60 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15. 



speaking; but if all my customers were like 

 this man, I should lose my energy and enthusi- 

 asm pretty quickly. 



Let us now consider why it is that dur food so 

 often seems to do so little good. Years ago, 

 while in the city of Boston, a vender on the 

 street was selling some sort of refreshing drink 

 to crowds of thirsty people. lie had a lot of 

 glass jars placed right in the sunlight on a hot 

 summer day. These jars were filled with pure 

 water, to all appearance. In the water was some- 

 thing that looked like miniature white fleecy 

 clouds. These little tlocky clouds were alter- 

 nately rising to tiie surface and dropping to the 

 bottom, in a queer sort of way that attracted 

 the attention of passersby. In answer to their 

 inquiries he said, "It is the South American 

 beer-plant. Won't you have a glass of beer? 

 only three cents." Some pounded ice was stir- 

 red into the liquid, which was already foaming 

 with particles of carbonic acid. The gas came 

 up out of the liquid, much as it does from sweet 

 cider, when it is just working briskly, and the 

 beer tasted much like sweet cider. It was 

 sweetened, and flavored with sarsaparilla, oi' 

 something of that sort. The white particles 

 that rose and fell resembled the mother plant 

 in vinegar; and the opei'ation would keep on 

 indefinitely, provided the liquid was kept warm, 

 and sugar or sweetened water was added as fast 

 as the plant used it, up. We afterward had 

 some of the beer-plant in our house, and I stud- 

 ied the habits of it. I think what is called the 

 vinegar-plant is closely allied to it— may be it 

 is the same thing, for the product in every case 

 becomes vinegar, if it is not used up as beer. 



Some may ask whether this is a temperance 

 drink. It is just as much a temperance drink 

 as all home-made root-beers. Hires' root-beer, 

 that is advertised so extensively in our agricul- 

 tural and religious papers, is a fair type of them 

 all. There are two things about these home- 

 made root-beers that make them called for. 

 One is the carbonic acid, the same as we get 

 from soda Water. This. I believe, is whole- 

 some—at least, a moderate use of it seems to 

 assist digestion and refresh one who is thirsty. 

 The other element is alcohol. All beers made 

 by fermentation, whether we use yeast or 

 whether it is fermented, like sweet cider, con- 

 tains a small percentage of alcohol. The more 

 the cider has worked, the more alcohol it con- 

 tains, and the same with the root-beer. I have 

 seen home-made root-beer that was at least 

 slightly intoxicating. As for lager beer, see what 

 Dr. Miller says in Stray Straws in the previous 

 number. Perhaps the good housewife who 

 made it did not intend it should be so. but nev- 

 ertheless it was. I need not stop here to tell 

 you what the effect of alcohol is — at least, its 

 ultimate effect. I do not believe we need it, in 

 large doses or small doses, or in any sort of 

 doses. That is my own private opinion. I am 

 not yet ready to give it as a "thus saith the 

 Lord." It rriay be useful as a medicine, but I 

 very much doubt it. I have spoken of this 

 beer-plant because it puts before our eyes this 

 matter of fermentation. The beer-plant wants 

 sugar, water, and warmth. It wants warm,, 

 sweetened ivater. The warmer the water, the 

 better it suits the plant until you get to the 

 point where it might be scalded. If you scald 

 it, it is killed like any other plant. If it does 

 not have sugar or starch in some form, to work 

 on or feed on. it dies of starvation, like any 

 other plant or animal. 



When I was a small boy. part of my duties 

 was to feed the pigs. I used to dip their feed 

 out of a barrel— the old-time swill-barrel of our 

 childhood days. In order to make it better we 

 stirred in bran every day. Then the barrel was 

 placed in the sun; and the bran, slops, and dish- 



water soon produced fermentation. I remem- 

 ber on coming near it on a hot day, that I could 

 hear a peculiar snapping and foaming sound in 

 the barrel, and bubbles were rising rapidly to 

 the surface. You have all seen such things, I 

 presume, in very hot weather. In the process 

 of fermentation, carbonic acid was liberated in 

 considerable quantities, and this made the 

 snapping noise. The operation went on most 

 rapidly during very hot weather. Well, since 

 my poor health, when 1 felt distressed after 

 eating then* has seemed to be a sort of foaming 

 and snapping sound in my bowels. It reminded 

 me of the swill-barrel, and I felt sure the very 

 same operation was going on in my intestines 

 or bowels, or somewhere in that region, as used 

 to be going on in that swill-barrel. Pretty soon 

 there would be colicky pains — a general uneasi- 

 ness, and a peculiar sort of headache. I craved 

 something, I did not know what. Sometimes I 

 wanted beer, as I have told you about; then I 

 wanted fruit ; but every thing I ate seemed to 

 feed the trouble. Even a drink of water would 

 very often give me more distress. Perhaps, 

 many of you are familiar with all this. 



Toward 2.5 years ago my health failed, and I 

 consulted Dr. Salisbury, of Cleveland, O. I re- 

 member of asking hiniif he did not think beer 

 would be good for me, or Kennett ale. or some- 

 thing of that sort. He replied. " Why, bless your 

 heart, my dear Mr. Root, you have got a beer- 

 brewery inside of you already, and yet you 

 would suggest iiiore beer. Although you are 

 not a beer-drinker, it is the beer-business that 

 is killing you, and will kill you unless you stop 

 it." Dr. Salisbury did stop the beer-business. 

 I think I have told you about his remedy. In 

 the first place, he turned me out of doors. He 

 told me to buy a colt and break him myself, 

 and learn to ride him. This I did. You see, 

 the treatment was very much in line with the 

 wheel of a few days past. I did not mind the 

 colt very much — in fact, I rather liked, the 

 medicine. I would rather take a colt and 

 break it than to take physic any time; so that 

 part of the prescription did very well. It gave 

 me a love for horses that I had never had before, 

 and it will last me as long as I live. But the 

 celebrated doctor said, furthermore, that I must 

 stop swallowing any thitHj that would make 

 beer or fermentation: nothing sweet or sour; 

 but. above all things, not a particle of sugar; 

 no fruit. As I did not get on to suit him, he 

 finally cut off all the grains, and. as a last 

 extremity, I was forbidden even graham bread. 

 It was a scientific experiment with me, however, 

 and I entered into it with my characteristic en- 

 ergy and zeal. For eighteen weeks I lived entire- 

 ly on lean meat: and together with the colt and 

 other outdoor exercise, I came out well and 

 strong. That was the time I planted the bass- 

 wood orchard. The doctor said my ranch must 

 be at least a mile or two from the office, so I 

 should not be worried too much with the cares 

 of business. I got entirely rid of the "beer- 

 brewery " in my bowels and intestines. 



You may inquire why. then, I am not a fol- 

 lower of Dr. Salisbury at present, with his 

 beefsteak diet. Well, it did not work with 

 many other people as it did with me. A good 

 friend of mine went down to his grave right be- 

 fore my eyes, in spite of beef diet. He had con- 

 sumption, however, and could not stand horse- 

 back riding as I could. The lean meat was, no- 

 doubt, one factor in my recovery; but I think 

 the colt was a greater factor. Again, I can not 

 believe that God intended we should be re- 

 stricted to animal food. I believe the fruits, 

 grains, and vegetables have their places. Well, 

 so did Dr. Salisbury. He believed that well 

 people, who worked outdoors especially, should 

 use all these things as a diet: but, of course, we 



