1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



525 



saloon — bring poverty, distress, death, and 

 woe to the people; and nearly 4,0(XJ,000 Chris- 

 tian men by their votes say amen! 



Hudson, N. Y., June \2. .Tames McNeii.i>. 



ANOTHER REPLY TO FRIEND TOMLINSON. 



3/7'. JRoof;— After reading the article of J. 

 Toniiinson. and your comment on the same, I 

 was led to exclaim, "' Friend Root must be 

 thankful for small favors when he feels like 

 • praising God for such a weak attempt to justify 

 the government in its partnership with the 

 liquor-business." Mr. T. says, "It is a very 

 serious thing to impute evil intent to the gov- 

 ernment." Very true: but the matter becomes 

 doubly serious when the imputation is sustain- 

 ed by f (I cts. But I will leave each one to draw 

 his own conclusions as to the intent, and will 

 deal simply with the facts. 



I understand that a partnership exists where 

 two or more parties are interested in a business 

 in a way that each party has a share in the 

 profits of the business. Now, what are the 

 facts? The government permits and legalizes 

 the manufacture of the poison, and for its 

 share in the profits receives iK) cents per gallon, 

 and the other partner has the rest, and yet 

 there is no partnership! Oh, no! can't be, be- 

 cause this is a •• Christian government;" and 

 yet it legalizes, protects, upholds, and defends 

 this accursed liquor- trafific. Friend T. says. 

 " Very many men are born into the world with 

 a propensity to evil ways, and the drink habit 

 is one of the strongest of these propensities." 

 So are murder, theft, and prostitution some of 

 these propensities. "This thirst for strong 

 drink creates a demand for it." So does the 

 desire for the gratification of these other de- 

 sires create a demand for them. Again, he 

 says. " So long as this demand exists, the man- 

 ufacture will goon. It can not be stopped." So 

 long as the demand for the gratification of the 

 propensity to steal, murder, etc., exists, the 

 business will go on. It never has been stopped, 

 and it never will be so long as the desire for 

 these things continues. And now let the 

 government grant a license to all m.urderers, 

 ihieves. and criminals of every grade; in short, 

 go into partnership in the business, and re- 

 ceive in return a share of the profits. If not, 

 why not ? He says there is no mortgage on the 

 boys. Let friend T. go into the saloon and 

 attempt to remonstrate with the keeper in 

 regard to his business, and see how soon his 

 attention will be called to the mortgage 

 (license) hanging up in his place of business, 

 bearing the seal of (the other partmer) the gov- 

 ernment. 



True, as Mr. T. says, many are born with an 

 appetite for strong drink; but the number 

 sinks into insignificance compared with those 

 who acquire the habit at the legalized breath- 

 ing-holes of perdition, and the number would 

 be still less were it not for the fact that the 

 ancestors of those who were thus born had ac- 

 quired the appetite by indulgence in the social 

 glass at these places where thousands of our 

 boys are acquiring it to-day. to be transmitted 

 to their children yet unborn. In the way of a 

 remedy for the drink-evil, our friend speaks of 

 "laws to tax and hamper the liquor-interest;" 

 "the rules of business interests;" "the efforts 

 of temperance societies." etc. Now. does not 

 our friend T. know that all these things, and 

 even the gospel mentioned, have been in opera- 

 tion years and years, and what has been the 

 result? A steady, constant, and aggressive 

 growth of the business, until to-day there is 

 more liquor consumed per capita in the United 

 States tnan at any other period of its history. 



In proof I will give a few figures from govern- 

 ment statistics: In 1840 the total of distilled 

 spirits, wines, and malt liquors consumed was 

 17,244,8:.'3 gallons, or 4.17 gallons per capita. In 

 1880 it was 506,079.400 gallons, or 10.08 gallons 

 per capita. In 1890 it was 976,273,770 gallons, or 

 15.49 per capita; and this under the full force 

 of our friend's suggested remedies. Will Bro. 

 T. now (in view of these facts) tell us how long 

 this condition of things will have to continue 

 in order to accomplish the desired end? The 

 remedy that I would suggest would be this. 

 Let the government withdraw from the part- 

 nership, and pass a law prohibiting the manu- 

 facture, exportation, importation, transporta- 

 tion, and sale of all intoxicating beverages. 

 Then let the temperance people withdraw their 

 support from license parties, and unite in put- 

 ting a party in power that wants the law en- 

 forced, and stop voting with saloon-keepers for 

 the perpetuation of the business. Then invoke 

 the divine blessing on their efforts. Then 

 there would be fewer children born with appe- 

 tites for drink, and fewer appetites formed after 

 they are born; and the law would be as well 

 enforced as any other criminal law. 



Now, I will just say, in conclusion, let us 

 each try to act consistently; talk right, and 

 vote right; do our duty, and trust God for the 

 results. W. S. G. Mason. 



Morenci, Mich. 



Answers to Questions 



FROM BEGINNERS. 



M. S. W. asks if he can Italianize easily at 

 swarming time by putting drone-traps over the 

 entrances of colonies having impure drones. 

 Ans. — Yes. 



IT'. C. D.. of Connecticut, desires to know 

 whether sawdust would answer just as well for 

 packing double-walled hives as chaff. Ans. — 

 Sawdust will do just as well, we think, so far 

 as protection is concerned. The only objection 

 to its use is that it is heavier than chaff. 



O. A. C, of Tennesfice, wants to know how to 

 move a swarm of bees that has clustered on the 

 trunk of a tree, ^ns.— Blow a little smoke on 

 them to cause them to be a Ijttle more peacea- 

 ble, and then with a brush or handful of heavy 

 weeds brush the bees into a large tin pan. The 

 brushing should be accompanied with a few 

 whiffs of smoke, otherwise the bees may be 

 angered. 



H. C, of North Carolina, referring to our 

 ABC book, and the sure way mentioned there- 

 in of introducing valuable queens by giving 

 said queens to hatching brood, wants to know 

 how long the hive should be kept closed up. 

 ^7is.— If brood is hatching readily, there will 

 be young bees enough to care for the queen in a 

 few hours. But the hives should not be closed 

 air-tight. A wire screen should be placed over 

 the entrance so as to allow of a little ventila- 

 tion. In two or three days the young bees will 

 be old enough to defend the entrance. 



W. 77. R., of Florida, asks us what we prefer 

 for shading bees. Trees or a shed ? ^4?i.s'.— In 

 hot climates, especially in Jamaica, long low 

 sheds are used. In the North, we prefer trees. 

 But experience has proven that bees that have 

 direct sunshine during the early part of the 

 spring, in the North build up quicker than 

 when under some sort of shade. As a general 

 thing, on account of tlie very hot weather that 

 is usual in most of the Northern States, we pre- 

 fer to have the bees in the shade. They are 



