1887 
Ciutcaiionnl, 
SHORTHAND. 
A. 6. ’s paper on shorthand p. 374 of last 
year’s Rural is excellent, well worthy of at¬ 
tentive reading hy educationists, and by all 
the hosts of young jieople who aspire to St 
themselves with every item of serviceable 
panoply for the struggle of life. A. G. evi¬ 
dently knows all about his subject, and tells 
the disinterested truth. I should like to add a 
few items to his excellent paper; justified by 
60 years’ experience and study of many sys¬ 
tems; English, French and German. 
Phonography should be taught in the public 
schools, beginning at the age of eight or nine, 
and for the following reasons: It is becoming 
a necessity to all writers, and especially to 
clerks, and will soon be indispensable in the 
increasing rapidity of busiuess movement of 
the coming electric age. Its practice im¬ 
proves the eommou handwriting, rendering it 
more compact and legible. Its alphabet is 
even simpler than long-hand letters, and all 
its characters can be learned at quite an early 
age. It is put ely imitative finger work, lay¬ 
ing no burdeu at all on the tender brain. It 
requires exactitude of length and direction of 
stroke, aud thus cultivates precision, and hab¬ 
its of correctness aud truth,—a habit aud a 
moral effect of no mean value This variety 
and precision of tracing are the elements 
of all sketching and drawing; and one 
who has practiced any of our geometrical 
forms of shorthand soon fiuds that he or she 
has acquired an easy ability to draw any fig¬ 
ure desired. As only the sounds iu auy word 
are written, thcso must be exactly discrimi¬ 
nates!; and thus there is a continual practical 
exercise in phonetics, and in the elements of 
good and pure elocution. Early and long- 
continuing practice is necessary to give the 
fingers such ready memory of the movement 
proper to each word that they, of themselves, 
trace it the moment it is heard without the 
hesitation which a reference to brain memory 
would occasion. Very few, indeed, who begin 
to learn shorthand with a view to taking down 
spoken words as fast as delivered, ever get 
their Augers trained and drilled into the 
capacity for doiug it. As in the case of long- 
hand, practice must begin before the muscles 
of their motor nerves stiffen into set ways and 
while they Rre yet lissome and adaptive? 
Very simple series of lessons for quite young 
pupils may be learned of, or examples ob¬ 
tained, by sending a card of inquiry to the 
Phouetic Depot, Tyrone, Pa. 
The discriminations made by A. G. between 
different systems of shorthand are strikingly 
just ami appreciative. The advantage claimed 
for Eame’s system (Sun Francisco) of being 
free from shading, is one that facilitates the 
writing. His system also gives a preference 
to curve strokes, using them for the most fre¬ 
quent sounds, as being naturally easier to 
trace than strictly straight ones. The diffi¬ 
culty of reading Graham’s and of writing 
Munson's are not by any means overstated. 
The inventor’s own system is undoubtedly by 
far the most successful in actual practice aud 
the most extensively iu use. His Phonetic 
Journal has now a weekly circulation of over 
20,000, and of his Teacher a million of copies 
have been printed aud sold. His publications 
make a library, Longley’s Eclectic Short¬ 
hand is the nearest imitation among American 
systems, but uses more shading. 1 close by 
seconding A. G.’s advice to young people to 
form small clubs for the purpose of coujomt 
study, practice and criticism of each other’s 
writiug. Every week of the practice will bo 
beneficial in several ways. Keep the little 
book of instruction and exercise in a side 
pocket, aud take one thing at a time from it, 
to be well learned—a little at a time, but of¬ 
ten. So, step by step, great attainments cau 
be reached. w. 
Cam. 
“Every Man is presumed to know the Law. 
Nine-tenths of all Litigation arises from Ig¬ 
norance of Law." 
RECENT LEGAL DECISIONS. 
Railway Company—Liability for Loss 
of Perishable Frnioht. —Where the trans¬ 
portation of freight, perishable in its nature, 
was interrupted aud delayed by a flood in the 
river which the track of a railroad crossed, 
aud the freight decayed, and there was no 
uegligeuee on the part of the common carrier 
iu taking care of the freight or otherwise, the 
loss was attributable to the flood as an act of 
God, and the Supreme Court of Georgia hold 
that the carrier was not liable. (Norris vs. 
Savatmuh, Florida & Western Railway Com¬ 
pany.) The court said that the fact that a 
similar flood had occurred once iu each of the 
THE RURAL HIW-YORSCfh, 
two preceding years, but that the carrier had 
not, by changing the construction of its road 
or providing other means of crossing the 
river, avoided the detention, did not render 
him liable, such floods being, up to the time 
of the trial of the cause, otherwise unprece¬ 
dented. 
Ltartlity of Railroads for Failure to 
Fence the Track.— The Minnesota statute 
provides that any railroad company which 
fails or neglects to fence its tracks, “shall 
hereafter be liable for all damages sustained 
by auy person in consequence of such failure 
or neglect.” The language is held to cover, 
not only damages or injury to stock, but also 
damages to an abutting farm by rendering it 
less valuable for the purpose of raising or pas¬ 
turing animals than it would be if properly 
fenced. —Emmons v. Minn., aud St. L. R’y. 
Co.—Minn. 
Trespass. —In an action of trespass for fell¬ 
ing trees across a line fence and leaving the 
brush on the neighbor’s land, the measure of 
damages is uot the mere expense of removing 
the brush, nor is it the value of the land alone. 
The damages should be measured by such con¬ 
siderations as the value of the laud before and 
after the cutting; the uses to which the land 
is adapted; and the extent to which the plain¬ 
tiff was deprived of its use. The damages may 
be more or they may be less thau the expense 
of removing the brush.-Hutchinson v. Parker. 
—N. H, 
Sheriff’s Sale. —A Sheriff’s sale will not 
be set aside for mere inadequacy of price if 
no fraud entered into the matter. Fraud on 
the part of the purchaser is a I ways a good 
ground for setting aside the sale. The rule of 
the court is as follows: “No motion to open a 
sale of real estate, made by the Sheriff or 
Coroner, will be entertained, unless made at 
the first opportunity, aud an offer made by 
some responsible bidder to bid 25 per cent, 
more.”—Weaver vs. Lyon.—Pa. 
Statute of Limitations.— "Where a per¬ 
son uses water from a spring with the knowl¬ 
edge of and without the objection of the own¬ 
er for five years uninterruptedly, he acquires 
the right to use it by adverse possession or 
user. Even if the owner disputed the right 
and failed to bring an action within five years 
the statute would bar action.—Cox vs. Clough. 
—Cal. _ 
M. S. T., Queens Co., L. T. —Three wit¬ 
nesses for plaintiff swear positively that they 
heard a certain contract made for the sale of 
horse-radish in casks, and that the buyer 
agreed to take the contents of the casks, dirt 
and all, at a reduced price. Two witnesses for 
defendant swear that defendant said at the 
time he was uot buying the dirk After the 
contract was made *10 wore paid on account 
and a receipt given of which the following is 
a copy: 
Received of-ten dollars deposit on 20 
casks of horse-radish at cents per pound to 
secure about 10,000 pounds'to be paid for on de¬ 
livery, to be delivered on March 31, ISfsT. 
New York, March 30, 1SS7. 
A public weigher was then called aud the 
horse-radish was weighed by him, and the 
plaintiff seeks to secure judgment for the con¬ 
tents of the casks, dirt aud horse radish, at 
the rate of cents per pound. On the above 
facts could the jury find a verdict for the 
plaintiff, and if they did would the verdict not 
be set aside by the Court ? 
Ans. —It is quite possible for the jury to find 
for the plaintiff in the case described, and if 
they should render such a verdict the Court 
would uot set it aside unless* the judge was 
fully persuaded that it was contrary to the 
preponderance of testimony. Of course, we 
cannot determine from the statement which 
of the contestants is right. It may be that the 
seller really supposed that he was to get 
cents for the contents of the casks, dirt and 
all; while the buyer was willing to take the 
merchandise as it stood, but expected that 
the weight of the dirt would be deducted. It 
is not a case for litigation, but for friendly 
arbitration. 
R. II., Buffalo, N. Y .—A holds a mortgage 
against B, on which B has paid a portion of 
the principal from time to time, reducing it 
over one hulf, and taking receipts for the 
same. In case A assigus said mortgage to a 
third party, without entering payments, can 
B lie held liable for the mortgage to the third 
party notwithstanding the payments he has 
made? Aud if so, is it uot a criminal offense 
ou the part of A? 
Ans. —If the moi’tgage debt is secured by a 
boud, as usual iu New York State, the assign¬ 
ment conveys to the assiguco the right to col¬ 
lect only the amount actually duo, and he will 
have to give credit for all the payuieuts of 
principal made to A. But if, as iu some 
States, a negotiable note takes the place of a 
bond, aud is assigned before maturity, then 
the assignee cau collect the full amount which 
appears by the face of the note to be due. A’s 
offense is iu a moral point of view as bad as 
robbery, but cannot be brought under any 
penal statute. He will be liable, however, in 
an equitable action,after B has been compelled 
to pay the full amouut of the mortgage debt, 
to refund to the latter the payments made ou 
the mortgage. The only safeguard against 
rascality of this description is for the debtor 
to see the payments entered on the note when 
made. 
It. S., Rochester, Minn. —What disposition 
do the laws of this State make of the property 
of a married woman who dies without making 
a will? 
Ans —The surviving husband is entitled to 
hold for life, free of the intestate’s debts, the 
homestead belonging to her, and one-third of 
auy other lands owned by her at her decease, 
the latter subject, however, to her debts, with 
one-third of her personal property. If the 
deceased wife left no kindred, her whole estate 
goes to the survivor. If she left children, 
they divide among them two-thirds of the 
property, real and personal, exclusive of the 
homestead. 
u An old Subscriber ,” Essex Co., N. J .—I 
own land adjourning a stream 30 to 40 feet 
wide. The laud on both sides is valuable— 
worth, say, from *100 to $150 per city lot. 
The owner on the opposite side of the stream 
is about to build and has filled out three or 
four feet into the stream. Others are contem¬ 
plating to do the same thing. Have they 
any right to fill up any part of the stream, 
thereby forcing the current on to my land? 
Ans. —If anybody whose land abuts on a 
stream makes any change in its natural flow 
to the injury of any other owner situated on 
it, or shall in any way interfere to prevent 
the stream from flowing as it was wont to 
flow, he is responsible for auy damage it may 
occasion. 
InX vacant s Pa c e up near the Grand Central 
Depot the other evening the Eye-Opener was 
attracted by a large respectably dressed crowd 
surrounding an elegant carriage drawn by a 
fine pair of gray horses,and containing a fine- 
looking, well dressed mau who was selling 
jewelry. At that moment he was selling 
sleeve buttons at 25 cents per pair. After 
disposing of a number of these he bought 
them back for 50 cents pier pair. The bait 
took. Then he offered watches at $1 each, 
and bought them back for $2 each. By this 
time the crowd had attained great size aud 
the excitemeut was at fever heat, aud growing 
hotter. Then the salesman produced several 
alleged gold watches, put $10 bills inside of 
the cases before the eyes of the gaping 
crowd, and sold the watches for $10 
apiece. Business fairly boomed, and nearly 
everybody in the crowd whose pocket 
contained $10 invested. Several even 
borrowed money from acquaintances in order 
to “make a haul.” Greed, the swindler’s 
chief reliance, was ludicrously developed on 
all sides. Everybody expected to get back 
the worth of at least twice what he hud paid. 
When the man had obtained most of the 
money in the crowd, who were looking for at 
least 100 per cent, dividend, he suddenly gath¬ 
ered up the reins, shouted that he was in a 
hurry, but would be in the same place next 
evening at the same hour, and rapidly drove 
away. When the purchasers examined the 
alleged “gold watches,” they found them to be 
cheap gilt lockets, mighty hard to open, aud 
when at last the lids were pried off the $10 
bills had mysteriously disappeared. A very 
little sleight of hand had “palmed” the bills in 
each case, just before closing the lid. The 
sharper must have cleared at least $500 out of 
that wide-awake crowd of city respectability! 
Less pretentious fakirs in the same line are 
constantly practicing their tricks in country 
towns aud villages; are constant attendants 
at all circuses, and are occasionally permitted 
to be present, even at agricultural fairs. Un¬ 
less blinded by idiotic greed, nobody but a 
nincompoop would ever expect to get the best 
of such practiced rogues, yet how many thou¬ 
sands make the attempt every week! 
“The World’s Enterprise” is the name of a 
miserable little eight-page sheet printed with 
the poorest sort of type on wretched paper, 
aud sent out by J. M. Bain, Zanesville, Ohio, 
the notorious fraud and humbug. He says he 
wants to add 200,(XX) uamesto his subscription 
list, and.will send a setting of nine eggs of 
choice varieties to each person who will for¬ 
ward to him ot ouce $1.25, tho amount of the 
annual subscription. The despicable little pa¬ 
per, which pretends to ileal with poultry mat¬ 
ters, isn’t worth 25 cents a year—no, nor 15 
cents, and whoever trusts to Bam for a premi¬ 
um is certain to be fooled. Among other hum¬ 
bugs advertised in the catch-penny affair are 
the “Diamond City” fraud of the “Ohio Land 
Agency,” like that.exposed below; the World’s 
Publishing Company, of Zanesville, Ohio, and 
the American MTg Co of the same place. The 
latter makes Bain’s worthless incubators. Of 
course, none of our readers will be stupid 
enough to have anything whatever to do with 
Bain or with any business in which he is in¬ 
terested. 
Here are some old swindles in new or for¬ 
gotten forms, accounts of which are condensed 
from various papers: The “Ohio Land 
Agency of Zanesville, Ohio,” sends packages 
by express to various farmers in different 
States, with a charge of $1.40 in cash. The 
farmer pays the $1.40 and takes the pack¬ 
age, under the delasiou that the contents 
must be valuable. He finds a deed for a town 
lot in Forest City, Mo., valued at $200, It is 
said so be a free gift, the recipient being only 
expected to induce others to settle at the 
place. The charges of *1,40 are merely for 
notary fees, looking up abstracts, etc. In 
several cases investigation has shown that the 
deeds are not worth the paper on which they 
are written. This is a variation on that 
Florida fraud—the St. Andrews Bay R. R. 
and Land Company. We are very much dis¬ 
posed to agree with the Ohio Farmer in the 
opinion that J. M. Bain, the “chicken swind¬ 
ler'" of Zanesville and several other neighbor¬ 
ing Buckeye towns, has a big hand in this 
fraud. 
Moral. —Don’t “buy a pig in a poke”— 
never pay out money till you are sure that you 
are getting the worth of it. 
Charles Schmidt, hailing from Wooster, 
Ohio, sees an advertisement in the paper, and 
sends for a lot of the goods, inclosing with the 
order his check ou some hank for the amount 
of the bill, aud mentioning the name of the 
paper in which be saw the advertisement. 
The advertiser, as a rule, congratulates him¬ 
self on the sale, and promptly forwards the 
goods, depositing the check with his own 
bank for collection. In about a week’s time 
he is surprised to receive the check back with 
a notice from the bank on which it was drawn 
to the effect that Schmidt is unknown there, 
and has no funds on deposit. Meanwhile 
Schmidt receives and gets rid of the goods and 
disappears. Occasionally the advertiser is 
cautious enough to send on the check for col¬ 
lection before forwarding the goods, and 
thus avoids some loss and much vexation. We 
heartily agree with Farmers’ Review that the 
only safe rule Is to ship no goods on individu¬ 
al checks, unless they are certified or the ship¬ 
per is personally acquainted with the party 
sending the-ordor. Frequently swindlers give 
excellent references, knowing that inquiries 
are seldom made before tbe goods are sent, 
unless the order is unusually heavy. Still of- 
teuer they give reference to themselves under 
other names and at other addresses, or to con¬ 
federates. In such cases, of course, the au- 
swers to inquiries are always highly favora¬ 
ble and usually the references given bear 
names very closely resembling those of well- 
known reputable parties doing business close 
to the addresses given. 
iVlbcellmicous. 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
The seventh annual meeting of the National 
Association of Teachers of Agriculture will be 
held at the Illinois University, Champaign, 
III., July $ and 9. Some of the topics for dis¬ 
cussion are: How can the Colleges of Agricul¬ 
ture best secure tbe confidence and support of 
the farmers of tluer respective States? What 
should be tlie requirements for admission to 
the different courses iu Our Agricultural Col¬ 
leges? What are the advantages and disad¬ 
vantages of short or special courses as shown 
by experience? How much and what kinds of 
manual labor, or laboratory work, should be 
required of agricultural and horticultural 
students? Text books for agricultural and 
horticultural classes. The proper function of 
the farm, outside of experimental work. To 
what extent can agricultural instruction be 
made a means of mental discipline, as well as 
a means of imparting information? What 
relation should the agricultural college sus¬ 
tain to the Experiment Stations to be estab¬ 
lished under the Hatch Bill? 
Whitman Agricultural Co., St. Louis, 
Mo.—The catalogue from this first-class 
house is interesting aud instructive. The hay 
presses made by the Whitman Co. are consid¬ 
ered by practical men to be the best ou the 
market. One who reads this catalogue can 
readily see how the claims made there are to 
be substantiated, for the explanations are 
complete iu every way. The baled hay indus¬ 
try is a very important one and it is 'growing 
more important. Those who engage in„it 
shouldbe sure that they start right by secur¬ 
ing the best implements available, We com- 
