250 
AMEP.ICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[July, 
and measure, but in various put-up articles is there great 
fraud. So bad has this matter of short weights become 
in articles put up in cans, such as tomatoes, fruits, etc., 
that the dealers have had a meeting to agree upon uni¬ 
formity in packages. Three pound cans of tomatoes sel¬ 
dom weigh more than two and a half pounds, and unless 
carefully examined, the difference between the two is not 
noticed. Purchasers are partly to blame for this, as they 
buy what seems to be the cheapest without weighing. 
The whole business of retailing is full of small frauds, 
which all honest dealers will be glad to abolish, but the 
reform must begin with the purchasers, who should in¬ 
sist in getting just what they pay for, and if makers or 
putters-up of any articles in cans, bottles, or parcels give 
short weight, don't buy their goods_A friend sends us 
a lot of advertisements cut from a paper in Ohio and 
asks: “ How can 
A RESPECTABLE PAPER 
print such things ? ”—We really do not know, and advise 
our inquiring friend to ask the paper that does it. Still 
what can be expected of an ordinary secular paper when 
the Independent, which professes to be a religious jour¬ 
nal, not only admits quackery into its columns, but 
writes editorials in defence of it. 
MEDICAL MATTERS 
seem to be very quiet. A postmaster in Kentucky sends 
us the circular of one Dr. Van Meter, and asks us what 
we think about it. We think it about as fine a specimen 
of vanity and quackery as we have lately seen. Hq has 
a map showing his route of travel, a certificate of good 
character from certain “ elders,” he promises great things 
and will no doubt carry off from the places down upon 
his map more money in the one or two days he will stop 
lit them, than the well educated, thoroughly competent 
physicians at those places, who are too modest and have 
too much respect for their profession to resort to such 
means, can make in a year. Whenever a “ Doctor ” enu¬ 
merates what diseases he can cure, he shows the shallow¬ 
ness of his acquirements. . Travelling quack doctors 
have long been known, and probably the world will be 
afflicted by them for a long time to come. We have seen 
one of these chaps come into a place where there was an 
abundance of worthy physicians, and by his flourish of 
hand-bills, and great pretentions attract the most 
wealthy people in the town to the hotel where he re¬ 
mained a few days, and depart with hundreds of dollars. 
These same wealthy people being ready to run after the 
next quack who comes along. 
FRAUDS IN LIVE-STOCK. 
There have come to us so many complaints of the doings 
of some live-stock dealers in Chester Co., Pa., that we 
are very sure that they cannot be accidental, and have 
no doubt that actual fraud has been practiced, indeed one 
of our contemporaries has published the firm by name 
as swindlers. “ W. W. B.” asks if in this denunciation 
we refer to Potts Brothers, of Parkersburg, Pa., who are 
dealers in stock. Certainly not. We have never had 
any complaints of the manner in which Messrs. Potts 
Brothers conduct their business, and should be very 
sorry if our remarks should be construed to their injury, 
as we have reason to believe they are quite different peo¬ 
ple from those referred to. We have heard, what we 
hope may be true, that the fraudulent chaps have run the 
length of their rope and gone out of the business. 
SENDERS OF CIRCULARS 
must make some funny mistakes ; we happen to know of 
a case in which one of the most thoroughly confirmed 
and inveterate of old bachelors received by mail a pro¬ 
spectus of somebody’s “ Marriage Guide,” which “points 
out the perils that beset the inexperienced youth,” etc. 
_We learn that many postmasters engage in distrib¬ 
uting circulars of various quacks as well as of lottery and 
other swindling schemes. Such should be aware that 
the present Postmaster General is a man who tolerates 
no nonsense, and should a complaint be made that a 
postmaster engages in any such work as this, such post¬ 
master would very soon find himself without any post- 
office. We advise our many friends among the postmas¬ 
ters not to allow their good nature to let them do any 
work of this kind. Mr. Jewell means business, as a 
postmaster in Wyoming Territory found out to his sor¬ 
row ; the postmaster was in the pay of a lottery concern, 
and a special agent of the depariment put a stop to his 
eareer_A concern in St. Louis, Mo., sends out a most 
rascally circular to young men, the whole object of whicn 
is to work upon their fears, and as a matter of course 
make them think that their only safety consists in get¬ 
ting some of the nostrums offered in the circular. It 
would offend many good people if we were to speak as 
plainly as we would like in warning not only young men, 
but old ones, and women too, against the pernicious 
forms of quackery which have reference to sexual mat¬ 
ters. iii young people of both sexes could know that 
at a certain age new functions were developed, and that 
some things which take place in relation to these are 
perfectly in the order of nature, and not indications of 
anything wrong, they would be saved much anxiety and 
unhappiness. Mothers usually inform their daughters 
on such matters, but the boys are mostly left to pick up 
such knowledge as they can. If a boy just developing 
into manhood comes across one of these quack circulars, 
he finds there the first information he has had on such 
things. But unfortunately these quacks describe symp¬ 
toms and occurrences which may be perfectly natural, 
and not of necessity important, as something dangerous 
and alarming. The boy sees his own case described ex¬ 
actly, and is told that these things point to most unhappy 
results. After the youth's fears are excited, and he sees 
himself in imagination going to a premature grave as a 
wreck from debility, he finds to his great comfort the 
assurance that a certain “Restorer,” “ Invigorator,” or 
other nostrum will bring him sure relief, and he ends by 
writing a letter describing his troubles, and gives to some 
distant quack that confidence for which he unhappily 
can find no recipient at home. Fortunate is it if this 
correspondence leads only to the clandestine procuring 
and furtive taking of some simple tonic under a high- 
sounding name. Some of these quacks do not let their 
victims off so readily. There is a set of fiends who, if 
they can get the name of and any clue to a young man 
who has, or thinks he has, any trouble that he would 
not like to have known, set a price upon their silence 
and threaten, unless their victim pays a certain sum 
weekly, to expose him to his parents as under treatment 
for a disease he never thought of. Let every young man 
avoid all such correspondence. The mental effect of dif¬ 
ferent diseases is very peculiar ; one very ill with an 
affection of the lungs is cheerful and hopeful, and makes 
light of the most severe ailments, while one with any 
trouble, however light, of the sexual organs, is timid, ap¬ 
prehensive. and always magnifying the merest trifle into 
something of dangerous import. These quacks are well 
aware of the ease with which they can excite the fears of 
all, but especially of the young and uninformed, and 
when a boy old enough to know that there are different 
sexes, gets, hold of one of these villainous circulars, the 
chances are that his peace of mind will be seriously im¬ 
paired. Boys who read this, take a bit of advice I If one 
of these circulars falls in your way, don't read it. If you 
see a book on health advertised to be sent free, don’t 
send for it, indeed don’t bother with any medical books 
whatever. But if you feel worried about some things 
which you do not understand, go and have a free talk 
with the physician of your family, if there is no one at 
home you had rather confide in. 
Early Beatrice I*eacli.— J. McGregore. 
This peach has now been largely planted, and it is likely 
that the present season will allow a decision to be made 
as to its value. The trials in a few localities, when first 
introduced, were so promising, that a number of large 
peach growers, who plant solely for profit, set it in large 
quantities, and this year will be their first full crop. 
“ Wltat’s in a Name?”— We have on 
a former occasion noted some of the remarkable words the 
English have introduced into the nomenclature of horti¬ 
culture ; those applied to things, but now they are trying 
their hand at persons. We thought the extreme had 
been reached, when one English florist announced him¬ 
self as “ bouquetist to Her Majesty,” but Pooley & Co. go 
ahead of this, for they claim to be “ Horticultural Sun- 
driesmen" —but, Pooley & Co., why don’t you follow 
precedent and preserve the unities, by saying “ sun- 
driesists" 1 
Summer-Fallowing; for Wheat.— 
Elder Bros., Darlington, Beaver Co., Penn., write : “ The 
wheat crop looks badly in this county. We think we 
were fortunate in not sowing oats last spring on our corn 
stubble, but plowing it in June, and keeping it well cul¬ 
tivated and sowing it with wheat the last days of August. 
This wheat look well. 
fnratle €otswol«l Merino Slieep.— 
Elder Brothers, of Penn., write : “ Our grade Cotswolds 
are doing well. We have a flock of 80 yearlings, that 
will average over 100 lbs. each. We sold 100 lambs last 
year, at 12 weeks old, averaging 52 lbs. each. Was not 
that good ? It is a remarkably good average, but the 
lambs from these 80 yearling ewes, if bred to a pure 
Cotswold this fall, will give a still higher average. At 
least this is our experience. 
Sowing' Wheat after and before 
Rain. —“ We sowed a field of wheat,” writes a corres¬ 
pondent, in Penn, “on the 26th and 28th of last Septem¬ 
ber, the ground being very dry. On the 26th we were 
driven out of the field by heavy rain. Finished sowing 
on the 28th. What we sowed after the rain, up to the 
very drill track, is better than what was sown before. 
What is the reason f ”—Perhaps the drill deposited the 
seed deeper, and covered it better in the moist earth 
after the rain. Or it maybe that the rain only wet the 
surface soil half an inch or so deep, and the wheat was 
in dry soil below, but in drilling after the rain, the 
moist earth disturbed by the drill coulters, fell into the 
drill row with the seed, and caused it to germimate 
quickly. Wheat loves a compact soil. It may be that 
the seed sown after the rain, was brought in closer con¬ 
tact with the soil—that the moist earth adhered more 
closely to the kernels, or that the drill coulters pressed 
the moist earth, and made a firmer bed for the seed and 
young plants. 
Grasses for tSae Sou jit.— “Ranger.” 
Orchard Grass, (Dactylis glomerata ), has been found to 
succeed very well in the southern states as a hay grass, 
but it must not be pastured after it has been mown. It 
should be cut while in its early blossom, or the hay will 
be inferior in quality. For winter pasture, Kentucky 
Blue-grass, (Poapralensis), has been found the most de¬ 
sirable, but to have a good bite during winter, it should 
not be pastured in the summer. We know of no grass 
that will stand pasturing the year round in the south 
without irrigation. 
Bremen and CBnina CSeese.— “R. J. 
F. W.,” Loudoun Co., Ya. The Bremen geese are white 
and large bodied. China geese are very readily distin¬ 
guished by their long necks, dark gray bodies, the dark 
stripe down their necks, the bunch on the base of the 
bill, which is most prominent in the gander, and the 
very coarse noise which they make. 
f nforination iibont Patents.—“ O. 
P. W.,” Henderson Co., Tenn. We can not give the 
information desired. It will be the least trouble, when 
information about the dates of the issue of patents is 
desired, to write direct to the Commissioner of Patents, 
Washington, D. C. 
Fish Scrap in t&lsio. —“ J. F.,” Brook¬ 
lyn, Ohio. Farmers near the sea-coast have learned the 
value of fish scrap, and it is eagerly purchased by them 
for $25 and over per ton. It would be well for those 
near the shores of the great lakes where fish are taken in 
large quantities, and where scrap can be procured for 
nothing, to know that it possesses most of the proper- 
tifes of guano, although in a less concentrated form, and 
may be used in the same manner and for the same pur¬ 
poses as guano. By composting the fresh scrap with 
five times its quantity of stable manure or swamp muck, 
a most valuable fertilizer may be made, of which two tons 
would be about equal to 300 lbs. of guano. 
Fubic Feet of* IBuy in a Ton.— 
“E. M.,” Chalybes, Conn. It has been stated several 
times in the Agriculturist, that 500 cubic feet of ordinary 
timothy and clover hay, packed in a mow under ordinary 
circumstances, and settled down for three or four months, 
will make a ton of 2,000 lbs. A mow of such hay, cut 
when the timothy was in blossom, and with not more 
than one-third of clover in it, that had remained in a 
mow 30 feet long, 16 feet wide, 16 feet high, for nine 
months, when weighed out for sale, was found by us to be 
a little less than 15 tons. We have baled and weighed 
several mows and stacks of such hay, with the same 
result. Clear clover hay is much lighter, and requires 
nearly 700 cubic feet for a ton. Red-top hay is still lighter 
than clover, and timothy cut ripe, is heavier than when 
cut in blossom. We know of no aulhorilative statement 
in any publication as to this matter, but we believe our 
estimate will agree with that of most persons who have 
had experience in packing hay. We should be glad to 
hear from those of our readers who have measured and 
weighed hay of different kinds, as to the bulk of a ton. 
Oregon. —Those interested will find a very 
good new Map, etc., of this stale, advertised by Messrs. 
Gill & Co. This is in the future to be one of the grand 
states of the Union on the Pacific Coast. 
Construction of Mill Mams, by Jas. 
Leflel & Co., Springfield, Ohio, is a work that will be 
found very useful to millers and manufacturers, who own 
water-powers. The principles upon which dams should 
be constructed, are explained and illustrated by descrip¬ 
tions and engravings of dams now existing in various 
parts of the country. The authors and publishers are the 
makers of the well known Leflel turbine wheels, and 
understand what they write about. 
Value of Skimmed Milk.—“H. B. G.,” 
For feed for pigs we should judge skimmed milk to be 
worth not more than two cents a gallon. We should be 
glad to have a record of the feeding of a pig upon 
skimmed milk and meal, with the quantities of each 
used, and the gain in weight made in 100 days, by a few 
of our readers, to compare with records of our own. 
