384 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
June 1 
"HEALTH CURRENTS ." 
Four weeks ago, on page 316, we gave 
our opinion of the “electropoise” which 
is being advertised as a great “cure-all.” 
By turning back to that page, you will 
see that this device is a cheap little 
cylinder of nickel, filled with a mixture 
of sulphur and graphite, with a long 
cord connected with a garter. The esti¬ 
mated cost of the thing is under 50 cents, 
and the price is $25. The points we 
tried to make were these: 1. The 
difference between price and cost is 
altogether too great. 2 . We don’t be¬ 
lieve the sulphur and the graphite will 
set up any “action” that is going to do a 
sick person any permanent good. Our 
opinion, then, was that a nest egg or a 
horse chestnut carried in the pocket, 
would prove just as scientific a cure. 
Early this week, we received this note 
from the Medical Director of the com¬ 
pany handling this device : 
A lady brought us in an abstract from The R. 
N.-Y. of May 11, containing an ignorant, and an¬ 
noying attack upon “the electropoise.” “The 
electropoise” is not a fraud, no matter how appar¬ 
ently simple the contents and construction of the 
polarizer. When the polarizer is placed in cold 
water, etc., and the plate.is applied to the warm 
surface of the bodies of men or animals, a thermo¬ 
electrical current is started, and enters the body. 
This current has a most remarkable effect upon 
the circulation, nervous system and nutrition, 
thereby effecting unusual and also easy cures in 
many diseases which cannot be reached by the 
usual methods. I will call upon you. 
* 
Agreeable to his promise, this gentle¬ 
man called accompanied by the manager 
of the company—bringing an “electro¬ 
poise” along with him. They admitted 
that our statement as to the make-up 
and cost of the device, is correct—it is a 
50-cent article sold for $25. 
Now this is about the way we talked 
to these men : “ Our present opinion is, 
gentlemen, that this ‘ electropoise ’ is a 
a first-class ‘fad’. You charge for it 
50 times what it costs, and you make for 
it most extravagant claims which the 
ablest scientific men we know declare to 
be ridiculous nonsense. At the same 
time, we are always open to conviction. 
The R. N.-Y. is too big a paper to permit 
any bigotry or false prejudice to sway 
its opinion. While you can't buy our 
opinion for $ 1 , 000 , 000 , if you will give 
us proof that your claims are correct, we 
will help you place an ‘ electropoise ’ 
in the hands of every sick man in the 
country.” 
“That’s just what we came to do,” 
said the manager, “and here is your 
proof in these hundreds of printed testi¬ 
monials from those who have used the 
‘ poise ’ ” ! 
“ We don’t care anything about your 
printed testimonials. Admitting that 
these people think this ‘ poise ’ helped 
them, how do they know that it was not 
some change of diet or way of living, 
that did the business? What we call 
proof is a scientific demonstration that 
this ‘ force ’ you talk about, actually 
does cure, and an explanation of the way 
it cures and how it affects the system ! ” 
“ We can’t explain it. We only know 
that it does cure. We have a theory 
about it, however. Will you let us put 
one on you to illustrate it ? ” 
“ Certainly ! ” 
* 
A piece of ice was taken out of the 
water tank. The nickel case of the 
“electropoise” was put on this ice, and 
the whole wrapped in paper. The garter 
at the end of the cord was fastened to 
the writer's wrist to the satisfaction of 
the medical director, and we all waited 
for the appearance of the “ thermo-elec¬ 
trical current.” While it was preparing 
to start, the manager explained the phi¬ 
losophy of this new system of curing. 
Put in the simplest way possible, this is 
what we understand him to say : 
When put in cold water, the sulphur 
and graphite in the cylinder start up 
some sort of a chemical action, which is 
communicated by means of the cord and 
garter into the system of the person con¬ 
nected with the ’poise. Whether this 
“ charge ” is ordinary electricity or not 
nobody seems to know. After entering 
the system, it very conveniently goes to 
the spinal cord, and thence through the 
nerves all over the body, quickening all 
the processes of digestion and assimila¬ 
tion, and thus (of course) curing disease 
by mending all the broken-down parts 
of the body and causing all the organs 
Summer Homes and Tours. , 
A beautifully illustrated book—list of 
over 3,000 summer hotels and boarding 
houses in Catskill Mountains and central 
New York. Send six cents in stamps to 
H. B. Jagoe, General Eastern Passenger 
Agent West Shore Railroad, 363 Broad¬ 
way, New York, or free upon applica¬ 
tion.— Adv. 
to do perfect work in nourishing and 
taking off wastes. Somehow or other, 
all the wise men of the ages have skipped 
this great principle heretofore, and most 
of the scientists now on earth are so en¬ 
vious and afraid that this 1 • thermo-elec¬ 
trical current ” will absolutely ruin the 
business of doctors, druggists and under¬ 
takers, that they will persist in calling 
the “electropoise’ a humbug, just as they 
did the electric brushes and other fads 
which flourished so 15 years ago, and 
have long since died out! 
*• 
All this time I was waiting for that 
current to start. To cheer me along, the 
manager said that the current could cure 
catarrh, deafness, old sores of many 
years’ standing, bony growth at the 
joints, that it would prevent consump¬ 
tion in its early stages, relieve dyspepsia 
or nervous prostration, and that it will 
make seeds and plants grow faster ! 
Now I am deaf, and have had catarrh; 
my fingers have been frozen, I have five 
bad scars on my hands there is more or 
less malaria near where I live, I am 
always afraid that the baby will get 
hold of some tuberculous milk and drink 
it, I am sure to have a headache when I 
eat too much dinner, I am threatened 
with nervous prostration when I see 
how “ Preservaline” and the “Creamery 
Shark” are permitted to advertise, and 
my Lima beans simply won’t start this 
year. Therefore, you can imagine that 
1 was mighty anxious for that “current” 
to start and put an end to these various 
troubles. But it didn’t! I felt no effect 
whatever, and at last they took it off— 
putting me down, I fear, as a very tough 
subject. To tell the truth, I did expect 
to feel something like a mild shock of 
electricity, as 1 have no doubt something 
of that sort could be generated in this 
way. I simply did not feel it. We have 
now put the “ electropoise” in the hands 
of one who has been an invalid for many 
years. He will give it a fair trial, and 
we shall all know the results. Needless 
to say, we have no faith in it whatever. 
Possibly we were wrong in saying that 
it is no better than a dried horse chest¬ 
nut, for undoubtedly there may be gen¬ 
erated some slight chemical action. 
That this “current” will act all through 
the body, as these people claim, we do 
not believe, any more than we believe 
that skunk’s oil will cure deafness be¬ 
cause the skunk has a very acute sense of 
hearing. We have tried that remedy, too. 
* 
But stop ! Hold on now ! We don't 
want you to go away thinking that we 
are down on all new things and in¬ 
fluences that we can’t fully explain! 
Not at all. We have had quite a little 
experience with a “ Thermo-mental cur¬ 
rent,” and we have no objection to hav¬ 
ing every reader test it. To test it thor- 
oughly, you must send The R. N.-Y. for 
at least one year into some family that 
does not now read a first-class agricul¬ 
tural paper. At this end of the line, we 
guarantee to make things sulphurous 
for all the rogues. In place of using 
graphite, we w ill make a great-tight for 
the farmers’ rights, and try to put cool 
water on the hot-heads. The result of 
this combination will be a “thermo-men¬ 
tal current ” of improvement which fol¬ 
lows the mail right into that family, 
and works all through it, starting all 
the members up to better ideas of farm¬ 
ing and living. Now the proposition we 
have to make is this: 
You locate the paper in that family, 
and we will start this thermo-action at 
this end. If, at the end of the year, you 
don’t find evidences of this action in an 
improvement in that home and farm, we 
will return the cost of the subscription. 
Get them to pay for the paper, of course. 
They can’t get the full effect of this 
current out of a gift. When they pay 
for a thing, it means more to them, and 
they will try hard to get their money’s 
worth. Even this exertion will start up 
that thermo-current. Come now—let's 
have the test! And, by the way, don’t 
let any man put you off with the plea 
that he is too old to get any good from 
The R. N.-Y. Only this week the great 
ocean steamer Germanic came across the 
ocean—a distance of 2,856 miles—in 
seven days, six hours and ten minutes. 
This was the 213th time she has come 
across. The first trip over the same 
course required nine days, fifteen hours 
and one minute. What caused this differ¬ 
ence of over two days ? Her hull is just 
the same as ever, but she had new 
boilers on this last trip. It was the in¬ 
creased power that pushed that old hull 
through the water so as to gain two 
days. In the same way, it is the in¬ 
creased capacity for thought, suggestion 
and planning, that is needed to push 
that family out of the ruts. If a steam¬ 
boat can do better work because of a 
stronger engine, can’t a man be helped 
by a quickened mind and ambition? 
We say, YES ! Can’t you help us prove 
it? Remember the mowing machine, 
the rake and the cash ! 
Complete Fertilizers 
for potatoes, fruits, and all vegetables require (to secure the largest 
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At Least IO% Actual Potash. 
Results of experiments prove this conclusively. How and 
why, is told in our pamphlets. 
They are sent free. It will cost you nothing to read them, and they will save you 
dollars. GERMAN KALI WORKS, 93 Nassau Street, New York. 
There’s Money Selling It. 
We want you to sell Americus Brand Fertilizer 
—known everywhere, used everywhere, appre¬ 
ciated by everybody. Write us. 
Williams & Clark Fertilizer Co., 
81 Fulton Street, New York. 
THE CLEVELAND DRYER COMPANY 
Manufactures flrst-class FERTILIZERS for all 1 OFFICE: 
SOILS AND CROPS. I 130 SUMMIT ST., CLEVELAND, OHIO. 
Five Tons 
of Grapes 
remove from the soil 12.60 lbs. of nitro¬ 
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25.48 lbs. of potash. 100 lbs. of 
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contains 13 lbs. of nitrogen, 11 lbs. of 
phosphoric acid, and 28 lbs. of potash. 
Send for tree sample, and our literature on “ The 
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Manuring of Garden Crops.” They are sent free. 
ROBT. L. MERWIN & CO., 
Importers of Chemical Fertilizers, 88 Wall St., N. Y. 
CABLED POULTRY and CARDEN FENCE 
Also Cabled Field and Hog Fencing, Steel Web Picket 
Lawn Fence, Steel Wire Fence Board, Steel Gates, Steel 
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Catalogue Free. 
DeKalb Fence Co., 1 7High St., DeKalb, III. 
i Man Can Live Without Air 
_ly as u --- 
rat ELASTICITY. If the man was con- 
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)ur COILED STEELW1BE is armed sa 
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HORSE POWERS 
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Draft, Dura- 
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as the 
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THRASHING MACHINES. 
Best Machinery at Lowest Prices. 
A. B. FARQUHAR CO., York, Pa. 
J A SAW MILL. 4 H. P. and 
larger. Corn and Feed Mills. 
^ Hay Presses&WaterWheels 
DeLOACH MILL MFG. CO.. Box 307, Atlanta, Ga. 
FRENCH BUHR MILLS 
28 sizes and styles. Every mill warranted. 
For All Kinds of 
A noy can 
in order. “Book 
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All kinds mill machl 
mills built, roller or 
Reduced Price* for ’95. 
N0RDYKE & MARM0N 
270 Day Street, 
Ind. 
A ■HIII up MACHINERY and SUPPLIES. 
UAMimU D. G. TRENCH CO., Chicago, Ill, 
and Farnham. N. Y. Mention this paper. 
Horse Carts 
12 STYLES. 
NARROW an dlj$25 
WIDE TIRES. Wlpward.. 
2 and 4 Wheels. Write for 
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Steel Truck Wheels 
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Farmers use them In haul¬ 
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the wheels in one season. 
Write for circulars, price, 
etc. Save this address. 
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WHEEL CO., 
Havana, - - III. 
SEPARATOR a r.C pOWEUS 
for 1, 2, & 3 horses, with governor, ei ther lev el 
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Get 
onr 
price* 
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8. 8. ME88INGER A SON, TATAM Y. PA, 
Valuable Farm Property *Est ablishuient. 
Prince George's County, Maryland, midway between 
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GIDER 
MACHINERY 
Hydraulio, Knuckle Joint and Screw 
Presses, Graters. Elevators, Pumps, 
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" BEST, CHEAPEST and 
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WM. STAHL EVAPORATOR CO., - QUINCY, ILL 
