Of the Seven Wise Men of Old. some of 
whose sayings have been treasured oy the 
Ages, wasn’t it Thales, of Melitus, who, on 
hearing some infamous rascals loud in his 
praise, exclaimed, “Ob, ye gods! what have 
I done that these wicked wretches should 
praise me!” It shocked him to be lauded by 
scoundrels of so black a character; whereas 
he would have been delighted with abuse from 
their usually foul lips. It is on this principle 
that we are rejoiced at the vituperation 
poured out on this paper by that catch penny 
affair, the Mississippi Valley Farmer, which 
has more than once been justly denounced in 
this department. Blame from such a source 
is praise indeed! 
From the pulpit the preacher, month after 
month, and year after year, finds it neces¬ 
sary to reiterate the same lessons of piety 
and morality; and in this department the 
Eye-°pener deems it advisable at frequent 
intervals to warn his readers against the same 
old frauds and humbugs. Without doubt the 
most successful of these of late, have been 
those played by “confidence men” in the 
country. These are worthy of special and 
frequent mention because they are so often 
successful and also because the sums lost are 
always heavy, ranging, as a rule, from $1,000 
to $10,000. For instance, Thomas Cook, aged 
87, of New Bedford,_ Mass., was fleeced out 
of $5,000 by two sharpers the other day. 
One of them persuaded the old man to 
visit a room to examine a rare book, 
as he was somewhat of a literary turn. 
There they met a confederate, and after some 
conversation, one of the sharpers began to 
manipulate numbers, and told Cook he had 
won $5,000, which he could have if he would 
produce an equal amount to prove that he 
would have been able to pay had he lost in¬ 
stead of gaining. Among sharpers of this 
stripe, that is the commonest sort of trick to 
induce their victims to get together and pro¬ 
duce the money they intend to misappropri¬ 
ate. Tt succeeded with old man Cook, who 
hurried about till he had collected the $5,000, 
which the men snatched from him and escaped. 
Old men are almost invariably the prey of 
these rascals ; for it is old men who are most 
likely to have accumulated money ; then their 
feebleness makes it easier to rob them, and 
after having done so, to get away before the 
authorities are set on the sharpers’ track. More¬ 
over, old men are apt to flatter themselves 
that they know all the wickednessand knavery 
of the world, and of all men the easiest to 
fleece is the senile addlepate who “knows 
it all.” 
Land-sharks are particularly busy during 
the present season, judging by the number of 
exposures of their swindling operations that 
are met with in the papers. Their knavery 
seems to cover a great deal of ground, as they 
are “ working ” the public in a large number 
of widely separated places. Their plans have 
been often exposed here. Just now they 
seem especially intent on disposing of splendid 
lands in swamps, on rocky mountain sides or 
n barren wastes. When the victim finds out 
how he has been fleeced, if he is able to return 
to the sharper, he is very likely to find that the 
latter has flitted, or the rascal will brazen 
out his fraud. It is seldom the victim gets any 
redress. Buying a “ pig in a poke ” is seldom 
a profitable transaction for the buyer. 
It appears that that swindle, the Standard 
Pants Co., which was hunted out of New 
York a few weeks ago, shortly afterwards 
started “ business ” in Chicago, but it does not 
seem to have prospered there, either, as Tabel, 
its chief, is now in jail. 
Here is a little game which has proved quite 
profitable to a crook in this city. A short 
time since he advertised simultaneously in 75 
papers for a clerk at $1,000 a year. He re¬ 
ceived several thousand answers, of course, 
and to each applicant he returned a circular 
saying that he must have from 50 cents to 
$1, as a guarantee of good faith before con¬ 
sidering the matter. Advertising agents'can 
secure the insertion of an “ad” in a large 
number of papers of a certain class fora mere 
trifle, and as this clever rascal got over two 
hundred remittances, he more than “cleared 
expenses.” 
Concerns Censured. —Under this caption 
the Eye Opener will, from time to time, give 
the names of various dubious concerns he has 
seen spoken of in other papers, but which have 
not been investigated from the Rural Office. 
The Western Magazine Publishing Company, 
Omaha, Neb., is denounced as a humbug by 
several Western papers. It is one of those catch¬ 
penny affairs that throw out for gudgeons the 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
glittering bait of large premiums. This con¬ 
cern offers “ $15,000 in Gold and Silver, and 
$6,000 in Handsome Presents” to be“ Given 
Away ”... “to the first/500 persons who answer 
Correctly, ‘ Where in the Bible is First Found 
the Word Raven?’” All these swindling 
schemes have a strong family resemblance ; 
and very properly, too, as a considerable num¬ 
ber of them are carried on by the same 
sharper under different names or in different 
places. The alleged gifts or presents are of 
course never given. Boys and girls are the 
principal dupes of such schemes, though they 
often catch older greenhorns who expect to 
get a good deal for nothing or next to it. 
D. M. Mohler & Co., New Carlisle, Ohio, ap¬ 
pears to be an alias or “another edition” of 
“ Chicken Swindler,” Bain of Zanesville. The 
“Jewel Tree Gooseberry ” is the humbug the 
concern wants to sell the public just now 
as something marvelous. The plant grows to a 
great hight, and bears splendid berries, each 
of which contains just precisely seven seeds. 
A bogus history of the variety is given. Of 
course Rural readers will leave the fraud 
severely alone. 
% p.oiiltrij lino). 
POULTRY NOTES. 
Now is the time to kill and eat spring 
chickens. This is the season of hard work on 
the farm and the farmer and his family should 
have the best of food. Chickens no longer 
command a fancy price, and now is the time 
to eat them. They are no more expensive 
than roast or corned beef and are vastly better 
food at this season. 
Eggs are not used in the farm house as 
much as they ought to be. This is due largely 
to the want of variety in cooking them. There 
are many other ways of preparing eggs 
besides frying and boiling them. When eggs 
are cheap don’t glut the market with them but 
use them yourself. 
We have two adjoining yards, one con¬ 
taining ordinary barn-yard fowls, made 
up of Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks and 
Cochins; the other of thoroughbred 
Wyandottes. The cross-breds or scrubs pro¬ 
duce nearly a third more chicks and eggs than 
the others and do not receive nearly so much 
attention. The Wyandottes are probably in- 
bred too much, and this is probably the 
trouble with the breed. There are few if any 
better table fowls than the Wyandottes, and 
they are exellent layers. They are, however, 
very delicate, and are often deformed and 
unhealthy. 
Is there a better cross for the table than the 
Indian Game and the Plymouth Rock? 
Stephen Beale recommends a Dorking cock 
with Brown-Red Game hens. 
It is said that uniformity of color renders 
difference in the size of eggs less noticeable. 
People like uniformity of size, and uniformly 
colored eggs; all will bring a better price than 
those not assorted according to color. Dark- 
colored eggs among white ones, always look 
larger than they really are. It pays to spend 
a little time in assorting eggs before sending 
them to market. 
It is evident that it will be”a long time be¬ 
fore fattening machines will come into general 
use in the country. In fact there is very little 
advantage in stuffing ducks or chickens for 
the ordinary market. If, however, fowls are 
put into coops, where they can get gravel, 
and are fed upon corn and corn meal dough 
well cooked,at least once a day, they will fatten 
nicely in, say, ten days. Fresh skim-milk 
with a little pulverized charcoal should be 
given them to drink. 
Although eggs have been sold by weight 
in the West for a long time, yet there seems 
little disposition on the part of Eastern pro¬ 
duce dealers to adopt the excellent custom. 
Keepers of poultry would then seek such 
breeds as would lay the greatest number of 
pounds in eggs, rather than the greatest num¬ 
ber of eggs, be they large or small. 
Are chickens with cholera poisonous if 
eaten ? Of course no one would willingly eat 
a diseased fowl, but the cupidity of chicken 
raisers might induce them to sell fowls affected 
with cholera or other diseases. There are 
authentic cases where fowls that have had 
cholera have been killed and eaten by poor 
people without injury. There is probably 
little danger from diseased chickens, but 
any person who would sell a fowl that he 
would not eat himself ought to be severely 
punished. 
It is well to raise a few red peppers to mix 
with the food for the poultry. It is said that 
in Honduras, where the capsicum, or red 
pepper, grows as a perennial, the ordinary 
fowls eat quantities of the seed-pods and 
leaves. Red peppers are undoubtedly better 
than the black pepper usually used. The first 
may be easily raised in a corner of the garden, 
while the latter is quite expensive. “A penny 
saved is a penny earned.” 
A simple but effective remedy for gapes is 
to put a little turpentine in water and soak a 
few bread crumbs. Throw these to the 
chickens. They will eat enough to help them 
before they discover any peculiarity in the 
taste of the bread. 
Ought a chicken coop to have a wooden 
bottom? There is surely no particular advan¬ 
tage in having the wooden floor, and it seems 
to weaken the chicks. It soon rots out. The 
best coop is the ordinary tent coop, without 
any bottom. It is well to move it frequently. 
A soft, sandy spot is better than hard turf for 
the bottom of the coop. It enables the hen to 
dust herself. 
POULTRYMAN. 
IDoinan’s Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
Girlhood is the loveliest and sweetest period 
of life, according to the poets, yet how much 
we suffer during that transition period. 
Neither child nor woman, the young girl is in 
danger of being spoiled in both ways. There 
is always the danger either of awkward shy¬ 
ness or unlovely boldness. Doubtless the best 
remedy for awkwardness is unselfishness. 
When we think of others’ comfort, instead of 
the impression we produce upon them, we are 
not likely to be awkward. Awkward shyness 
is certainly painful, but it is not really so ob¬ 
jectionable as the rough or pert forward man¬ 
ner we unhappily see in many young girls. 
If they only knew the impression it gives they 
would surely drop the slangy speech and 
inane giggles with which they enliven conver¬ 
sation among themselves. Girls of the pre¬ 
sent day need not adopt the formal speech and 
manner of a bygone age, but they should learn 
to display the simple dignity which always 
marks a gentlewoman. Loud talking in pub¬ 
lic places, careless misuse of language, and 
pushing manners may all be noticed among 
girls from whom better things might be ex¬ 
pected; it is not strange that foreigners form 
such unfavorable opinions of our women. 
Mrs. John Sherwood laments the lack of re¬ 
finement shown at the great summer resorts, 
where many of the women seem anxious above 
everything that they should be remarked, and 
this is certainly an outcome of their early 
training. It is just as easy to be a refined 
gentlewoman as the reverse; it all depends on 
early training and habits of thought. 
* * * 
A Sensible girl will not keep a lot of 
cosmetics and drugs on her toilet table, but 
there are a few articles she should always 
have in a convenient place. She should have 
an array of glass-stoppered bottles containing 
alcohol, camphor, alum, borax, ammonia, and 
glycerine or vaseline. A little camphor aud 
water may bo used as a wash for the mouth 
and throat, if the breath is not sweet. 
Powdered alum applied to a fever sore, will 
prevent it from becoming very unsightly, or 
noticeable. Insect stings, or eruptions on the 
skin are relieved by alcohol. A few grains of 
alum in tepid water, will relieve people whose 
hands perspire very freely, rendering them 
unpleasantly moist. A few drops of sulphuric 
acid in the water are also beneficial for this 
purpose and are also desirable for those whose 
feet perspire freely. We should always recom¬ 
mend care in the use of scented soaps; in 
many cases the perfume is simply a disguise 
for poor quality. A good glycerine or honey 
soap is always preferable. Of course, one 
may rely on scented soap from a high-class 
manufacturer, but it usually costs more than 
it is worth. In addition to the soap for bath¬ 
ing, white Castile should be kept for washing 
the hair. Occasionally a little borax or 
ammonia, may be used for this purpose, but it 
is usually too harsh in its effects. 
THE BOYS’ MYTHOLOGICAL CLUB. 
III. 
We next took up Venus, whose Greek name 
was Aphrodite. She was the goddess of love 
and beauty, and was the daughter of Jupiter 
and Dibne. Some, however, say that Venus 
sprang from the foam of the sea ; the gentle 
Zephyr wafted her along the waves to the isle 
of Cyprus, where she was received and attired 
by the Seasons, and then led to the assembly 
of the gods. 
Venus possessed an embroidered gi rdle cal led 
Cestus, which had the gift of inspiring love- 
Her favorite birds were swans, doves and spar¬ 
rows, teams of which drew her chariot. The 
plants sacred to her were the rose and the 
myrtle. The husband of this lovely goddess 
was the lame artist, Vulcan. Cupid, the god 
of love, was the son of Venus. He was her 
constant companion, and armed with a bow 
and arrows, he shot his darts of love into the 
bosoms of both gods and men. This god was 
usually represented as a plump, rosy-cheeked 
boy, with golden hair hanging on his shoulders. 
The god of love did not escape the 
influence of the passion it was his 
office to inspire. He fell in love with the 
beautiful goddess Psyche (the Soul) and sent a 
zephyr to convey her to a splendid palace, 
where he became her husband,but never let her 
see his face. Her sisters, who were jealous of 
her happiness, persuaded her that he must be 
some odious monster. The imprudent Psyche 
took a lamp to gaze upon him while he slept. 
She let a drop of oil fall upon him ; the god 
awoke and flew away, leaving her in despair. 
“Served her right,” said Charley. “But 
that’s just like a woman, you know.” 
“Didn’t she ever see him again?” asked Dick. 
“ If she didn’t, I think it was awful mean,” 
said Walter. 
“ Yes,” said I, “She did see him again, but 
before she did she underwent a long persecu¬ 
tion from Venus who had also imprisoned 
Cupid. But the little god made his escape and 
seeks till he finds his Psyche He goes to Ju¬ 
piter and interests him in their favor, and 
Venus is at length prevailed upon to lay aside 
her resentment. Their marriage is celebrated 
in the palace of Jupiter. They had one son 
called Pleasure.” 
“ That’s a good name” said Charley, “for 
the son of Love and the Soul. We are inter¬ 
ested and like Oliver Twist, we ask for more.’’ 
“Who’s Oliver Twist ?” asked JackTwigg, 
“ I don’t know him.” 
“ He! He! He! ” laughed the boys, as if 
it was something very funny. Why are boys 
such little heathens, anyhow ? I was twice as 
old as little Jack before I knew that Ol ver 
Twist was one of Dickens’ heroes and that, 
when he had eaten his scanty allowance of 
food (for he was a “foundling” aud “ a or¬ 
phan ” and lived in the poor-house.) he had 
the temerity to ask for more, so I didn’t see 
the funny part of it. 
When order was restored, I proceeded to 
tell them of Minerva. Her Grecian name 
was Athena, or Pallas Athena. She was the 
goddess of wisdom and presided over the arts, 
and was the patroness of scientific warfare. 
Minerva never married. Her favorite bird 
was the solemn, contemplative owl; the olive 
which she caused to shoot up from the earth, 
was the plant sacred to her. This goddess was 
always represented armed ; on her shield or 
on her breast-plate was the terrific Gorgon’s 
head, which was given to her by Perseus. (I 
will tell you about this later.) 
Minerva was the guarder and aider of emi¬ 
nent heroes. She accompanied Hercules and 
Perseus on their adventures; was the constant 
protector and adviser of Ulysses. It was by 
her aid that Argus built the Argo for Jason, 
aud Eperis, the wooden hors© by means of 
which Troy was taken. 
“Oh! Tell us about that,” cried the boys in 
chorus. “We saw a picture of that in Memor¬ 
ial Hall, and we didn’t know what it meant.” 
“Hadn’t I better go on with Minerva first?” 
asked I. 
“Yes, but we want to know about the 
wooden horse next,” said they: so I continued. 
Minerva excelled in all womanly accomplish¬ 
ments. She wove and embroidered her own 
robes and those of Juno. She instructed all 
her favorites in these arts too. Araehne, a 
Moeouian maid whom Minerva had taught, 
was so ungrateful as to deny the obligation, 
and to challenge the goddess to a trial of skill. 
Having in vain sought to make her relinquish 
her mad project, Minerva accepted the chal¬ 
lenge. Each wove a web adorned with the 
actions of the gods. That of Minerva dis¬ 
played in the center her own conquest with 
Neptune for the naming of the city of Cecrops 
(which we have just learned about). The four 
corners contained the transformations of those 
who had dared to contend with the Celestials; 
olive leaves formed its border. 
“That must have been lovely,” said Dick. 
“Now tell us what what’s-her-name wove,” 
said Walter. 
Well then, to work. The web of Araehne 
was filled with the love transformations of the 
gods; its border was flowers and ivy. Unable 
to find fault with her work, Minerva struck 
the artist on the forehead several blows with 
her shuttle. Araehne hung herself and the 
goddess turned her into a spider, which in 
Greek is called Araehne. 
“Now, boys,” said I with a yawn, “haven’t 
you had enough for one evening?” 
“ No, we must hear about that wooden horse 
first,” said Charley. 
“A horse ! a horse ! My kingdom for a 
horse !” said Dick, with mock solemnity. 
“ Your kingdqm,” cne4 the others, “ where 
is it, pray ?” 
