The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-01-30
FLEECING THE FARMER
The Improved Seed" Swinde the Cholera Cure" Fakr,
the Finishing Of Cattle Fraud and Other Low Schemes
Employed to Separate the Agriculturist from
His Hard Earned CASH
By w. NJ HAYS,
Assistant Secretary u. S. Department of Agriculture

seed catalogues, the intent and the
result in most cases is the same. The
expectations Of the ambitious and
progressive farmer are raised to the
point of exaggeration. He is con-
vinced that by planting or by sowing
the seed offered by the fake concern
he will multiply his crop production;
that his richest acres will greatly in
crease their previous production and
that his poorest land, with pedigreed
seed will break the record of his
choicest fields in corn, oats, barley,
rye or cotton, and the forage crops
from his wet lands will give him tons
of nutritious fodder.
OF course seed which will perform
such miracles of production naturally
comes high in price-these swindlers
are too shrewd to charge an ordinary
price for seed carrying claims so high
as theirs. In some instances the price
is double that which the farmer would
pay for bonafide, purebred, standard
varieties, the yield of which has been
tested by experiment stations,
while IN other cases four, and
even six, times the normal price
is charged.
Now as to the results: They are
disappointing. Now and then the
yield is fair as from ordinary seed, but
seldom does it exceed that limit. More
frequently it falls below that standard
The reason for this has been discover
ed by few farmers, who have had
enough of the true spirit of progress
to dig into the history of the seeds
for which they paid so fancy price
Here is what they found: The great
propagating concern" is without the
acres of land devoted to the raising of
seeds so eloquently pictured by the
agent; the scientific specialists"
claimed to be in the employ of the
concern dwindle into corps of young
men who draw salaries of $50 to $50
month and their scientific labors"
consist of travelling from one place to
another and buying corn, wheat and
other grains direct from the farmers
in remote locations from the region
in which the grains are expected to be
sold for seeding.
These grains may be shipped to
dummy firm having the address of
the warehouses of the seed company.
There this common product of un-
known fields is nicely cleaned, re-
sacked into presentable packages and
sold to the farmers as the choicest of
selected seeds.
There are many good seed mer-
chants, some of whom grow much of
their own seeds; or contract for them
before harvest, superintend their har-
vesting, curing, grading and storing,
and send them out only after their vi
ability or ability to germinate is de-
termined by trial. These men multi
ply the best plant blood as pure bred
1--we stock men multiply standard
breeds, that all growers may secure
properly grown seeds and plants of
the most profitable varieties. They
are ever ready to take those tested
and the rewly bred and tested seeds
and plants secured or created by the
, experiment stations and departments
of agriculture, and rapidly multiply
them for sale at pure-bred seed prices
And they are rapidly making of their
institutions both clearing houses Of
seed information and places where
originate much of the new values in
plant blood.
One of the greatest sources of profit
to the farmer of the corn belt is the
fattening of hogs. Corn converted
into pork on the land of the farmer
| profitable corn he can raise. But
there is one serious drawback to this
method Of converting corn into an
extra profit, and this is the hog chol-
era. For years the agricultural de-
partments of the nation and the states
have been patiently and persistently
conducting elaborate experiments in
the prevention and the cure of this
plague. The results accomplished have
IN many instances been most encour-
aging and the results of the expert
ments have been placed before the
farmers of the country through bull
letins and other avenues of publica-
tlon. AS a result of this educative
work the farmers have grasped the
idea that hog cholera cannot only be
prevented, but also cured. This con-
Viction is all the groundwork the
! "cholera-cure" fakir needs for his
! business. All the careful and quail.
lied work of honest and scientific spe-
ciallsts in this branch of agriculture
Is perverted into preparation for the
success of the swindler when he finds
a man whose knowledge of facts is
practically restricted to the convic-
ton that this swine plague is not be-
yond the reach of scientific treatment.
consequently swine disease special.
lists swarm like buzzards in every big
hog raising district where the cholera
OBTAINS Start-and there are few, II
any, localities largely given to the
raising of swine where, sooner or
later this plague does not appear
This information as to where the dis,
ease is prevalent is easily obtainable
} by the hog-cure swindlers from sys
temaic reading of the farm journals
} and agricultural papers. One of the
first claims generally put forward by
the swine specialist when he comes
in contact with a farmer whose herd
Is afflicted with the cholera is that
his remedy has the Endorsement oi
the agricultural department. He sells
the remedy at high price and If the
plague is general in the locality he
finds 1t easy to depart with hundred;
of dollars in his pocket as result o.
few days work.