1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



399 



directions, or by different parts of the body or brain, 

 by doing as Sinclair did. a little at a time: then a lit- 

 tle more and a little more, with rest and change be- 

 tween for storing power again in the form of digest- 

 ed material. This is the way in which habits, either 

 for good or ill. become established, that are .so hard 

 to break; and a habit mav be either bodily or men- 

 tal. 



Many of our habits are inherited. y\'e were train- 

 ed in these before we were born or begotten. Habits 

 formed by associations, either good or bad, are 

 much more easily overcome, for good or evil than 

 those inherited; and those inherited from tempo- 

 rary conditions of the parents, though not in many 

 cases very striking and troublesome, are so stubborn 

 to deal with as permanent conditions of many gen- 

 erations of ancestors. Here Is where great mistakes 

 are made by many would-be reformers through ig- 

 norance of these things. 



I have had great opportunities for observing these 

 things in a very extensive practice in applying the 

 laws of hygiene, physiology, and phrenology instead 

 of medicine— In cases among all classes of people, 

 from statesmen to convicts in various parts of the 

 country, and in many cases an uncommonly Inti- 

 mate and confidential personal acquaintance with 

 the ijer.sons. 



I don't want you to starve yourself to death yet. 

 I want you to stir folks up on your varied subjects 

 awhile longer. If you are going to depend on mirac- 

 ulous aid In your fast it would not prove much as 

 to natural laws for the Instruction of others: but 

 don't think that I don't believe fully in a special 

 dealing of Providence with our individual needs; 

 but I believe they are mainly accomplished by nat- 

 ural means that we don't see. ^^ 



In closing permit me to say I think it is real 

 naughty " of you to say it is " funny " for people to 

 starve to death in a week of time in a desert or in 

 shipwrecks. I don't believe you really think so. 

 Their bodies are In the habit of keeping only a. small 

 supply of material laid up. 



Lafayette, Ga., May 28. C. W. Ludlow. 



Friend L., you are a good deal if not alto- 

 pether in the right about the matter; but 

 while I am feeling as well as I do now by 

 simply going without any supper I do not 

 think I shall try the starvation plan. As 

 it is getting to be a sort of fad, however (for 

 many people are trying it) , we shall very 

 soon have the truth pretty well sifted out. 

 If I am correct, Sinclair was by no means a 

 heavy or fleshy man when he started out 

 on the starvation idea. In regard to your 

 closing sentence, I humbly beg pardon for 

 having left the impression that I have little 

 or no sympathy for those who really starve 

 to death. What I had in mind as being 

 "funny" was that Sinclair had also been 

 72 hours without food, and, instead of being 

 starved to death, he was in excellent spirits, 

 and very much alive, indeed. And, by the 

 way, my own family made a protest much 

 like yours just as soon as I suggested a fast 

 of several days. 



PARCELS POST, ETC. 



We clip the following from the Cleveland 

 Plain Dealer for May 21. I want to call 

 your attention to the fine piece of sarcasm 

 at the close. 



You can send a pound of merchandise from Cleve- 

 land toany one of twenty-nine countries — anywhere 

 in the world, practically — for 12 cents. But if you 

 drop It in the Cleveland postofflce for delivery in 

 East Cleveland, or Akron (40 miles). It costs you 16 

 cents. You can mail a parcel weighing eleven 

 pounds at the same rate to any foreign country. 

 But if it is to stay in the LTnited States, the limit Is 

 four pounds. The express companies have kindly 

 lent their support to this arrangement. 



SHORT WEIGHTS AND SHORT MEASURES; 

 SCRIMPING IN FOOD PRODUCTS. 



I have frequently sjioken of hulled corn 

 as a delicious and healthful food. While in 

 Florida we used quite a little of it; and to 

 save work in the kitchen, where fuel is ex- 

 pensive and the weather warm enough with- 

 out being over a hot stove, we have used 

 quite a little hulled corn in cans. Well, Mrs. 

 Root has frequently called my attention to 

 the fact that these cans were never full — 

 some of them not more than two-thirds full. 

 Just think of asking the consumer to pay 

 for the can and the expense of putting it up, 

 and then giving him short measure, jvist to 

 save the fraction of a cent! ^^'hen my at- 

 tention has been called to this matter I have 

 several times said there ought to be a i)rotest 

 against such little and mean methods of 

 robbing the consumer; but I did not know 

 just where to direct my protest. In view of 

 the above, you may be sure I rejoicetl to re- 

 ceive a leaflet from the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture in regard to the 

 misbranding of corn. Some 600 cases of this 

 canned corn, put up here in Ohio, were ex- 

 amined and condemned because the label 

 on each can said it contained "2 lbs. of 

 corn," where there was only about '26 to '28 

 ounces. Now, if the Food and Drugs Com- 

 mission is going to go right through the 

 food products in our groceries, and insist 

 that the contents of each and every pack- 

 age shall correspond exactly with the claim 

 on the label, it will be doing a wonderful 

 work for the millions of hard-working peo- 

 ple who get at least a large part of their daily 

 food from the shelves of our groceries and 

 country stores. May God help us in our ef- 

 forts to see that every hard-working man, 

 woman, and child in our nation has a 

 ''square deed.'''' 



"WE CAN SELL YOUR PROPERTY," ETC. 



In our last issue, p. '20 of the advertising 

 department, I spoke of the skill with which 

 swindling firms are trying to imitate per- 

 sonal letters. See the following: 



My dear Mr. Root: -I am enclosing another "fol- 

 low up " letter which came recently — from an " In- 

 vestment Ass'n." Please notice the superior quality 

 of their imitation of typewriter work, and the way 

 my name has been filled In. Possibly it Is not a 

 form letter, or, rather, it may be a form letter really 

 typewritten. At any rate. It Is well calculated to 

 deceive any one into believing he Is receiving 

 a personal letter. I feel very certain they are swin- 

 dlers, and seldom give any value. It seems to me 

 the postofflce department should be advised of the 

 matter, and investigate the association's methods. 



Packerville. Conn. E. P. Robinson. 



In the letter inclosed (which really is a 

 "form letter,") the words "Mr. Robinson" 

 were so skillfully printed as almost to defy 

 detection; and then the writer went on to 

 tell how very honest they were in their 

 methods of business, and how dishonest 

 somebody else was. Let me quote a single 

 paragraph: 



This Isn't just one extreme case. Similar ones are 

 happening right along, and I tell you it often makes 

 my blood boil when I hear of them. Do you won- 

 der I am in earnest in trying to put my fair and 

 honest plan before people as forcibly as I can? I am 



