r 2 
[February, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
for the same grades last month. The following list gives 
the range of prices, average price, and figures at which 
the largest lots were sold: 
Dcc.21st ranged 0 ©20 c. Av. 15c. Largest sales 14 @15 
do. 2Sth do. 11 @1SWC. do. 15Mc. do. do. 14>^® 10>i 
Jan. 4th do. 11 @1S,'4C. do. lU^c. do. do. 15 @1? 
do. 11th do. 10MO1S c. do. 15^c. do. do. li'A©l6'A 
The light supply for the weeks ending December 28th 
and January 4th caused an advance in price of %c. per 
pound on all grades, and butchers bought sparingly, hop¬ 
ing that a few days would give them more stock and bet¬ 
ter selections. Stockmen, ns soon as their droves were 
sold, hurried to the country for cattle, and fresh arrivals 
every day up to January 11th crowded the markets, and 
caused a decline which more than offset the gain of pre¬ 
vious weeks, and our report closes with a dull market. 
... 32iicli Cows. —The supply previous to the week 
ending January 11th was small, and good milkers were in 
fair demand, prices ranging from $90 to $100 each, and 
$70 to $80 for ordinary. An increase in the supply made a 
total of one hundred head in market January 11th, the ma¬ 
jority of which were good milkers. This caused a decline in 
price, and many good cows sold as low as $S0, while ordi¬ 
nary ones remained unsold, or brought only $50<g>$05.... 
Calves.—Sales are steady, and the supply too small to 
make much change in prices. This is the season of 
small numbers in this department, and such as are fresh, 
just from the cow, young and fat, bring 12*4c.@13c. per 
pound, live weight_Sliee]» and Lambs.—There 
is but little change to notice here. With the exception 
of extra Christmas mutton, prices keep about the same. 
The demand may be said to be only fair for good stock, 
while poor things sell slowly, at from $2 to $5 a head. 
Prices range at 5c.@7c. per pound for good sheep- 
Swine.— Very little can be said for Hogs. The arrivals 
are light, and sell quickly. Prices range from 10c. to 
1014c. per pound; fresh dressed, ll%c.@12?4c.; and 
Western dressed, fat, 13c.@13!4c. per pound. 
containing a great variety of Items , including many 
good Hints and Suggestions which ice throw into smaller 
type and condensed form, for want of space elsewhere. 
Slavic All Subscriptions sent in, as Xew or Old. 
Slow to Elcmit:—Clieclcs on New- 
York Ranks or Hankers are best for large sums ; 
made payable to the order of Orange Judd «fc Co. 
Post-Office Money Orders may fee obtain¬ 
ed at nearly every county seat, in all the cities, and in 
many of the large towns. We consider them perfectly 
safe, and the best means of remitting fifty dollars or less, 
as thousands have been sent to us without any loss. 
Registered Letters, under tlie new system, 
which went into effect June 1st, are a very safe 
means of sending small sums of money where P. O. Mon¬ 
ey Orders cannot he easily obtained. Observe , the Beg- 
islnj fee, as well as postage, must be paid in stamps at 
the office where the letter is mailed, or it will he liable 
to he sent to the Dead Letter Office. Buy and affix the 
stamps both for postage and registry, put in the money and 
seal the letter in the presence of the postmaster, and take his 
receipt for it. Letters sent in this way to us are at our risk. 
3LO¥ THOUSANDS of people have 
received the Premiums offered by the Publishers, and a 
large number of these have written expressing their great 
gratification, while not one in five hundred has indicated 
the least dissatisfaction or disappointment. We hope to 
send out many thousands more of these good articles yet 
this winter. Human nature and human wants are about the 
same everywhere, and it will be just as easy for others to 
get these premiums as for those who have done bo. A few 
get discouraged because not a-; successful at the first at¬ 
tempt as they hoped to he. Hundreds have written us that 
it took several trials to “get their hands in,” but that by 
perseverance they were in the end unexpectedly successful. 
One of our present most successful canvassers, who gets 
a large salary every year from the sale of premium articles 
received from this office, failed almost entirely the first 
week of trial.—Please look through what is said on page 
40, and then see what can be done in your neighborhood. 
About the Advertisements.— These 
are doubly advantageous to the reader. Of the income 
they yield, tens ofthousands ofdollars aro every year ex¬ 
pended in getting up and supplying the paper, in addition 
to all the receipts for subscriptions. We should have to 
charge about double the present subscription rates, hut 
for the advertising income. Then these pages are very 
useful as a kind of reliable “ Business Directory.” They 
tell what is for sale, by whom, and usually at what 
- . TP 1 ——" .... 1 ' ■ ' J . ' .I— 3 ■ ... 
price, and the more there arc of them, the better is the 
opportunity to choose. It is like going to make pur¬ 
chases in a great city. We shut out a much larger class 
of advertisements than we receive. Humbugs, patent 
medicines, and those generally who “give little for 
much,” pay publishers the highest prices. Our aim is to 
live up to one rule, viz: “An advertiser, in order to be ad¬ 
vertised here, if unknown to the editors personally or by 
good repute, must furnish them satisfactory evidence that 
he has both the ability and intention to do what he 
promises to do in his advertisement.”—By adhering to this 
rule, we hope to make our business pages doubly valuable 
to both readers and advertisers. In order that the latter 
may know how large a class of intelligent, wide-awake 
people they reHch through this paper, we request those 
sending orders to them, or writing for circulars, etc., to 
mention where any advertisement was seen. 
Postage. — To our published terms for the 
American Agriculturist, postage must in all cases he add¬ 
ed when ordered to go out of the United States. For 
Canada, send twelve cents besides the subscription money 
with each subscriber. Everywhere in the United States, 
three cents, each quarter, or twelve cents, yearly, must be 
prepaid at the Post-office where the paper is received. 
Bound Copies of Volume SXVI1 
(1868) are now ready. Price, $2, at our office, or $2.50 
each, if sent by mail. Any of the previous eleven vol¬ 
umes (16 to 26) will be forwarded at the same price. Sets 
of numbers sent to our office will be neatly hound in our 
regular style for 75 cents per volume, (50 cents extra if re¬ 
turned by mail.) Missing numbers supplied at 12c. each. 
Kerosene Murders. —So mauy have died 
victims to the frauds in kerosene, that at last one man has 
been aroused to do something. Coroner Keenan, in liold- 
ingan inquest upon a death from “accident” by kerosene, 
had samples of the oil tested. Finding that the oil was 
nearly pure benzine and would explode at 06 degrees, in¬ 
stead of requiring to he heated to 110 degrees, he had 
both the vender and manufacturer of the oil arrested and 
held to await the action of the grand jury. The coroners 
can take cognizance of the matter only after death has 
occurred... .Since the foregoing was in type, we find that 
the Board of Health has waked up, after allowing the 
matter to go unnoticed for several years. It needed a 
chemist to tell them what every one of the inspectors 
should have known “ of his own knowledge,” that al¬ 
most all the kerosene sold in New York is unsafe, and 
some of it eminently so. The report of Professor Chand¬ 
ler is very long and interesting; from seventy-eight sam¬ 
ples, procured in different parts of the city, not one could 
he called really safe. One sample contained 93 per cent 
of benzine, naphtha, etc. A large number of the oils 
formed an explosive vapor, at considerably below the or¬ 
dinary temperature of a sitting-room. The wonder is, 
that so few “accidents” should happen, rather than that 
there should he so many. Let everybody agitate this 
matter in his own neighborhood. Good kerosene is to be 
had, that will not burn below 110 degrees ; demand this 
of the dealers, and it will be supplied. 
Sundry Humbugs.— 1 The man wlio offers 
“Music Boxes” for a dollar, William Scott, Franklin 
street, New York, has found one person foolish enough 
to trust his promises, and who, for one dollar forwarded 
by mail, received a child's toy known as narmonicon, a 
4 in. by 1 in. tin and wooden instrument, which makes a 
noise by blowing through holes in the edge of the wood, 
across the ends of reeds fixed in a plate of zinc—wholesaled 
at 50c. to 1.50 per doz_Stewart & Smith “offer the 
public greater inducements than ever before.” We, should 
say so, “ elegant gold watch chains ” with patent swivel, 
and all the fixings, for $3 .00 each, not to speak of other 
things, including brooch and car-ring3 with no fewer 
than twenty-three diamonds, each one of them as big as 
fat-peas, at $4.00. Oil 1 Messrs. Stewart & Smith, how 
can you! Of course you are the manufacturers, as none 
others could offer such inducements to purchasers, and 
you must have learned the art of advertising and of doing 
business from that “ unexplained mystery,” Planchctto, 
which you advertise for sale at the low price or $2.00 
each... The “Rev.,” J. T. Inman is out with his “noble 
remedy ” for troubles which we will not mention here. 
Being a “ Rev.” J. T. I. has his address at Station D., 
Bible House. It is well for those out of tho city to know 
that the Bible House rents stores for various purposes, 
and the P. O., Station D., occupies one of them, hut has 
no connection whatever with the Biblo House_Try 
again, Mr. I., that trick is musty_Chas. J. C. Kline & 
Co. have been long known ns venders of vile things, and 
we wonder that people will ask if they are honest or hon¬ 
orable_The “ American Butter Powder Co.” have an 
agency in Boston. Look out for them. Wo consider 
their powders worthless. They now propose to sell 
them in packages at 00o.<2i$l each.... Parker, Moore & Co. 
seem to be managers for the “Metropolitan Gift Co.,” at 
present. This is the only change from the old plan so loudly 
advertised a few months ago. The whole thing is a swin¬ 
dle— Hunt, Anthony & Co., still hang out at the ol^num- 
ber. Let them keep their watches_We are tired of 
showing up these old concerns. Do try some new dodge. 
— Reed & Co., Bankers, well known to our readers 
as successors to Geo. A. Cook & Co., of “ Soldier’s Or¬ 
phan's Lottery” notoriety (see July No., p. 245,1868), are 
now acting as managers and hankers for Wells, Janes & 
Co. Strange, so many men need managing, and all by 
Reed & Co. A few weeks ago Reed & Co. notified one of 
our readers, Mr. D., that his number had drawn a prize, 
in this case a watch, and that by forwarding to them the 
sum of $9.00, by mail, they would send him the watch, or, 
if preferred, they would send the same by express, marked 
C. O. D. The stranger preferred the latter course and 
left the amount with a friend to pay express charges, 
should the package ever come. In due time it came and 
was paid for. Upon opening it no watch at all was 
found, hut a nice parcel of broken brick, whereupon Mr. 
D. asks us to seek some redress for him. Pretty well 
done, Mr. Reed; we should say that you are making a 
good thing of this manager’s business. Mr. D. will seo 
no more of his $9.00 or of Reed & Co., in all probability. 
We are unable to say where they hold forth at present.... 
Among tho lotteries proper which still flourish are L. D. 
Sine’s Gift Lottery, Cincinnati, and the New York Jewel¬ 
er's Co-operative Union, Servies & Co.,—both grand hum¬ 
bugs. Derby Athenaeum is a bookstore with a lottery 
attachment. A person buying a certain amount of hooks 
receives a ticket in a drawing of pictures. The selling 
of tickets is got around in this ivay, hut nevertheless it 
is a game of chance, and as such is illegal. The tickets 
are many and the prizes few. Those who do not believe 
in lotteries at all will have nothing to do with one 
masked in the manner that this is... .Oroide Watches 
are watches in composition cases, like a nice brass, 
when well made; and we suppose the works will 
run just as well as if cased in gold and precious 
stones, provided the works themselves arc good. But 
there’s the rub. A subscriber in Indiana writes tiiat lie 
worked hard to get up a club of 50 subscribers for a jour¬ 
nal, with the promise of an Oroide watch as good “for 
all practical uses as watches worth $100.” But when it 
came it was “ a worthless, cylinder escapement, brass 
cased watch, not worth $5.00.” Giving premiums 
is a good and proper thing, if the premiums are 
themselves good, and most newspapers, even the old 
staid religious papers that used to be so •dignified, give 
premiums now; hut any publisher who does this ought 
to be careful not to humbug those who work for Him—not 
even by letting himself be humbugged into the belief that 
a brass watch is as desirable as a gold one. 
Wide-awake Nurserymen. — A list 
of these will be found in tlie Horticultural Annual. 
T'Jie American Bornological So¬ 
ciety. —The President, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, has 
addressed the following circular to the members of the 
various committees of the SocietyIt having, upon con¬ 
sultation with some of the Fruit Committees, been 
deemed advisable to hold a special meeting of the officers 
and committee men of the American Pomological Society, ^ 
for the purpose of a careful revision of the Catalogue, the 
undersigned hereby give notice that such meeting will 
be held on the 10th day of February, 1SG9, at ten o'clock, 
A.M., at the rooms of tlie Agi'iculturist, in the city of New 
York. It is hoped that every one will recognize the import¬ 
ance of our Fruit Catalogue, and also see the necessity of 
a special meeting for its revision, and be present thereat, 
to aid and assist, preparatory to the next session of tho 
Society, to bo hold in Philadelphia, Sept. 15,1SG9. Should 
it be impossible for any one to attend in person, he is ur¬ 
gently requested to write out his views and opinions, and 
forward tlie same to F. R. Elliott, care of Charles Down¬ 
ing, Newburgh, N. Y. Contributions of fruits aro also 
specially invited in aid of the work to he performed. 
These may he directed to “ American Pomological Socie¬ 
ty, care of Orange Judd & Co., Broadway, New York.” 
Clubs can at any time be increased, by remitting 
for each addition the price paid by the original members, 
if the subscriptions all date at the same starting point. 
The hack nnmbers will, of course, he sent to added names. 
What Evergreens are Ittardy ?—The 
experience of Messrs. Samuel B. Parsons and Josiah 
Iloopes with evergreens in the winter of 1867 and 6S is 
of great value to tree planters. See Horticultural Annual. 
Bcath of Mr. Ailteclc.—Mr. Thomas 
Affleck, formerly of Mississippi and more recently of 
Brcnham, Texas, died early in January last at his resi¬ 
dence at the last named place. Mr. Affleck was welt 
known as a writer to various agricultural journals, and 
in bis death Texas loses ono of her leadiusr agriculturists. 
