680 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



but it was a pure sirapio diet. Be that as it 

 may, the thing that Daniel and his friends ob- 

 jected to (wine) is the very thing Dr. Lewis so 

 positively forbids. Very likely they had pulse 

 to eat and water to drink, each at regular in- 

 tervals. With such treatment there is no such 

 thing as overloading the stomach. There is no 

 question nor speculation as to whether this, 

 that, or the other is good for you or causes you 

 distress. If our people had perfect control of 

 all their appetites, their tastes, and their pas- 

 sions, this world of ours would be a heaven be- 

 low. Do you doubt it? Read the last of my 

 three texts — that grand Bible promise: "To 

 him that overcometh, to him will I grant to sit 

 with me in my throne." 



A friend said to me oniy yesterday, " Mr. 

 Root, I have been sick for two days, and it is a 

 good deal your fault." 



Of course, this was pleasantry. He went on: 



'•I knew I ought not to eat watermelons; but 

 we had one that was so very nice 1 could not 

 resist the temptation, but kept on eating. Then 

 we had some of that new kind of beans of yours 

 — the Best of All — and they were so exceeding- 

 ly luscious, and hit the spot so exactly, I ate 

 more of them than I ought to. It took me 

 about two days, and required some medicine, 

 before I was straightened out again." 



How many such cases do you suppose there 

 are in this world of ours? Now, the point is. 

 one who has gone through this ordeal that I 

 have pointed out to you would not be very like- 

 ly to lose his health, aud get back again into 

 the slough of despond. I remembered so well 

 my experience during those ]8 weeks 25 years 

 ago that I could thank God for my daily bread 

 at almo-^t every meal since that time with a 

 new understanding of the matter. We never 

 prize God's blessings until we have been de- 

 prived of them. We never prize health until 

 we have had some experience with sickness. 

 These bodies of ours are a sacred charge in- 

 trusted to us by the great Father of all, and he 

 expects us to take good care of them. He ex- 

 pects reason to hold in check the passions and 

 the appetites undor all circumstances whatever. 

 If we disregard Reason, and set her admoni- 

 tions at naught, then we have got to go back 

 and live a life of self-sacrifice, and even total 

 abstinence from many things that we might 

 otherwise enjoy with impunity. 



Is it really a method of healing diseases with- 

 out medicine? To a certain extent I think it 

 is; but Dr.' Lewis told me it would be very 

 much better if the inatter were looked after 

 under the charge of the regular family physi- 

 cian. He said the family physician could 

 engineer the patient clear through without any 

 difficulty at all if he only would. The difficul- 

 ty is, he may not himself have faith in it; and 

 then, again, it Is not a very pleasant or taking 

 method of treating disease. The average physi- 

 cian knows this perfectly well, from the ex- 

 perience he has had in undertaking to get his 

 patients to leave off tobacco, t^a. and coffee, 

 extravagant use of sweets, etc. Like the faith- 

 ful pastor who preaches plain truth, it may 

 sometimes cut off his salary a trifle, for the 

 time being. Again, the family doctor, to obtain 

 the best results, should be able to examine the 

 blood, the urine, the secretions, etc. The prin- 

 cipal difficulty to be met is that of constipation, 

 which is almost sure to follow. Now, I have 

 spoken exceedingly plain before on these pages 

 in regard to this matter of curing disease with- 

 out medicine, and I am sure our friends — at 

 least the ailing ones— will pardon me right here 

 if I speak so that I may be clearly under- 

 stood in this matter. With the pure lean- 

 meat diet there is no need of a movement 



of the bowels oftener than two or three times 

 in a week.* On one occasion, when I had 

 gone four days, Ernest took the responsibility 

 of giving me one of his favorite pills. He 

 asked Dr. Lewis afterward what he thought 

 about it, and the latter replied: "Oh! no, no! 

 Pills may do for you, but no pills for your 

 father." 



You see, after my tendency to chronic dysen- 

 tery, taking pills is like waking up the baby 

 after you have walked the floor with her for 

 hours to get her to sleep. 



" Well, doctor, if I can not take pills or physic, 

 what am I do? " 



" Why, just take a tablespoonful of castor-oil 

 before you go to bed. If one tablespoonful does 

 not answer, trv two. Castor-oil will lubricate 

 and soothe those long suffering intestines, 

 rather than rasp them up again as physic 

 does." 



Now. if you call castor-oil medicine, then my 

 talk to-day is not exactly doctoring without 

 medicine. I believe that, with many patients, 

 both Lewis and Salisbury are in the habit of 

 giving some sort of tonic before the meal, and a 

 preparation of pepsin so as to assist digestion 

 after the meal. Ordinarly, pure fresh lean 

 meat and pure water are all that is needed — 

 "pulse to eat, and water to drink;" and, dear 

 reader, if you will prove it ten days, as did 

 Daniel and his little band. I think you may 

 not only be wiser and brighter, and clearer in 

 intellect, but you may also see your way out of 

 troubles that have followed you for years. 



Just a word, before closing, in regard to the 

 manner of cooking this ground -up beefsteak. 

 It must not be frifd or browned, for that spoils 

 its digestibility. It should be broiled, and the 

 broiling must be done just right, so it will be 

 juicy, soft, and rich. There is on Euclid St., 

 Cleveland. O.. a place called the " diet-house." 

 where they have made it their business to cook 

 meat for the Salisbtiry patients for 25 years or 

 more. As they cook it. it is about the most de- 

 licious and strpngth-giving article of food I 

 ever tasted. After eating 10 ounces a few days 

 ago, I felt as well satisfied as if I had had the 

 best meal that could be furnished in that great 

 city. I bought some of the very same beef, of 

 the very same butcher: but after I got home 

 we found it was quite a little piece of skill to 

 cook it exactly as they did at the diet-house. 

 But Ernest finally masterfd it. The secret is in 

 having it cooked alike all the way through, and 

 be sure not to have any portion of it overdone. 

 If right, it will be juicv. soft, and toothsome, 

 requiring very little chewing: and from it 

 strength and energy come very quickly to the 

 ofttimes weak and hungry patient. 



*May I in this little footnote be pardoned for 

 speaking still more plainly ? I am now in my fourth 

 week, and my bowels move without any castor-oil 

 or anything: el.se but a mild hot-water injection, 

 without tlie least bit of pain; and, most astonishingr 

 of all. the small amount of residue left after per- 

 fect digestion is absolutely without smell. Ever 

 since I was a child I liave wondered again and again 

 why it was that human beings should necessarily 

 have any thing- to do with almost the foulest sub- 

 stance that one can well imagine. Is it right, and 

 is it God's will, that we who are called the temples 

 of the Holy Ghost should have any thing about us 

 at any time so offensive and repulsive to every re- 

 fined thought and feeling ? and it rejoices my heart, 

 to know that it is even possible for one to have a 

 sweet breath, a sweet-smelling body, and to be 

 sweet and clean always and everywhere. You see 

 this talk is only a continuatioH of my talk years ago 

 under the head of my favorite little text, " Wash ye, 

 make you clean." 



