1875.] 
211 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
N. Y., and he holds that volume as the priceless gem of 
his extensive library. Is not Parson “ So-and-So ” mor¬ 
tal? is he not too guileless to see the bait? He sends 
the $2, which can be poorly spared—but it will be such a 
surprise and pleasure to his wife to see one of his ser¬ 
mons in print—printed in New York, too. He says 
nothing to the wife, but sends the $2 to Art & Co. He 
awaits the arrival of the book by mail—and at last ac¬ 
counts was still waiting. 
THE MINING FEVER 
is now prevailing in eastern Massachusetts, and the re¬ 
ported success of some mines has caused great excite¬ 
ment throughout Essex and adjoining counties. Already 
very suspicious-looking persons are prowling around 
farms, and proposing to pay large prices for the property 
on a provisional purchase, the farmer signing a bond to 
soil at the end of two years if valuable metals are found 
on the place. All the advice we can give is to be careful 
how you sign anything affecting your property. No 
doubt these bonds, perhaps in an obscure manner, con¬ 
vey the right of exploration, and the unfortunate signer 
may find excavations made in his best fields, or even in 
his front yard in the “ exploration ” for silver and gold. 
Be cautious... .Complaints are now and then made of 
BOGUS CANVASSERS, 
who come around and get subscriptions for papers which 
have no existence. It would occur to most persons to 
.ask to see a copy of the paper to which their subscrip¬ 
tions are solicited. The people of Wilkesbarre, Pa., 
have been victimized by paying money for a paper said 
do be published in New York, which, and its alleged pub¬ 
lishers, is not to be found. 
TELEGRAPH INSTITUTES. 
We have received so many complaints of these concerns 
that there must be something rotten in those at some west- 
ern points. A correspondent at Harper's Ferry, Iowa,com¬ 
plains of being swindled himself by one of these in Wis¬ 
consin, and states that many young men, including crip¬ 
ples, who go there, get “ beaten out of ” their hard- 
earned money, and asks us to warn people against such 
Institutes. That there are “Telegraphic Institutes” 
and “ Commercial Colleges ” which promise much more 
than they can perform, seems very probable, but unless 
our friend can give us something more definite, we can¬ 
not warn people against the particular “Institute” of 
which he complains. 
LOTTERIES 
for the present seem chiefly confined to Texas. It is to 
be regretted that this magnificent state, with such won¬ 
derful capabilities, and which within a few years has 
made such cheering progress, should harbor these enter¬ 
prises. There are several of them in full blast, one of 
which “The Texas Mutual Benefit Association” has a 
truly ingenious plan for getting rid of its tickets. It 
■sends a person five tickets with a circular stating that the 
price is $2, but if the one who receives them does not 
wish to go $2 on the chances, he is advised to sell four 
■of the tickets at 50 cents each, and keep the other for his 
trouble, and this one ticket may draw the capital prize 
of $25,000—and then again it may not, no knowing what 
may happen. The Texans talk about Yankee ’cuteness, 
but this beats anything we have known a Yankee to do. 
The name of the “secretary” is Choate Somcrby, 
which printed in fac-similie, looks at first sight most un¬ 
fortunately like “ Cheat Sometfody,” as one of our corre¬ 
spondents suggests. The business of selling 
COUNTERFEIT MONET, 
or rather of pretending to do so, (for as we have before 
explained there is no counterfeit money in the transac¬ 
tion, all the machinery being for getting a hold on some 
unfortunate victim), seems to have revived a little as 
spring opens. It would be amusing to us, who have cir¬ 
culars of these chaps by the bushel, to see the surprise 
of those to whom such a matter is entirely new, did we 
not see that their indignation at being made the recipi¬ 
ent of a proposition to engage in dealing in “queer” 
was perfectly honest. One gentleman in South Carolina 
is careful to send the envelope the circular came in, so 
that we may “ ferret out the scoundrel if possible.” 
“ Ferret out”—why bless your honest soul, we havefon 
the table several other copies of the self-same circular, 
printed on the very same paper, with the same type, 
each of which has a different name attached to it. and 
were we to go among our “ archives ” we could no doubt 
produce the identical thing with from 25 to 50 different 
names. ..We thank Henry Woodward for offering a 
little variety in this line. Most of these fellows offer a 
printed circular, and poorly printed too, or else a litho¬ 
graphed one, but Henry's circular is written, and neatly 
too to be in keeping with its style. Henry is not one of 
these vulgar fellows that talk about ‘‘counterfeit money,” 
oh no, he has only “goods,” and they are of the “ finest 
quality ” which is a great improvement over the old 
style of circular_These so-called 
PURCHASING AGENCIES 
are anuisance. We say “so-called,” because there are in 
New York, and perhaps other cities, respectable persons 
doing a legitimate business as purchasing agents, but 
we refer to those chaps in obscure towns whose cata¬ 
logues and circulars give no names. They offer traps 
and trinkets of various kinds, but often their real end and 
object is to introduce improper and foolish books.... 
John M. Haven, of Mich., though only 16, is too old a 
bird to be caught with such chaff as that sent out by the 
“ Union Purchasing Agency.” Master II. has no need 
of a book that teaches “ How to make a girl fall in love 
with you,” or “ how to bet and always win.”_In the 
medical line there is unusual dullness ; the old things 
seem to be very quiet and new ones are rare. 
THE DODGES FOR SECURING AGENTS 
for the sale of quack medicines all over the country, are 
ingenious and amusing. These fellows know that they 
can by mail reach all the postmasters in the country, 
without knowing their names. We have before us a 
circular to postmasters, persuading them to find an agent. 
The medicine man wants a “local preacher,” a man 
“too feeble to labor” or an “invalid” to act as his 
agent, and to pay the postmaster for securing such, he 
will send him “ one dollar's worth of the medicines, or I 
will send you one gross of pens ”—take the pens, by all 
means. Others are more liberal; one chap offers the 
person who procures an agent 20 per cent on all the 
money that agent may send in during his first year, and 
to the agent who will buy half a gross of the stuff, he 
sends a coat pattern.—Moral. The stuff itself must cost 
precious little to start with—to allow all these discounts. 
The expense is, in any case, a matter of bottles and labels, 
as the filling, as we have shown in the former articles, 
can be made very cheaply... .The '■Toll-gate” adver¬ 
tisement still appears in papers which go into respecta¬ 
ble families. Those who send for it get a card about the 
size of an ordinary envelope, with a very poor puzzle 
picture on one side, and on the other the advertisement 
of a “ Doctor ” who will for 10c. send his book on private 
diseases. Well, this book—which is embellished by a 
portrait of the author is just a wonder. We thought we 
had seen the high pressure style of “ medical ” literature 
before, but this “takes the rag off” of any quackery 
that we have seen. Being about matters that we do not 
care to print here, we cannot show it up as it deserves. 
This book tells us—about a very simple matter—“ no 
doctor under heaven understands this but myself,” and 
on through the whole little closely printed pamphlet, 
which is designed to convince any nervous person who 
reads it that something fearful is the matter with him, 
and that his only hope is to send to this Buffalo quack 
who treats patients by the month. Abbey—how can 
you—after publishing this-book, run down your brother 
quacks of the “Bible House,” “Howard Association,” 
“ Retired Physicians,” and all the rest, as you do on 
p. 23? There is said to be honor among thieves—are 
quack doctors without that attribute ?_A correspon¬ 
dent in Morgan Co.. Ohio, offers us some interesting facts 
about that ‘‘National Surgical Institute.” We do not 
need to go beyond its circular to form an opinion of it. 
48 CANCER PLASTERS, 
and all on one poor woman! A friend in Morrison, Ill., 
states that a wonderful cancer quack has been there 
from Princeton, Ill., who has as sharp a nose for cancers 
as a pig has for truffles. This fellow took six cancers 
out of one unfortunate woman,.and finding so many 
more, he concluded he must take her home with him in 
order to finish up the job. He writes to the poor crea¬ 
ture's husband that he has “got 48 plasters on her,” but 
that’s just nothing, as he has taken out over 80 cancers 
from one woman, and she lived. We are tempted to say 
that it is a pity that the “Doctor” did. Is there no 
power to stay those fiends who prowl about, and by giv¬ 
ing some “ test medicine ” profess to find cancers in any 
one who is weak enough to believe the wretch ? An 
Italian friend of ours—by the way one of the most ten¬ 
der-hearted of men in his acts, but one of tbe most vio¬ 
lent in speech, considers hanging too good for some 
crimes, and when he hears of anything particularly atro¬ 
cious says: “Boil them, boil ’em in oil, over a slow 
fire.” Perhaps this would be unnatural punishment, 
but this cancer quack should have at least 48 plasters put 
upon his body, “ where they would do the most good.'' 
Patent Fences.— “ G. H. S.,” Mason Co., 
Ill. There is no necessity to pay a patent right for the 
construction of a wire fence with pickets interwoven. 
There are a sufficient number of fences now in use, and 
not patented, from which to choose. Unfortunately, 
however, one does not know to-day if the fence he is 
building may not be patented to-morrow. Patents are 
granted for anything and everything of the most trifling 
character, and the patentees frequently impose upon 
public journals and get their patents described and 
published as contrivances in common use. Farmers are 
thus victimized by thousands-, and a regular business is 
thus carried on. The remedy is for the farmers to help 
the agricultural press to procure a change in the present 
loose system of granting patents. 
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Adorn 
Your Homes 
AT A 
Trifling Cost. 
We have some 
Splendid Pictures 
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Printed in 18 Color Shades, 
That are Beantifnl, and 
Charming. 
I—“Up for Repairs.” 
The sister mending her brother’s torn clothes, 
will be a fine ornament in any house. 
II—“Look Ont.” 
A maiden at a cascade in the act of dashing wa¬ 
ter upon you,—a new and greatly improved edition, 
of this new painting. 
Ill—“ Mischief Brewing.” 
A country boy with a “ Jack o’ lantern,” which 
he has made out of a pumpkin, and he is telling 
his little sister of the sport they will have with it 
by and by, after nightfall. 
IV—“The Strawberry Girl,” 
One of the most popular pictures brought out in 
this country or Europe, (size 14 by 20 inches,) of 
which every home should have a copy. 
As long as our supply holds out, we offer a choice 
of any one of the above four pictures, to every 
person subscribing for the American Agriculturist , 
who sends, to pay the cost of mounting, packing, 
and forwarding free by mail, viz: 
For No. I—only 25 cents extra, ‘i For mounting, 
For No. II. ...only 25 cents extra. packing, 
For No. Ill—only 25 cents extra. | and free 
For No. IY_only 50 cents extra. J delivery. 
That is, nothing for the pictures, and only 25 or 50 
cents extra for cost of mounting, packing, and pay¬ 
ing postage or express. Any one of these pictures 
is richly worth the cost of many subscriptions. 
They are beautifully printed in Oil Colors, and have 
the appearance, and indeed the value, of Oil Paint¬ 
ings on canvas. 
jy Name your choice when sending in your 
subscription. 
These Pictures are offered to all subscribers 
now coming in. 
Five Stock tit tlie Centennial.-* 
The Bureau of Agriculture of the International Centen 
nial Exhibition will exhibit Live Stock within the months 
of Sept, and Oct., 1S7G, as follows : Horses, mules and 
asses, (as one class), from Sept. 1st to 15th. Horned 
Cattle, (of all varieties), from Sept. 20:h to Oct. 5th. 
Sheep, swine and goats, (as one class), from Oct. 10th to 
25th. The Bureau is in daily receipt of applications for 
space, and it is highly important that all who design ex¬ 
hibiting, should now make application, as the prepara¬ 
tion necessary must be regulated by the actual demands. 
Inquiries as to regulations for admission of stock, etc., 
may be addressed to the Chief of the Bureau of Agricul¬ 
ture, Philadelphia. 
Basket Items con¬ 
tinued on page 237. 
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