T ■3301srTIA.C, TdUCH:.: Rann & Turner, Printers, Gazette 0pfice. 1869. ^4' SWEETLAND'S . HAND BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS TO A^GEINTTS. This book is not only designed for the agents of the author, but for all others who wish to become experts in the art of selling patent rights — by the use of which any man can gain a more thorough knowledge of the business than he could acquire in many years of practice and experience, without help from any other source. It gives in detail every word almost which is neces- sary for an agent to say, from the time he leaves home until he has completed the arrangement he w^ished to make, secured his pay, and then it leaves him to take eare of himself It also gives in full all the particulars in regard to appointing agents in townships, to canvass for and sell any manufactured article, and at the same time enables the agents to see that it is for their interest to pay you from $50 to $100 for the privilege of acting as your agent, for any number of years you may agree upon, and have all parties concerned see they are making money by the arrangement. It helps you to get your pay, and then expects you to go on your way rejoicing. It also gives in detail the most successful method of canvassing for any patented article, the amount of money that may be made out of each town, and how to make it. It also gives a clear and distinct description of the way to dispose of patent rights by townships to clubs, which is usually called clubbing* It show^s why it is for a man's interest to take a share in a club, provided he merely wants the article that is being offered for sale for his own use. It shows him how he can make money by so doing. In short, it is the only Avork ever published in the United States, that we have ever heard of, that gives instructions in regard to the business of selling patent rights, or throws any light upon the subject, that 5 would enable a man to become successful in the business. Why is it ? simply because those who have spent a lifetime in the business before becoming suffi- ciently versed in the art to make it profitable to them- selves, are not disposed to let slip easily that which has cost them so much to obtain. The author has been engaged in the business of in- venting and selling patent rights for the past twenty years. But few men have taken out more patents. He is still engaged in the business, and prepared to give j^ersonal piivate instructions in thj^ art, to those who desire it, that they may have the benefit of not only his own experience, but what he has learned from others. This book is entitled Wide Aw^vke, or an Eye Behind the Scenes, which may be had at my fac- tory, by enclosing the small sum of One Dollar, and addressing J. B. Sweetland, Pontiac, Michigan. Parties purchasing this book will see at once why it is for their interest to keep its contents to them- selves. We want agents everywhere to sell these books. There is hardly a work in the country that will meet with such general favor. The first thing for a man to do who wishes to act as an agent, is to buy a copy, read it, and satisfy himself that it is a work of genuine merit, and one that will sell everywhere, where people live. Any information in regard to this business may be had by calling upon J. B. S^veetland, at Pontiac, Michigan, or at his rooms No , at the After a young man had been out trying his hand, for about a week, and he had availed himself of these instructions, he surprised his friends by telling them of his success. They said to him — " when did you learn to sell patent rights, and where did you gain that practical knowledge, which must have taken years to acquire? You are young, yet you seem to have a clear knowledge of the business, in all its va- ried departments. How is it, Charley ? how did you avail yourself of it ? come, tell us.'' Well, Uncle, I'll tell you. I know you will keep the information to yourself — I wouldn't tell everybody —for I am just making " stamps." I spent about thirty minutes one evening last week, perusing J. B. Sweetland's book of Instruction. That's the secret of my success. This is a w^ork, the need of w^hich has been felt for many years, as there is hardly a man in the country who does not own a patent right of some kind, w^hich he bought thinking that, because some man knew enough to sell to him, of course he knew enough to sell to others ; but that does not necessarily follow. There is one little thing that every man must learn before he can become successful in selling a patent right, or any other article, and that thing is this : he must learn how. Perhaps, in order to make that point plain to you, it would be well to call your attention for a moment to a little act that was once performed by Christo- pher Columbus. He proposed at one time to an as- sembly of the Avise men of that age, to make an egg stand on its little end. They all declared he could not do it. Columbus took the egg and tapped it lightly on the end until he had flattened the end a little by cracking the shell, then it stood upright on the table. " But,'' said the w^hole group at the same breath, " if we had known that you were going to do it that way, Ave could have done that as Avell as you.'' But the point is just here, theij didnH know hovj he was going to do it And that is just the reason Avhy a man cannot start out and be successful in selling patent rights, until he has acquired the art by long experience, or has re- ceived instructions from some source. 8 Meu will buy patent rights so long as they are offered for sale, because they are satisfied there is money in them — and every man knows there is money in any good patent — if you know how to sell it; but you see there is the point, to know how to sell it Many a man has bought a patent right after seeing it thoroughly tested, and satisfyiug himself that it was an article of genuine merit; and believed he could make money out of it, any time ; and with this conviction he takes his deed, lays it away in his desk and deposits his model safely in the barn, thinking he is all right, and when he comes to offer it for sale, to his astonishment finds that people do not wish to invest. SOME OF THE REASONS WHY. Very likely when he first bought the right, he could have explained the article all right, and showed it up to good advantage. Had he started then, when he was full of confidence in the article he had pur- chased and in his ability to sell it, he might have done something at the business, without any other instructions than that he received from the man he bought of. His good luck would have been about on the same principle that a blind man v/ould dig pota- 9 toes. He would dig here and there aiid all over, wherever it happened, and occasionally he would strike a hill ; but no man can, after the lapse of time, take an article and give it as good a showing and ex- plain it as well as he can when he first bought the right and is confident of success. He seems to think he has a mint of money just at his finger ends, and all he has to do in order to realize any amount of money out of it is, to sell out his pat- ent to every man he may chance to meet, at any price he may have a mind to charge for it. We are of the opinion that a man could make money fast in that way, but here is the point — ho'w are you going to do it f He don't seem to think but that every man will have it at any cost, the moment he offers it for sale. With this conviction, he considers the thing he has got will do for him to tie up to, or in other words, it will do to keep ; for he is fully persuaded in his ow^n mind that when all resources of income fail, his patent is like Aladdin's w^onderful lamp — which needs only to be rubbed, and lo ! the horn of fortune is suspend- ed before him, at an angle of forty-five degrees, with its large end down, and untold wealth rolling at his feet, and all that remains for him to do is to replenish 10 liis empty purse at will, and go on his way rejoicing. When he finds that his patent does not sell, just as he had pictured to himself it w^ould, years ago, w^hen he first bought, he declares that he has been duped, and that the whole patent right business, from beginning to end, is one grand swindle. IsnH that a fact f As in our own experience, in years gone by, when we first embarked in the business of selling patent rights, or patented articles, it would have been money in our pocket had an opportunity like this ofiered itself, when we might have bought for the trifling sum of one dollar, the knowledge which it has taken the writer of this little volume twenty years to gain. To have bought it, although had it cost five hundred dollars, would have been the best investment Ave ever made. Thus we come, like the Good Samaritan, to help those who cannot help themselves, and to lend a help- ing hand to those who are not able to extricate them- selves from the difiiculty into which their want of judgment about things they know nothing about, has led them ; and to assist them in recovering the money, with compound interest, which they have invested, (and in many cases years ago,) in a patent right, which, even now, if handled properly, might be made 11 a source of great profit to the owner of the right and a blessing to others. As there always will be patent rights to sell, of ar- ticles too, of genuine merit, there will, of course, be a constant demand for agents, at the very highest wages ; and right here I ivarit to say that one hundred dollars per month, and all expenses borne, is considered low wages for a first class salesman. There is hardly any w^ay by which a man can make so much money in so short a time, as by selling a patent right that everybody will buy ; and knowing this to be the case, and knowing the demand there is for a work of this kind — after trying many different methods of selling territory and disposing of rights— we have prepared this little volume, wdiich, we feel confident, will meet Avith general favor throughout the whole country. The following private instructions are the result of long experience, and those who desire to become masters of the business, and make it a source of great profit to themselves and a blessing to the public, should study well these instructions, and commit to memory a method of showing the article you have, so that you can tell your story correctly, without diflJ- culty and every time alike. 12 You should also handle the article before people and show up its good qualities every time an oppor- tunity offers itself, and become perfectly familiar with it, so that when you find your man, you can handle it with ease and confidence. Another key to success, is to have the model of the article you are selling made just as nicely as it can be made, regardless of what it may cost. Now, as we have the best Horse Hay Fork, proba- bly ever patented, an article that has been thoroughly tested and proved itself a perfect success, in every case, in order to illustrate our ideas more clearly and make them plain to every one, we will suppose that the article to be sold is a Horse Hay Fork, and as that happens to be the article we are engaged in, at the present time, it w^ill be as well to use that as a case in hand. But the general rules and principles herein laid down Avill hold good, we think, in selling any other article, by simply changing the name and revising the programme a little, to suit the case. Now suppose a fork, for ordinary use, cost ten dol- lars, and a fork made nicely to use in selling rights, will cost you one hundred dollars ; it will always pay to take the nice fork at one hundred dollars, although at the same time you tell a man that you are dealing with, that the ordinary forks, such as he must expect to get, will not be finished like the model, but only so that it is sufiicient to do the work that it is intend- ed for ; and he will always say " of course not, for that is only a model." But if you hold the nice fork where he can see and handle it, you wall sell to him. Whereas if you should carry the kind of a fork that you told him he must expect to get, he wouldn't look at it, nor talk buy — why, he would laugh at you. All experienced agents w^ill agree with me in this : that if any one violates that rule and others herein laid down, he will be apt to incur the mortification of failing in his enterprise. PALL, WINTER AND SPRING, TO SELL. Some new agents think cold weather unfavorable for selling patent rights, but that is a mistake. The winter and spring is the best time in the year, as the farmers have but little to do but fodder and take care of the stock. They have long winter evenings and plenty of time to talk, and are not off in the fields a mile from the house. An agent can do as much in the short days of winter as in the long days of sum- mer, and much more pleasantly. 14 Our experience has taught us that it is just as easy and takes no more time nor talk, to take a man^s or- der for a fork with a profit of six or seven dollars, than it would to sell a paper of pins, with a profit of three or four cents ; or to appoint him as an agent, with a profit of sixty or eighty dollars ; and the nicest time in the world to do a thing of that kind, is when you are sitting by a good, comfortable fire, in mid winter, when all is dreary and cheerless without. ALLOTMENT OF TERRITORY. An agent is usually allowed a whole county at a time, as his ground to canvass, until he has appointed agents in every township. He is required to report every week and give a list of all the agents appointed up to the date of such report. ONE THING AT ONE TIME. We insist that none of our agents operate with more than one thing at one time, as two or more ar- ticles are sure to distract his attention, and in almost all cases prevent the sale of either ; or if you are appointing agents, your man will think you haven't conidence in either, and will refuse to take an agency from ♦^he fact he can't tell which article would sell the best ; and as you tell about as good a story for one as the ether, he will get the merits of the articles so mixed up in his head, that he finally concludes the only safe thing for him to do, is not to take either. No man can serve well two masters. Never take another business in connection with this, unless it should be something that naturally belongs with it, and one article will help the sale of the other ; for instance it is necessary to use a Rafter Hook with a Horse Fork, so they should be taken and sold to- gether. This book may be taken with any patent right, be- cause it not only does not stand in the way of any thing ever offered to the public, but on the contrary, it shows him how to proceed at once to dispose of any patent right. Men will frequently buy territory if they can have the benefit of these instructions to assist them. But to take two or more articles of a diflferent character, that are not designed one to help the sale of the other, it looks inconsistent. We want no agents who intend to follow two kinds of business at the same time. Many a man has fiiiled to succeed in the business 16 just on that account, when, perhaps, he had a /nrst rate article to sell ; but when he started out l;e was not quite sure that the good article would tale well and sell readily, so in order to make a sure tHng of it, he would take a half dozen things, more or less, at the same time, and when he undertook tf> sell to a farmer, he would be very likely to go to \y6rk some- thing like the following : / "Good morning, Mr. Jones. Can I sell you a patent right, this morning?" " No," says Jones. " Well, can you tell me who wants to buy one ?" " No, I don't think I can." That ends the conversation, and he starts off in disgust, desperately astonished to think that Mr. Jones did not buy, when, in fact, in his anxiety to sell, he had even forgotten to show the articles, or tell him what he had got. He starts off, thinking surely the next man will buy ; but he gets only a few rods, when Mr. Jones says : " Stranger, what patent right are you selling ?" Now his heart comes up into his mouth, he thinks he has a sure thing ; he stops his horse, hitches him to the f.nce, grabs his fork and a patent wagon jack in 17 one hand, gathers up some other things under the other arm, and " goes for him," saying at the same time that he had " brought a variety in order to please everybody.'' He steps up to him now confident of 'success, thinking that he has a sure thing on him ; he wouldn't take fifty dollars for his chance. He says : " Mr. Jones, this is the Gray Eagle Horse Hay Fork, patented in 1869 ; it is the best fork in use. One horse can do the job in a very few fork fulls." " Is that so ?" says Mr. Jones, " I want a good fork, if I can find one that suits me. I have got two now, but they don't suit me ; they are not what I want. One of them is too heavy, and the other is a harpoon ; they don't suit me. But stranger I like the looks of this fork. Let us go to the barn, I would like to see it put into the hay and see how it works. How do you sell county rights, say this county ?" " O, about three hundred dollars." " Well, let us go and try it in the hay. I've got a son that isn't able to work, and he thinks he could do something of this kind." " Well, well Mr. Jones, don't be in a hurry, I've got lots of things you haven't seen yet. Here is Sweetland's Star Kafter Hook : it goes with the fork." "Well, stranger, what's that?" 18 " O, that's a patent Wagon Jack. Let me sell you a few counties in that — it's a big thing — and every- body will buy them." " Well," says Jones, ^' I am in something of a hur- ry, I would like to see that fork stuck in the hay, as I must go to town this afternoon." " Well, just hold on a little. Here is a machine for raising boats that have been sunk. I will sell you a county in that almost at your own price. I'll let you have ^^ as cheap as dirt, and it's a big thing, for every time you get a job you get a big pile of money." By this time Mr. Jones begins to feel a little curi- ous, and he thinks he will see how much the agent knows. He says " that's so," and asks : " What's that thing ?" " O that's a Fanning Mill and Washing Machine, combined ; it's a nice thing. It will sell like hot cakes. Here is a Propeller Wheel ; I would like to sell you a county in that ; and here is a patent Bomb Shell, which is a big thing. Can't I sell you a lot of counties in these things? you can get rich out of them. I'll sell them right. You see, Mr. Jones, I came prepared, so if one thing didn't suit I would have something else that would." 10 " So I see," s>ays Jones. " AV'liat will you take for the lot r You see by this time Mr. Joues has got the things so mixed up in his mind, that he has no notion of buying now, but he thinks he Avill have some fun. But he would have bought if he had been shown but the one thing and taken when he was in the notion. " Well, I will take a thousand dollars a county, all round." Mr. Jones makes no reply. The agent waits awhile and then says : " Yes, as I want money just now, I'll take five hun- dred dollars a county." Still Jones says nothing. The agent then says — " Well now, to come right down to business, I'll just take one hundred dollars a county." Still no response from Jones. Finally, the agent being determined to sell any how, he says : " Well, Mr. Jones, there is no use in bantering, just give me ten dollars a piece, all round, and I will give.you a county in each ; or, if you won't give that, what will you give ?" Now Jones begins to laugh and says : " How long have you been in the business T' '^ Well, Jones, you need not say anything about it, but I just started out this morning, to try it on." " I thought so,'' says Jones. " Well, can't I sell you a few counties in the fork ?" " Did you ever see it pitch hay?" " No, not exactly." " Did you ever work it in any way ?" " Well no ; but they say it's all right. You bet- ter let me sell you a county." You see Mr. Jones is pretty well disgusted — so is the agent — when he replies, " I think I will not in- vest to-day." The agent is anxious to get out of sight and says no more about it, but takes his traps and leaves, glad to be alone. He knows he did not sell to him, but cannot tell exactly why. He showed him everything he had and asked him to buy, but he would not. Now if he had just studied this little book thor- oughly, one night, he never would have gone to work in that way ; and when Mr. Jones was in the notion of buying the fork, he would have been apt to have sold it to him. Here is something you will find to be true. We were once told that the best time in the year to cut hog yokes, was whenive had found them. That is a 21 fact ; and the best time in the year to sell patent rights is when you have found a man who is ready to buy. Just stick a peg there. There is a great variety of wrong ways to approach a man you wish to sell to, but only one right way; and even that may vary according to circumstances, for no two men hardly can be approached exactly alike. Everything depends on your making your- self agreeable to the man you wish to sell to. Usually, after passing the time of day, you should have something to say about his farm, or his fine buildings, or handsome stock ; speak of the comfort- able looking home he has, or how flattering his crops look ; notice his little boy or girl and have some kind word for them — for kind words cost nothing — and if the man has got a heart, they will always find a way to it and unlock it. Speak about his fine barns, say how nicely they are adapted to the use of a Horse Fork. After he begins rather to like your ways, then he is prepared to look on the bright side of any thing you may have to say. People usually are fond of being flattered a little, and are even willing to pay for it, if it is done nicely. If you see, in the course of conversation, that he is inclined to do the talking, let him do the most of it» After vou have told him 22 that you are iiitrodiicing a new fork into the country, and that you have no doubt it will please him, say you will just show it to him and explain its working. Then take your fork, quietly explain it to him, and if convenient, show it in hay ; and if he don't say it's all right, he is an exception. Don't dispute anything he may assert positively, but if he thinks he knows it all, allow him to think that what he don't know isn't worth knowing ; and while he is busy talking and thinking about the fork, you must be making up your mind from what he says, and the vf ay he acts, how to approach him and get an order for a fork. After you have become satisfied on that point, endeavor to make him see that it is for his interest to have a fork as soon as he can get one ; then if the supply ruus short he will be sure to have one. When your business is introduced, if you find that you have to do the talking, be very careful to talk right. Always tell yonr story so that he will have no reason to doubt you, for the first thing to be done is to gain the confidence of your man. When that is done, success is almost certain. Then if you have an occasion to give it a practical test, it will work better than you had represented. That will give him confidence in you, and instead of watching, expecting 23 to see you cross yourself in your representations, he will listen, and your chance of success is good. If you have no particular basis to work upon, and don't know exactly what you are going to say, but expect to say whatever comes handy, you will be very likely to cross yourself in your conversation, without intending to be dishonest ; and if you have a first rate fork, the truth is better than false- hood. Another important thing is, that you know when you have said enough and end there, for it is not un- frequent that agents talk a man into buying and then talk him out again. After a man is satisfied that you have got the best fork he ever saw, and he is satified with the working of it, let that part rest ; don't keep showing him how nice it is and how well it works. If he is satisfied on that point, it is quite sufficient. He couldn't any more than be satisfied if you talked to him all day. The next thing is to have him say that he has made up his mind to go into it — and, you should give him a chance to say it — and if he seems to hesitate and don't say it, just take your order book and show him who of his neighbors have given their orders, 24 and what a fine list of orders you have. Say to him, " write your name there on that line." One of the best ways for you to proceed as an agent is, to get a few of the best men, in any neigh- borhood, to head the list of orders. It always influ- ences others. In selling humbugs, or worthless articles of any kind, it requires rascals and unprincipled men to handle them. Nine times out of ten, they will carry a model that is too small to be worked, so that they won't be expected to work it practically, and they will endeavor to show that it will work, of course, be- (.^ause the model works. They will represent that they are manufacturing on a large scale, away off somewhere, and that you can get any amount of the articles on short notice ; when, in fact, there never has been but one made, and that is the model you have seen, and they never expect to make another. But in offering this fork, as it is an. article of mer- it, and all we claim for it, the names of some of the best farmers, agriculturists, machinists, or other relia- ble men, that the community looks up to as sound men, to head your list of orders, you will find to be greatly to your advantage, as it will give tone and 25 character to the enterprise. You will lose nothing by- giving a fork to some leading farmer of a neighbor- hood, that the rest rather look up to as a kind of bell wether among them, or at least sell to a few of the best farmers at half price, and propose to take the balance in influence, or help ; and even then leave it optional with them whether they take the fork or not. In this way you will make a little on each fork you sell — even at half price — and be pretty sure of selling a dozen more in a town than you would have sold without such influence. Never take the names of farmers who are in rath- er straitened circumstances, or who would be con- sidered rather common men, to head the list of orders, and then attempt to get influential men to follow after them on the list ; for they won't be likely to listen to you very attentively, because such men feel as though they ought to have been called on first, knowing the position they occupy in society ; they don't like to have their names appear following those whom they consider of less importance than them- selves. When you take conditional orders, which are left optional with the parties whether they take the fork 26 or not, you should place a capital O — Avhicli means optional — at the end of the lines on which their names have been signed, and carry out the arrange- ment honestly when the forks are delivered, as per agreement. If you take this course, every man you deal with will be your friend ; and if you happen to go into the same neighborhood at another time, whether you have the fork or something else, you will find this time that you are not among strangers, but they will be glad to say a word to help you ; and who can tell where the effect of a kind word will end? THE OUTFIT. You should keep the fork in a nice case or box, if convenient, where it will be out of sight, until such time as you think best to make your business known, then bring it before your customer. If you carry your fork in sight, frequently they \vill refuse to talk with you at all, although they may w^ant a fork, and will not even give you an opportu- . nity to show and explain your business. 1 Usually in commencing operations in a new town, about the best thing to do is to go to the Supervisor of the town, carry nothing in sight to indicate your 27 business, and he will not look upon you as a pedler. You will be treated kindly and very likely invited into the house, into his private room where lie does his business — especially if it happens to be ivintev iveather — and that is exactly where you want to see him, alone. Having passed the usual polite saluta- tion, you will begin to inquire something about the country and what the staple articles of produce are, and if there is usually much hay out in the vicinity, etc., and when you think you have got to the right place, in the course of the conversation, to make your business known, ask him what kind of horse forks they use in that section of country ; and after you have canvassed that point to } our satisfaction, you will say : '' I am introducing a new kind of horse fork into this part of the country, and have called on you to show you the fork and to explain it to you ; and if convenient, to let you see it work, and if it pleases you and j^ou think you can recommend it, I would be pleased to have you assist me a little in this town, as you are well acquainted with all of the princij^al farmers, and know who to go to. It is an article of genuine merit, and a tool that you know farmers wdll have, when they see one that suits them. I think, 28 with your assistance, I might get the business so started, in a short time, that an agent could sell a great many this year ; and perhaps after you see that it takes well and pleases people, you may find it to be for your interest to secure the agency. I will shovf you the fork and explain it to you." Then take the fork from the box and if convenient, go where there is hay, so he can see it more clearly ; show him the way it is put into the hay, how easy it is done, and that by pressing in the sliding tine, after the other tw^o tines are in, how it compresses the hay all the time you are pressing it in, as well as binding it in firmly ; that the single tine passes between the other two, thus preventing them from springing either w^ay. Point out to him the lock, the way it is guarded, and the advantages it has over all others. Just here we will say, have all your papers and especially your blanks — deeds or contracts — , got up in as tasty a manner as possible, so that every thing you display has an air of business about it. You should carry your papers folded nicely and put up in a large envelope just long enough to take them in the whole length, after folding. The envel- ope should have a cut of the fork on one end, with other printed matter, something like the following : ENVELOPE. From To Special Agent for the GRAY EAGLE HORSE HAY FORK, For the town of. ■ County of. and State of.. so Take your envelope from your pocket — and keep it looking nicely — and take out your circular and read it to him, slowly and carefully, until you come to' the reasons why this fork will be used, etc. Then you should take up each point separately, and enlarge on them somewhat — not read it over as soon as possi- ble, as though you had just so much to do, and was in a hurry to get through — but something like the following : " It is cheap and light to handle — and that is quite an item if you have boys to help in haying — and it costs but a little over one-half what some others cost." " It is not liable to get out of repair, as it is all made of steel and iron, and you will admit that any tool made of steel and iron will be more durable than wood and iron." " It has no angular points to catch on beams, posts, braces and the like, and you will find that you will never have any trouble in drawing hay into a window by the fork catching or striking the side of the win- dow, and bothering in that way." The draft is from one side of the fork, and is so ad- justed that it does not start its whole load at the same time, but tears one side loose at a time ; by this sim- ple arrangement it requires but half the team to do 31 tlie same labor, and there is ouly half the strain on the rafters, or on the rope and pulleys/' " It penetrates the hay easily, so that any boy who can load hay can handle the fork— which is a great id vantage to many a farmer — for with those heavy forks, it is>ll a man can do to use them, and a boy iias no business trying to use them." " This fork has no equal in unloading barley and all kinds of fine stuff, that no other fork can handle, be- cause it compresses it, and the tines passing through it in opposite directions hold it firmly together." " It discharges its load easily at the instant you pull the trip rope, and without pulling hard, and does not scatter tlve hv.j ; and there is no possible chance for the fork to unload itself until the trip repeals pulled, for you see the lock is so perfectly guarded that nothing ca;] strike it to unlock it." " The most of forks aie tripped from one side, and cannot be trij^ped easily from the opposite side, for in turning the fork around you wind the trip rope round it ; but in using this fork there is no dijEculty of that kind, an the trip /ope comes out of the center of the [lead, RTid it trips as well from one side as from the 3ther." "It is perfectly adapted to stacking hay and grain, 32 and nothing can be more convenient for that purpose for it is small and light, and yet it will take all you wish it to, and it drops its load flat on the stack, just as you want it, and does not roll it up in a wad." " It can be loaded quickl} and is the best finished fork in the market. It takes well, people like it and will buy it ; and that is the key to success. It is the only fork that is free from all objections and adapted to every variety of w^ork.'' You must propose to be liberal \ irii him and in- duce him to get into your carriage and go with you, and you will have access to men that he is acquaint- ed with, and who know him to be a '/.an of integrity, that you never could reach without that [kind of help. You will find that course of action will help you right along, when it would take you a lon^: time to get started alone. If. you chance to call on a man and for some rea- son he does not see fit to give yoa.his older at that time, you should endeavor to uiake it convenient to call on him the second time after you have secured a pretty respectable array of names of men who have given orders, and after he has had time to think the thing over, he will rather regret having let you go without giving an order. When you return and show 33 him the names of his neighbors and friends, who have given their orders, he will usually conclude to do as they have done, and give his order also. You will find this to be the .case frequently. If you chance to meet another agent in the same business, or nearly so, avoid entering into a debate with him before a crowd, unless you are thoroughly posted and sure you can wipe him out ; a failure un- der such circumstances, w^ould be sure to injure you, and you might as w^ell go somewhere else and start anew. But if you understand your fork thoroughly, say to him quietly, right before the crowed, that such kind of talk will not satisfy you nor any one else ; that it would appear more as though he believed what he said if he would come right along with you and test the fork and let the people be judges for them- seWes, and not be obliged to take his word for it. If you do test them, he will be quite certain to get beat- en, but if he don't try it, those who stand by will think you have the best fork. Endeavor to get from every leading man, whether farmer or otherwise, after he has examined the fork and seen its merits tested, a written recommen- dation — which he will readily give — in regard to the merits of the fork, after he has seen the comment 34 dations of other leading men. You will find they will be a great help, in adding them to your list of references, in the neighborhood where they are known. About the best w^ay is to have them WTite the names of those they would advise you to call on, in your pocket diary. You can then go to the parties, call them by name, viz : " Is this Mr. Jones T " That's my name." " Well, my name is Haines. Mr. Davis advised me to call on you and show you an article which I am introducing through this section of country. It has been thoroughly tested," &c., &c. . Take out your hand bill — after you have produced your fork and shown it up — and proceed to give in detail its advantages. If you consider his name a desirable one to be on your list, or if he happens to be a hard case to sel| to, if he pleads poverty, and you can't get his order^^ you can say that you have been informed that he is one of the leading men of the town (if that be the case) and that if he thinks you have got a good thing, you would like to have his name on your list, condi- tionally, and leave it optional with him, Avhen you 35 come round delivering, to take the fork or not, even at lialf price, and give him a written statement to that effect. You should always be polite and gentlemanly in your conversation and deportment, and you will al- ways be treated w^ell. You never should offer any article for sale that you do not believe is all you rep- resent it to be. In short you should have confidence in the article you are selling and feel that you are conferring a benefit on those you sell to. Your suc- cess depends in a great measure on the confidence you have in the article you are selling. You should endeavor to observe the different speci- mens of humanity with which you may come in con- tact, and should approach some men in one manner and others in another ; adapting yourself to the pe- culiarities of each. You will, by pursuing this course, wonderfully increase your influence and success. You should feel that you are doing good by introduc- ing an article of merit, and justw^hat you are represent- ing it to be — as though you w^ere conferring a benefit as well as asking a favor. With this conviction in your heart, your manners and language will be such as to carry conviction with it, and success. is almost certain. 36 If, in the outset, you do not have very good luck, and don't succeed as well as you would wish to, be careful not to betray your feelings to others ; but scra-tch around and get a few conditional subscribers to help you to get a start ; carry as pleasant a face and as light a heart as you can, under the circum- stances, and not let people know, by word or deed, that you have got the blues and are about to sink in despair. Keep up a cheerful countenance and go to work as though you had been in the habit of doing a large and prosperous business in the past and expect to in the future. People like to help those who are doing well and trying to help themselves, while they seem to be ever ready to assist in kicking those down who have al- ready commenced to stumble. It is a well known fact to those who have been in the business, and rather a singular one, that agents who canvass and take orders for any article, will take at least thirty orders in the same time that they could have sold five or six for cash ; for almost all men are more ready to engage to pay out money for an article at some future time, than they are to purchase and pay for it now. There seems also to be a fondness existing, to have one's name before the community 37 as being one of the first to receive into his neighbor- hood some new farm implement, which he knows to be an article of genuine merit, especially when ac- companied by names of other men whom he knows to be very respectable. The object in getting orders and having them headed by good, reliable men, is because after the thing is well started, it Avill go like v/ild-fire. Men frequently give their order because their neighbors have given theirs ; and the showing of your model will make but small impression, compared vath the unfolding and reading of a long array of names, Vv^hich seem to strike the person with a sort of irre- sistible desire to have his name there also, fearing he w^ould not have another opportunity ; of course then, when he is all carried away Vv^ith the idea of possess- ing the article, and is surprised at your good luck, then is the time to hand him the pen, to sign his name to the order you have filled out for him. You should act as though you expected of course he would sign his name, and as though all you had to do about the matter was to show him where to put it. On that line, sir. You should never attempt to appoint an agent, or 38 even talk in detail about the business to men in groups, at public gatherings, county fairs, and the like, although it is a good place to exhibit the fork, and get the names of men that you think will pay you to hunt up at some other time, and call on them. Those whom you would try to deal with are full of business, at such times, and don't want to be bothered, and in order to get rid of you and not to have you bother them, they will refuse you altogether ; and if you chance to call on them at their homes, they will remember that they refused you once, and see no rea- son why they should reverse the decision now. But when you have shown up the fork at such places, and have left every man favorably impressed, then when, you call upon them at their homes, with no one to influence them, they will remember how well they liked the fork when they saw it before, and the gen- eral satisfaction it gave, and they will feel free to act in the matter and do as they please, Avith none to molest or make them afraid. Under such circum- stances, your chance of success is much greater. HOW TO TREAT OBJECTIONS GENERALLY. When you are engaged in showing your fork, and your customer undertakes to raise objections, and S9 seems rather inclined to wish to argue the matter, the best way generally to dispose of such cases is, not to try to answer their objections, or argue the point, but go on with your story, very kindly, until they have forgotten their objections. This is a great deal better than to argue the matter, for if you succeed in refuting their arguments, they wdll then feel defeated, and it produces a feeling of opposition, which is hard to overcome. But by j)ay- ing no attention to what they say, they soon forget themselves and lose sight of their objections, by fol- lowing you in what you have to say, and if your con- versation is kind and pleasant, they will soon fall into your train of thought, and to a considerable ex- tent, think as you do. It is not a good plan to take orders from some men and sell forks right out to others, for before the time comes for delivering, those who took their forks when you were around taking orders, have used them, and their neighbors who gave orders have been over and seen it work and have tried it, and by the time you come to deliver, the novelty has worn off, to a great extent, and they will make up their minds that they had been a little too fast in giving their orders ; so 40 very likely they will plead poverty or clecliiie taking it altogether. You should have men who give their orders, sign their own name, or it will be worthless, unless they are willing to take the fork they ordered when you deliver it. You should keep your fork in your own hands as much as possible, when you are showing it, for those who are not familiar with it will be likely to make some blunder and perhaps pinch their fingers, or handle it awkwardly, and sometimes conclude they cannot learn to use it, and refuse to give their order ; when if you had kept it in your own hands, they would have seen how easily you handled it, and nat- urally enough come to the conclusion that they could handle it just as well and will give an order at once. You should always provide yourself with a coun- ty map of the territory you are canvassing, then, at the proper time, display your map with the tov/ns you have disj)osed of marked sold — if you are selling territoTy — and if appoivding agents, marked taken — it has the appearance of business and carries a good impression with it. When you have found the man that you propose to sell to — if vou can — and have introduced yourself^ 41 you should never ask : " do you waut to give an order for a horse fork?" the answer would be "no/' of course ; for at that time it is not probable that such a desire exists, for he has never seen the fork and knoNYS nothing about it ; but show him the fork, ex- plain its AYorkings and advantages, &c., as per hand bill, and you create a desire to obtain it. You should post yourself thoroughly, so that when you wish to exhibit the fork, you can show it up to good advantage ; point out its good qualities in such a wav that your customer will see it as vou do. You should talk in a low, distinct, confidential tone, not as though you were rehearsing something you had committed to memory, but as though you expected, as a matter of course, he would give you an order, and if done with an air of politeness, you will be quite certain of success — if your man has not already got a fork. And he will make an order quite frequently when he has one, if it does not just suit him, some- times because he thinks your fork is just the thing he wants, and not unfrequently because he has taken a liking to you ; for here is a fact that people do not. generally know^ — and that is this — a large proportion of all the orders you take ayIII be given because you 42 have acted like a gentleman and have been polite, and they were rather pleased with you. In canvassing for forks, v;hen you stay over night with a man who has given you an order for a fork, you can propose to him in the morning, to let you give him credit on the order he has given you, for the amount, and he will be glad to make a turn of that kind usually ; or, if he has not given you an or- der, propose to him to just give you his order for a fork, and that you will give him credit on the order for your bill. Frequently you vfill get an order in that way when they have refused to give an order before. It Avill depend much on your ability to use that wonderful art of pleasing. We have confined our remarks thus far mostly to the most successful method of canvassing for the fork or any other manufactured article. If you would become successful in canvassing for any article, you have a certain course of action to follow, in order to make the business a success and make it pay. But if you wish to appoint agents to do the can- vassing, that requires quite a different programme of action, in order to be suQcessful in that department of 48 the business. I shall endeavor to give you some idea how that may be done profitably and fairly. We will suppose still that we wish to appoint agents to canvass for the Gray Eagle Horse Fork. . Now suppose I am instructing you to go out and appoint agents for me. The very first thing to be done is to study the rules hereinafter laid down ; commit them all to memory, it's a short job. The next thing is to secure a model fork — just as nice as it can be made — so it pleases you to look at it ; then you should practice with it, both in the hay and out of it, until you become perfectly familiar with it, in every respect. Then you should under- stand putting up the rope and jmlleys, and rigging it to do business and practice at pitching hay from one side of the mow to the other, if you can do no better. When that is all done thoroughly, you should prac- tice showing it up, to a friend, until you have learned just what to say and when to say it. You should practice on him as though you were really appoint- ing him an agent, and he should make all the ob- jections he can, reasonably — that any body Avould make — and you play your part until you understand it from beginning to end ; so that when you commence 44 business you may be fluent and have all the argu- ments at your tongue's end. Then when you reach your ground to go to work, you will not be at a loss how to act nor what to say. The next thing to be done is to secure a good, re- spectable looking carriage, with one or two good horses. Tnjo are better than one, for it has more the appearance of business and looks as though you must be making money, and the inference they will naturally draw from that is, that you must have a good selling thing ; and experience and observation has taught me that the general appearance of an agent, his trappings and outfit, has much to do wdth his success. It is always the best way for two good men to go together, in this business; you should choose your companion with reference to his dignified appearance and honest face, and, if possible, an honest heart also, as it does not require a rascal to do this kind of busi- ness ; for you know that your fork is all you repre- sent and an article of merit, and you may feel that you are introducing an article that will prove a bless- ing to the community. With this feeling in your heart, you can go to work with all confidence of success. 45 Usually tlie best way is to find a man in the terri- tory you are going to operate in, who is well acquaint- ed with the country and knows something about the circumstances of the most of the people, and knows who to direct you to as being a man of the right kind. Your companion should see the fork work in some practical manner, and be satisfied in his own mind that it is all that you are representing it to be, so that whatever he may say in regard to its merits m^ay be said in good faith and without equivocation or mis- representation ; then you are ready to start out. No AY you drive up to Mr. Smith's, as your friend has directed you. You should always learn the name of your customer before you get to him, and know his circumstances — whether he is responsible or not — then you will know exactly what course to pursue. After an introduction, which should be as courte- ous and agreeable as possible, calling the individual by name, and giving your own name, if your friend cloes'not introduce you, say : " We are engaged in introducing into this vicinity a valuable farm imple- ment ; it is something that every farmer needs ; it has ])een thoroughly tested, highly approved and com- 46 mended by those who have examined its merits. It is meeting with general favor everywhere it has be^n introduced." Now by this time your man begins to have an itching to know what you have got. He rather thinks it must be a good thing, and is rather prepared to look on the bright side of it — if it has one — only he has resolved from the first word you spoke that he wouldn't buy any patent right, on any consideration. " But," says Mr. Smith, " I don't want to buy any patent right, for I have been bit once or twice now, and I'll never buy another." " We are not selling patent rights, Mr. Smith, we are only appointing agents, in every town throughout the whole United States, to sell the manufactured ar- " tide." "O that's it, is it?" says Mr. Smith. " Yes, sir, and we have disposed of over 2,500 towns already." "I'll just show you the article, and have no doubt you will be pleased with it." Now you will produce your fork, and say as you bring it to sight — " It is a horse fork ; it is called the ' Gray Eagle ;' it was patented by J. B. Sweetland, of Pontiac, Michigan. Doubtless you have heard of him, as his lame is frequently mentioned in the Scientific Ameri- ca,:' ISow proceed to explain the fork, its advantages, &c., tj,king your circular and going to work. After you have set forth to good advantage all that you may desire to, and you think he begins to want to hear something else, then just say to him — " Mr. Smith, I'll just show you our blank contracts, which we use in appointing agents, and explain it to you." Then produce the envelope containing your papers and take the contract and read it to him, from be- ginning to end ; and read it as though it was filled out Avith his name. If you wish to have a sure thing, just explain to him that you propose to furnish him with a fork and what blank order books you think he will need, so that he can go right to work and do business without costing him one cent until after he has an opportuni- ty to make it out of the business and considerable more besides. Say that all you require of him is to guarantee to you one-half of the profits on twenty-five forks, and then shovv^ him that he Avill be making some three or 48 four dollars on eacli fork he sells, besides making the business pay for itself. / Then say to him that the opportunity you are of- fering, only one man in each town can have — imless two men should take it together — and that you want none but first rate, reliable men, who are aMve, and have confidence enough in the fork, and in their abil- ity to sell it to think they can do w^ell, by canvassing for the fork. Then wait about half a minute, and ask him about how many he should think he could sell by next hay- ing, judging from what he knows of the country and the people. Well, he will think it over and perhaps v/ill say seventy-five or fifty. Then you will say to him — " now in order to make a safe calculation, suppose you call it one-half of that number, or say thirty ;" then you go to work and fi.gure it up, and allo^v sev- enty-five cents for incidental expenses, freight on forks &c., calling the profits just six dollars. After making a deduction of seventy-five cents, as above stated, show him that after he has paid you seventy- five dollars, after haying next year, he will then be makino; one hundred and five dollars the first year, 49 and after that all he makes is his own, provided he gives an order for twenty-five forks. When he concludes to take the agency, don't say another word ; just take out your blank book and proceed to fill out a note for seventy-five dollars and have him sign it. But if he shouldn't exactly like the idea of giving his note, if he can get out of it, he will be likely to say, "what is that?" you say, *^this is the way we take our guaranties, as it will be necessary to have something to show that we are to have something some day, and this is the best way we know of" Perhaps he will ask, " tsiiH that a note f^ you say " yes, of course it is, but you don't have to pay a cent on it until after haying next year, and that w^ill give you an opportunity to make it out of the business, as I told you in the outset," but you keep on and fill out the note and get it all ready for him to sign. Now about this time perhaps he begins to think you are getting rather anxious about it and that he will try and play off a little, and try that, so he will say, " why, stranger, I didn't understand that I was to give a note, or anything else." Then you say — " Mr. Smith, you must have expected to give me something, for see here, the contract that I read to 50 you says : * for and in consideration of the sum of seventy-five dollars, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, it being one-half of the profits of twenty-five forks.' We propose to appoint you as our agent/' &c. Then perhaps he w^ill say, *' well, sup- posing I don't sell enough by the time that is due, to pay it/' Now is your turn to play off, and you have got to do it. So you will say : " Well, Mr. Smith, if you think you can't sell a few of these forks, you are not the man we want at all, for we have got a first rate tool and don't pro- pose to tie it up, so that anybody else can't do any thing with it, because Ave have given the agency to a man who doesn't expect to do much, for we want men who think they can do something." Just here he will think he begins to see the oppor- tunity slipping from him, and he will be very likely to say — *' well, I think I can sell them if anybody can, and just as many as any other man." Then you will say, " very well, if you think you can sell them, I will give you the agency," and at the same time shove the blank book to him saying — ^' sign your name on that line, Mr. Smith." 51 After looking around, enquiring and finding your man, there is another way to proceed, to get a man to take an agency, which is a very good one and fre- quently effectual, when all other plans would fail. You would go to work something like the following : After you have passed a polite salutation and have got about to the right place in the course of your conversation, to begin to talk about your business, you can just say that you are introducing some new farming implements into this part of the country, and that you would be obliged to him if he would tell you of some good, straightforward man, that would be willing to stir around a little, if he could make from five to twenty dollars per day ; and continue to say that you want to find a man that will be likely to attend to the business if it pays well, as the articles are new things which you want sold, and you expect to make a little out of manufacturing the goods, if you can find good men to sell the articles ; and say they have been thoroughly tested and admitted by all who have used them, to be the very best in the mar- ket, and that you want good men w^ho will do well for themselves and you too. " Do you know of such a man, Mr. Smith T Now about that time Mr. Smith is wondering in his 52 own mind what the articles are that you want agents to sell, and thinks also, that if there is from five to tAventy dollars per day for somebody, why he can't just as well have the chance himself as any one else. So he will be likely to say, " what new implements have you that you want sold ? perhaps I can find you some one." Now you will say "just step out to my buggy, and I'll show you and explain them to you.'' Now you just show your fork as well as you ever did, and at the same time don't act as though you thought he had any notion of trying it, but be very careful to explain what a good chance you can give a man, and how much profit there is on every fork sold, and how many there might be sold in a town, &c. After you have done that part all right, you will just say — " Do you think of any one Mr. Smith, that would make a good agent ?" Now if he w^ants the chance himself he will be al- most sure to ask you what kind of a chance you will give him. You will say — " I can give you a good chance, Mr. Smith, if you think you can sell them. How many do you think .53 you cau sell in this town, between now and next hay- ing, Mr. Smith?" After he tells yon, you will proceed to explain your terms, as in the other case, and to close up the bar- gain in the same way. There is still another way, similar to this. After you have made arrangements with the Supervisor or some good man to go with you, just ride around w^ith him tor a day or two, and go to every farmer's house of any note and have him introduce you as a gentle- man who is looking around the country a little to find a good section of country to commence his business, and of course after that is said, he wants to know what your business is. You just hand him a circu- lar and say at the same time that it is possible you may be around that Avay — if you conclude to operate in that section of country — and that if you do you w^ill probably call on him. He will say, " yes, cer- tainly, call and see us, and stay all night," or some- thing like that. Don't show him your fork at all this time, but when you make it convenient to call on him, he is only too glad to see you, and is anxious to hear all about your fork, and very likely he will propose to 54 take hold of the business. Then the matter is very easily arranged. But it will be necessary sometimes to go still far ther, and show the amount of money there is to be made out of one town, by just making a mathemati- cal calculation, showing the business up to him so that he will understand it, and say, "Mr. Smith, now just to make the whole thing plain to you, we will make a little estimate on one town, and then you can tell better about it." Counties average about twenty towns each ; and Oakland county averages some twelve or fifteen hun- dred inhabitants to each town. Now, suppose two hundred of that number are farmers, and as nine out of ten of the best farmers will have horse forks in time, it is fair to suppose that three out of four are wanting them this year, if they haven't got them now, and taking the country together, on an average, there is not one farmer out of twenty-five who has a horse fork, or ever had, thus making an average, through this county, of one hundred and forty-seven farmers who want forks, in every town. Now, to make a safe calculation, supposing you sell to one- third of that number this year, say fifty forks, and two rafter hooks with each fork, this will give a 00 clear profit of $412.50 in each town, for somebody to make this year; and as counties will average some twenty towns each, a profit of $412.50 each town, would make $8,250. So you see if a man sells only from one to four or five forks per day, he is making more clean money than he could make on the best farm in the coun- try, without investing half money enough to even buy a team. The common price for ordinary forks, such as are in use in some parts of the country, has been from $12 to $18 each, thus you see making our forks come $2 cheaper than almost any fork in the market ; and no man will save $2 on as small an ar- ticle as a fork quicker than the farmer, especially when he is getting a great deal better article. These forks can be sold in every part of the country where people do haying. Sometimes when a man hesitates and don't seem to know what to say, in order that he may say what you want him to, you just say — ^' What do you think, Mr. Smith ? how does my proposition please you ? Would you like to sell forks in this town ? You know the old maxim is, * the time to make money easy is when you have an op- portunity.'" 56 ■ - These, or similar words, will frequently make tliem decide as you wish. There is still another way of disposing of patent rights, which is considered very good, and that is clubbing. Provided you have an article that will come into general use — and we think the fork ivilL The best thing a farmer can do, even if he merely wants to buy one for his own use, is to take a share in the club ; he w411 pay for his share and buy a fork at wholesale for less money than he could have bought it at retail. Usually, in selling towns out to clubs, they buy it in this way, because they want the article that is be- ing sold, and when they have purchased a town at from one to three hundred dollars, then they can buy tlie article at the factory, at wholesale, and thus get it considerably cheaper, including what they paid for the right, than they could have bought the same num- ber of articles for at retail. Now, just to make it plain, we ^\ill give you an example. Supposing we are willing to take one hundred dollars for the town you live in for the right of our fork. Then suppose we go around and find tv/enty men who want forks. Each of those twenty men pays us five dollars, and thei\ we give them, jointly, a deed for the tow^n ; of 57 course that club Avill get their forks at Avholesale at five dollars and twenty-five cents each, and each one has already paid five dollars in the club, so each gets a fork for ten dollars and tvventy-five cents, when they retail at tv/elve dollars, and then all the forks they sell to parties in the town w^ho do not belong to the club, they make six dollars and seventy-five cents on each fork. But as we are desirous of establishing all the agencies we can in this, for the purpose of in- troducing our fork all through the United States and Canada, next year, to those agencies we establish this year, we shall not charge two hundred nor three hun- dred dollars a town. Now in case your man claims that there are other forks in the country, and that a great many farmers have already got them, then you Avill say, you are glad to hear that there are some forks in the neigh- borhood, because it only goes to show that every farmer will have one as soon as he finds one that is all right, and you can the more readily show the advantage your fork has over others by comparing them, and showing them side by side, and then when the man that owns the fork is satisfied you have got the best fork, he will frequently give an order for another, as farmers now-a-days want to have just as 58 ! good tools as their neighbors have, and as good en there is in the country ; and there are just fork enough in the country to satisfy the farmers that the} cannot get along without them, when they find one! that they consider is just right and pleases them. And then remind them that they are not required to pay a cent until after haying next year, and theyl will have time to make the money out of the busi- ness. Now a w^ord to those who may read this little volume. Of course when a man buys one he know^i what it treats on, and that it is designed to give in- structions in selling patent rights — and about all the object a man could have in posting himself in any business, would be in view of having some of that kind of business to do. ISTow, to those who are pre-j paring themselves to sell patent rights, I would just^ say for their encouragement, that this business willj always be goodwhen other kinds of business are dull* There are thousands of men who invent articles of different kinds and patent them, and when they have; obtained the patent, that is as far as they can go. They are usually farmers, or mechanics, who haven't the; least conception how to dispose of it, though it may. be ever so good a thing. And a good, reliable man 69 that is capable of taking a patent right and selling it, can command a salary of from one hundred to five hundred dollars per month and all expenses ipaid. That may look large to a man who has always worked on a farm, or by the day, at wages not exceeding three or four dollars per day. But I assure you that I stood by and heard a man refuse to go and sell a patent right for a man who offered him one hundred dollars per week and all expenses paid. And in a conversation I had w^ith the same man afterwards, he assured me he was then getting one hundred and twenty-five dollars per week and all expenses paid for himself and wife. Now this may seem very large to some, and they would natu- rally inquire how that could be possible. Now I will give you a few more facts in answer to that question. Many of our wealthiest men have made their money out of patented articles ; and the reason why is simply this : there is no way known by which a man can make so much money, in so short a time, as by selling a patented article that every- body must have. Now I have from twenty to thirty patents that I have taken out. I have several that are real genuine articles; and I am prepared to give agents almost 60 any kind of a cliance tliey want, either to go out and sell rights on a commission on the most liberal con- ditions ; or I will sell them town or county rights at such figures as a beginner can afford to pay, so. that they may have something to operate with and not cost them much, while they are getting the prac- tical part of their education. I am also prepared to furnish sets of blanks such' as agents need for selling patent rights, or canvassing for the manufactured article, or in clubbing, or in appointing agents. But it requires different forms of papers to sell in each of these different ways. Parties wishing to have me help them to either of I these different kinds of blanks, they can enclose one! dollar in a letter and send it to me by mail, directed | J. B. Sweetland, box 407, Pontiac, Michigan, and on I receipt of it, I will send by mail a complete set of I blanks for any way you wish to operate. You must i send particulars in regard to the article you wish to sell, and I will arrange the blanks to suit the case. I have also entered into an arrangement with two I of the best patent attorneys in the city of Washing- j ton, who are experts in procuring patents. Parties ; who wish assistance in that direction will find it to | their interest to call on me, at my residence, or | 61 address me by letter, at Poiitiac, as I am tliorouglily acquainted with the ways and means by which patents are obtained, and can get patents through on shorter notice than people generally know anything about. I pretend to say that I have frequently taken out patents all the way from four weeks down to one wxek and two days, and even in as short a time as two hours after the ' application v/as made. It is owing to what class the article is found to belong in when it gets to Washington. I also have every facility for making models, and making out claims and specifications ; which is a very essential part of the business in order to secure a good claim. I want agents all over the United States to sell this little book. And as there is such a demand at the present day for something to instruct people in regard to this business; and as there is nothing printed in the United States that throws any light on the subject, we think any young man can make from three dollars to twenty dollars per day ; and it will be to every man's interest to keep the contents of this book to himself after he has read it, because then he can sell one to each of his friends by telling them that he is agent for such a book. 62 I will furnish these books by the dozen, to agent? at a low figure. J. B. SWEETLAND. Pontiac, Oakland Co.y Mid j.