126 
[April, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
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 thus sent to us are at our risk. 
Cliibit 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 back numbers will, of course, be sent to added names. 
Round Copies of Volume XXVISi 
(1869) arc now ready. Price, $2, at our office ; or $2.50 
each, if sentby mail. Any of the previous twelve volumes 
(16 to 28) will be forwarded at the same price. Sets of 
numbers sent to our office will be neatly bound in our 
regular stylo at 75 cents pcrvol., (50 cents extra, if return¬ 
ed by mail.) Missing numbers supplied at 12 cents each. 
The Chesapeake and Ohio IS. IS. 
Bonds.—Several years ago we became sowell satis¬ 
fied with the reliability, integrity, and good judgment of 
Messrs. Fisk & Hatch, that wc have since then usually 
referred to them any questions of finance of our own, or 
coming from our readers, and followed their advice. 
When we see their names and credit connected with 
an enterprise, we take it for gramted that it is a good 
thing, and on this ground alone wc should have great 
confidence in the Bonds of the Chesapeake and Ohio 
Railroad, which they offer through our advertising 
columns. But, a little study of the road shows it to bo 
one of great importance, and one most promising for 
financial success. The opening of a through route direct 
from the magnificent Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River, 
at a point to which it is almost always navigable, will sup¬ 
ply) a main artery through the whole range of the South 
Middle States, from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River. 
It is worth while to send to Messrs. Fisk & Hatch and 
get a descriptive pamphlet, furnished free, and at least 
become acquainted with the route. 
Ohio, Fruit anti “ Rug’s.”—The Ohio 
State Hort. Society memorializes the Legislature, setting 
forth that the orchard crops of the State are valued at 
over seven millions of dollars annually, and asks the ap¬ 
pointment of a State Entomologist. Wc hope to hear of 
the appointment of one. Missouri takes the lead in the 
war against insects. Illinois has lost her most efficient 
entomologist. New York has an entomologist whose 
reports, buried in those of the ponderous Agricultural 
Society might as well never have been printed, so far as 
benefiting the public is concerned. 
Sundry Humbugs,— The counterfeit, or 
Facsimile, money operators arc increasing in number, 
or, .the old operators are working under many new names. 
They have to change names often ; for as soon as they be¬ 
come known, Mr. Gayler pounces on their letters at the 
P. O.— Every honest person receiving any of these swin¬ 
dling circulars of any kind, at. any time, will do well to 
send them at once to Mr. James Gayler, Special Agent N. 
Y. P. O. Dept., or to us. This dodge is as follows: 
Private, “very confidential” lithographic letters are 
sent out, saying that the parties have a stock of “exact 
imitations of United States Treasury Notes, executed by 
the most skillful engravers, etc.,” which they offer to 
sell in sums of $500 and upwards, for 2 to 3 cents on the 
dollar, more or less, intimating in many ways, hut not 
exactly saying, that these can he used as currency for their 
full face. Various statements are made, fictitious news¬ 
paper items arc enclosed, a great deal said about secrecy, 
etc., eto. In this way they dupe multitudes of dishonest 
people to invest with them. When they send anything 
in answer, it is a reduced photograph of unsigned genu¬ 
ine notes, which latter, are, of course, “executed by the 
most skillful engravers,” though the wording of the cir¬ 
culars is not thus understood by those who get them. It 
is a pretty safe business, for those who get thus swindled 
are not likely to publicly complain, and thus criminate 
themselves by making known their attempts to he coun¬ 
terfeit money purchasers. Then, again, when those 
swindlers do get brought up, a careful examination of 
their circulars shows that they have really only offered to 
supply pictures of money. This game has been very ex¬ 
tensively carried on, but it is a satisfaction to know that 
none lose money but those willing to use and expecting 
to pass counterfeits. It is “ rogue cheat rogue.”—Among 
the new operators, or new names, in this line, are W. 
M. Martino, 75 Nassau St.; Daily & Co.. 73 Nassau St..; I. 
W. Smith & Co., 39 Nassau St., N. Y. ; Wm. Arnold, No. 1 
Bond St., N. Y., alias James Arnold, Jr., St. Charles 
Hotel, N. Y., who uses manifold paper, and sends -several 
manufactured newspaper Items to give plausibility to his 
pretension; A. L. Harratt, Box 21, Hudson City, N. J., 
who locates over the river to dodge Mr. Gayler. Another 
suppresses his name, but a different hand writing on the 
book says “address A. J. Hitchcock. 143 Fulton St.;” 
etc., etc., etc.A "Grand Presentation Enterprise,” 
ostensibly on Broadway, is one ®f the new schemes cir¬ 
culated by mail. The operator attempts to make it ap¬ 
pear that he is favored by the respectable Commercial 
Agencies of Messrs. McKillop, Sprague & Co., J. M. 
Bradst.reet & Son, and Dun, Barlow & Co., by saying he 
was “influenced” by them, etc. He probably got the 
names from their printed books, or from them for ft pro¬ 
fessedly legitimate object. The whole thing is no more 
than a lottery, n downright swindle, giving' nothing in 
return for money sent.“Sunlight Oil,” is noticed 
elsewhere (page 145). A correspondent at Marathon, 
N. Y., describes the operations of a fellow there selling 
recipes at $5.00 each, for “ making Kerosene at 12 cents 
a gallon.” From the descriptions, it is similar to the 
“Sunlight” affair. US 5 ” Beware of all these cheap, oi' 
manufactured oils. Don't let them try them irt One of 
your buildings. One of these peddlers came into our 
own town with some “ nOn-sxplosive, cheap oil, and 
while exhibiting it, it “went off,” and prodneed a firo 
that destroyed a whole block of stores, entailing great 
disaster upon several parties!.Against low-priced 
Sewing Machines, for $5, etc., we are again compelled to 
warn our readers, by the receipt of a fearful lot of com¬ 
plaints, from those who have sent money and can 
get no response to the original money letter, and 
others following It; and from others who have learned by 
experience that, these $5 machines are nothing hut a 
bother. Some of those advertising them appear to exist 
only in nn-c.ome-at-able circular and envelope shops. 
If people will send money -and clubs of subscribers to 
obscure towns, expecting to get three or four times their 
money’s worth in watches, cheap sewing machines, etc., 
they must expect to be cheated. It is very easy to get up 
one taking number of a paper, printed in New York of 
other large city, date it at some out-of-the-way place, of¬ 
fer immense premiums for clubs, and pocket all the money 
sent in. A swindler in New Jersey has made a fortune in 
this way; changing the name of his so-called firm when 
the former one gets in too bad odor. For special reasons 
in this case we omit the name for the time being. The 
same trick is frequently played in this and othercities. 
A vile villain calling himself “ Mrs. R. S. Godfrey,” 
sends murderous, infanticide circulars of the whining be¬ 
nevolent order, from a Long Island Post Office. We wish 
all such fellows had but one neck, and we bad a rope 
around it; we should practically disagree with Mr. Gree¬ 
ley for the space of 30 minutes at least.More hum¬ 
bug “ Receivers” for Reed & Co’s Swindle alias “ River¬ 
side,” appear under the names of J. J. Dodd & Co., and 
John W. Ames.Reinersville, Morgan Co., Ohio, has 
a “Gift Enterprise” man, who promises a newspaper 
and throws in a “ticket” for f chance in 25,628 for 
$500 in gold, provided 25,628 tickets are sold, and a few 
chances at some other prizes. Those who want newspa¬ 
pers will be wise enough, we hope, to send to the proper 
publishers, and know who is responsible for the money. 
None but foolish people will invest in any Gift enter¬ 
prise, alias lottery.We are sorry for the boy who 
lost his 25 cents, sent for a “Mocking bird whistle.” It 
may he a useful investment. The writer lost his first, 25 
cents by a N. Y. Humbug, and it has. perhaps, saved him 
many dollars, and waked him up to saving a great many 
other people from being swindled.A shrewd Nassau 
Street Swindler s*atters advertisements in South Carolina 
and elsewhere that a “4-months old, healthy child ” will 
be given to any one who will adopt it, and that $5,000 will 
be given to the benevolent individual who will take it, 
with good promises for its care. The swindle comes in just 
here : those writing about said child must enclose a post¬ 
age stamp for reply;—and many thousands do send them ! 
The Weights of tlse Ayra.nl t. Oxen 
which were withheld from the public in order to give 
the butchers time to adjust their bets, are given as fol¬ 
lows : Live weight, 3,300 lbs., and 3,320 lbs., making 
6,620 lbs. for one pair ; 3,400 lbs., and 3,440 lbs., making 
6,346 lbs. for the other—said to be the heaviest weight 
ever attained by a pair of oxen bred and fed together. 
Distil* for Mattrass.—“ T. D. P.,” New¬ 
ark, O. The hair formattrassesis curled by first spinning 
it to make a hard-twisted rope; it is then boiled or 
baked, and afterwards the rope is picked to pieces by 
band. It then retains the springiness imparted to it by 
the twisting and heating. 
TlieAsnefiea.il llotauiist anti Flor¬ 
ist— By Alpbonso Wood, A. 31. New York: A. S. 
Barnes & Co. The work consists of two parts, element¬ 
ary lessons, of 172 pages, and a descriptive botany, of 392 
pages, including index. By thu use of analytical tables, 
signs and abbreviations, the author has condensed de¬ 
scriptions of the native plants of the Atlantic division 
of the country, ns well as the main generally cultivated 
ones. In doing this the author lias shown great industry 
in reducing the descriptive matter to the briefest possi¬ 
ble space. Wo must admit that we nro not admirers of 1 
the condensed and meagre descriptions which botanists 
have of late given us. While, as in the case of the pres¬ 
ent work, they lead us to the name and botanical family 
of a plant by the shortest possible i’ottte, they fail to tell 
the young student all ho Would like to know about it. 
If some one of tho present day would-write such popular 
descriptions as did Dr. Bigelow in his Plants of Boston, 
botany would find many more students than at present. 
Astme Tour Slate.—Several letters, some 
of them containing money, have no mention of the Stato. 
The Montgomery Co. Horticultural Society sends Us re¬ 
ports of their meetings, but tliefe is nothing in the report 
that onftbies iis to giiess in what State the meetings are 
held. A good share of the notices of County Fairs have 
no State mentioned.—Name the State 1 Name the State !! 
Cabbages—How to Grow Them— 
By James J. H. Gregory, Introducer of the Marblehead 
Cabbage.“We always supposed that Mr. Gregory's hor¬ 
ticultural title was “Introducer of the Hubbard Squash,’* 
but this work informs us that he is hot only “I. II. biit 
“I. M. C-’* The work oil the cabbage is uniform with that 
on the sqitash, find gives details of culture, method of 
wintering cabbages, varieties, etc. Much of (lie practice 
will be found new to many growers of cabbages, espe¬ 
cially the recommendation to sow the seed where the 
cabbages are to stand. If Marblehead were not famous 
for its squashes it would be renowned for its cabbages, 
as, thanks to Mr. Gregory’s care in seed-growing, tho ex¬ 
cellent character and wonderful size of some of the local 
varieties are strictly maintained. Sent by mail by 
Orange Judd is Co. on receipt of price—80c. 
Feeding- Jersey Cattle.— Mr. Wm. T. 
Hughes writes: “In answer to an inquiry ns to what he con¬ 
sidered the best feed for Jersey cows, Mr. Fowler gives the 
following answer: ‘I recommend the foil owing mixture, it 
having given the best result in an experience of 50 years 
in a dairy of Jersey cows: 2 quarts of the best ground (not 
crushed) oats, 4 quarts of bran and 1 peck of cut. hay, mixed 
with 20 lbs. of sliced mangels. Divide into two meals, and 
feed morning and evening while milking. They should 
also have as much hay as they can cat up clean. The great¬ 
est care should bo taken that nono is left before them, as 
no more should he given than they can consume at once. 
This for winter feeding in Btall. I givo my dairy cows 
the oats, bran and cut hay through the summer when they 
come out of the pasture for milking. When dry, give no 
forcing foods.’ ” 
Com Stalks for Mulch. — J. H. W. 
Husman, in an essay read before the Montgomery Co, 
(State ?) Hort. Soc., says that he has a power machine 
which cuts and grinds stalks very fine. He finds the 
ground material admirably suited for a mulch around 
strawberry plants. 
Setting Trees.—“A. B.,” West Branch.— 
Your plan is “ Quincunx.” Illustrated in March, 1S6S. 
Tree Petllers.—“ S. T.,” Orange county, 
sends us a strong complaint against, tree podlers, which 
is too long for our columns this month. It is the old 
story. Pear trees bought of pedlers bore fruit the size of 
crab-apples, and all alike, and the blackberries and rasp¬ 
berries were wild stock. Years of waiting and poor fruit 
as a reward. Mr. T. proposes that farmers who wish to 
purchase, to club together and send one of their number 
to a reliable nursery and procure the trees. He truly 
says, that farmers have a hard time of it with tree ped¬ 
lers, patent fork venders, lightning-rod men, and the like. 
Fruit In Iowa.— A. E. Rich, West Union, 
says: “I was much interested in the article on fruit 
from your ‘ special contributor ’ in our Stale. The article 
is most excellent, hut for this, tho extreme northerly 
part of the State, needs a little amending. So far as ex¬ 
periments have been tried, trees set 14 feet apart, north 
and soutli, by 20 east and west, have done better than 
with more room ; the object, of course - , being self-protec¬ 
tion. Your correspondent recommends protection on tho 
north and west. Our prevailing winds are south and 
west. All old orchards exposed on the prairies in our 
part of the Stare lean to the north-east at an angle of 
from 30° to 45° in consequence of the prevailing south¬ 
west winds, and fruit half grown is blown from tho trees 
universally by storms from that direction. The bodies of 
trees exposed by their inclination to the direct, rays of the 
sun become diseased, the bark cleans off on the side thus 
exposed, and many valuable orchards are destroyed 
with us, for the want of a perfect south-west protection.” 
Harn Stcli.— Eben Wight, Dedham, Mass., 
speaks in the highest terms of Buchan’s Cresylic soap 
for exterminating tho " barn itch ” and lice on cattle. 
