amount of $2,000,000 during the lively 'Northwest' gale a few weeks since. 'Puts' and 'calls' are terms of more than ordinary difficulty for the uninitiated to understand. A proposes to 'put' to B, that is, to deliver to him, a certain amount of a certain stock at a certain time, at a price agreed upon when the contract is made, and gives B a bonus of one, two, or three per cent, as the case may be, for the privilege. This is a 'put.' If the stock does not decline in value to an amount exceeding the sum given to B, A cannot make anything by the transaction; and, unless he chooses to deliver the stock, he is not obliged to do so. If it falls more than the amount, A makes a good profit, for B, having accepted the bonus, is bound to take it, even though it may be selling five or ten cents below the price at which he agreed to take it. A 'call' is pretty much the same thing, with this difference: A gives B a hundred or a thousand dollars, or whatever sum may be agreed upon, for the privilege of 'calling' from B a certain amount of stock within a given number of days. If it advances, A may 'call' it and make money. If it declines, he need not 'call' it, but of course the bonus he gave to B is forfeit. There are times when the business in 'puts' and 'calls' is quite large, and a great deal of money is made by it; but, like all other kinds of speculation, it is dangerous to the inexperienced. 'Scoop' is a term less familiar to the public than any of the foregoing. This 'scoop game' is a very common one, and is played in this way: A clique of speculators, let us suppose, wish to get possession of a good deal of some particular stock, which they have reason to believe will soon advance in price; but of course they want to get it cheap, and they accomplish their object by starting a break in the stock. This is done by offering it at low figures. They instruct their brokers to offer small quantities under the market price, and to keep on offering lower and lower, until other holders of the same stock who are not in their confidence become alarmed, and sell out at the best price they can get. In the meantime the clique have other brokers buying all the stock that is offered, and thus they get possession of a large amount of stock at low prices, which they can probably sell, a few days later, at a large profit. This 'scoop game' is one of the most profitable that the Wall street gentlemen play. The process of 'washing'--a very good one in its ordinary sense--is often employed in Wall street. 'Washing' is a peculiar operation there, very peculiar indeed, and the outsiders ought to keep as far as possible from the suds. A clique is as necessary to it as to the 'scoop' business. There is a stock on the list, for instance, that the public persist in letting alone, and the holders of it want to stir up some excitement in this stock, and induce the public to buy it. How do they proceed? Their plan is quite simple: Several brokers--let us