Concerning, “Will elephants make themselves generally useful on a farm?” Barnum said, “I suppose some of my inquirers thought the elephant would pick up chips, or even pins as they have been taught to do, and would rock the baby and do all the chores, including the occasional carrying of a trunk, other than his own, to the depot.” The elephant’s trunk was an inexhaustible source of puns to Barnum. Some anxious farmers asked whether an elephant would quarrel with a cow, if it was possible to breed elephants on the farm, and how old calf elephants must be before they would begin to earn their own living. The number of letters he received, written with a serious inquiring purpose, caused Barnum to fear that some farmers would buy elephants, and he printed a form letter, headed “Strictly Confidential.” In this letter, a copy of which was sent to each of his correspondents, Barnum said that to him the elephant was a profitable agricultural animal because he advertised the Museum, but that other farmers might find the animal a burden. The original cost of an elephant, Barnum pointed out, was from $3,000 to $10,000. In cold weather the animal would not work at all; and in any weather he could not earn his keep, since every year he would eat up the value of his head, trunk, and body. He concluded by asking his correspondents to keep these facts secret, so that each of the hundreds felt himself in the confidence of a great man. The newspapers worked Barnum’s elephant for all he was worth. Reporters made special trips to Bridgeport from distant points to write of the scene accurately. Some of their stories said that Barnum’s elephant built a stone wall around the farm, planted corn with his trunk, washed the windows of “Iranistan,” and sprinkled the walks and lawns by inhaling water into his trunk and using that instrument as a garden hose. The elephant was also credited with feeding the pigs and picking the fruit, and one writer had the audacity to print that since he was a male elephant he carried Barnum’s letters to and from the post office. Millions of readers throughout the country saw pictures of Barnum’s elephant, and after the six-acre field had been plowed more than fifty times, the animal was sold to Van Amburgh’s Menagerie.