1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



891 



venting burr-combs is the self-spacing Hoff- 

 man. Toi)-bars are l^V in. wide and % thick; 

 bottom bars % in. square. 



2. Half an inch, probably; but that thickness, 

 according to some report^, does not exclude burr 

 and brace combs as well. 



3. There is no need of making frames so that 

 they can be thrown around. The thickness 

 and width of top-bars is for other reasons. 



4. One-fourth seems generally to hold up. 



."). Basswood is the stitfest and the cheapest.] 



AN OPEN LETTER TO DI{. MILLER. 



My Dear Doctor: — I see in your " Stray 

 Straws " a "straw " that points tiais way. We 

 are very glad to be remembered; but in the 

 name of S,').UO() inhabitants I want to protest 

 against some of your spelling. You write St. 

 Jo. Now, in the eyes of the thrifty people of 

 this " Electric City," you have committed an 

 almost unpardonable offense. To write St. Joe 

 is bad enough; but to call this grand old St. 

 Joseph " Jo " is a little too much. Just think 

 of it. to call a thrifty city like this one "Jo" — 

 a city whose jobbing trade reached 12.5 millions 

 in 1892; a city with 329 factories; a city that 

 makes more overalls than any other city in the 

 U.S.; a city with 10 banks, representing mil- 

 lions of capital, none of which closed a door or 

 caused the loss of a penny to a depositor during 

 the late panic; a city with a clearing-house 

 report of over 100 millions last year; a city with 

 30 miles of electric street-railway in operation; 

 a city with 50 churches and fine public schools 

 — is it not a little too much to dub such a city 

 "Jo"? Then, when yon come to think of it, 

 who would write. "Jo and Mary went up to 

 Jerusalem"? Now. doctor, if you will not call 

 lis names any more, and will come out here 

 next fall, we will try to " heap coals of fire " on 

 your head by seeing how well we can treat you. 

 We are sure you will never think of calling this 

 city " Jo" again after yon learn of its thrift, 

 and become acquainted with some of the large- 

 hearted people who make their homes in this 

 fertile valley. Fraternally yours. 



Emerson T. Abbott. 



St. Joseph, Mo., Nov. 1."). 



[Although friend Abbott treats this matter in 

 a rather Jo-king style, we feel that his point of 

 order is well taken, and that we ourselves are 

 partly too blame. People are so familiar with 

 " The Hannibal & St. Jo Railroad." etc., that 

 the nickname is rather more familiar than the 

 full name. But we'll not nickname you any 

 more, Bro. Abbott — 



" No, no, no— not for Jo," 

 as the poet says.] 



DOOLITTLE, DOO.MUCH. 



Doolittle is his nnme. 

 And widespread is his fame; 

 For as to bees, not one 

 Can beat what lie has done. 

 So let us cliange the name 

 To which by birtli he came: 

 Let's call— why, don't it fit ?— 

 Doomuch him by merit! 



C. N. 



RELIGIOUS TRIUMPHS IN SUDDEN DEATH. 



C. C. VAN DEUSEN, AND HIS SUDDEN DEATH. 



The following further particulars in regard 

 to the sad death of our friend and his wife are 

 taken from the MicJi'Kjdn OiristUm Advocate: 



If anyone should ask, " Does the reliKion of Jesus 

 meet every need of , man ?" I want to answer, yes, 

 and stand.s every test of liumaii experience. Never 



was I more impressed with tliis blessed truth than 

 when I stood by the side of Mr. C. C. Van Deusen, 

 of Sprout Brook, N. Y., who was so terrilily injured 

 in tlie dire disaster on the Grand Trunk in tins city 

 on the morning' of the 20th. 1 was at the scene veiy 

 shortly after the collisiim. It was dark and rain- 

 ing-; the liglit from the burning' wreck, the moans 

 from the wounded and the mangled ones here and 

 tliere in buildings and in cars making a scene we 

 can never forget. I entered a caboose; and as there 

 were a great many wounded in it some one accosted 

 me, asking me, askins, "Are you a surgeon?" to 

 which T replied, " I am a Methodist minister." In- 

 stantly one wounded unto death said, " I want to- 

 see you; come here." At once I was by his side. 

 He said: "My name is C. C. Van Deusen, of Sprout 

 Brook, N. Y. I'm a Christian, and I'm nearing 

 home. My wife has gone, and I'll soon be with her." 

 (His wife thirty minutes before had pone up in a 

 chariot of tire.) 'She was a good woni'in, and a 

 teacher of the infant-class in the Sabbatli-school." 

 As I inquired of him as to his personal salvation he 

 replied: "I am in the hands of my Savior, and I'll 

 soon be with him." A physician entering the car, 

 I called him at once to this brother's side. After 

 examination he calmly looked the doctor in the 

 face and said: "How soon shall I be with Jesus?" 

 He very deliherately talked of his attairs, the dispo- 

 sition to be made of his property, saying, "I should 

 like to live for my children, but I mu.st go. In my 

 Father's house are many mansions." When he was 

 told the remains of the precious Christian wife and 

 mother were in the hands of the undertaker, he 

 said, "Send us back together" Knowing he was 

 among strangers, he said, "Dominie, don't leave 

 me," and I promised he should not be left alone. 

 We conveyed him to the Nichols Memorial home, a 

 hospital of which Battle Creek may well fcfl jiroud, 

 and arranged him as comfortably as possible under 

 the circumstanr'os. So<m the chill and darkness of 

 death approached. Said he, "Dominie, is the sun 

 shining?" " No, mv brother, it is cloudy and rain- 

 ing." "I thought it was growing dark, and I don't 

 breathe as easily as T did." It was death. A little 

 longer, and husband and wife were re-united, while 

 back in the home in New York there were two chil- 

 dren bereaved of father and moiher at once. I nev- 

 er saw such calmness and peaceful triumph in the 

 presence of death in all mv ministry of nearly twen- 

 ty j'ears.— Rev. G. B. Kulp. 



OURSELVES AND OUR NEIGHBORS. 



Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink 

 of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am 

 baiitized with ? They say unto him, We are able. 

 —Matt. 20 :22. 



In the American Bee Journal for Nov. 16. 

 our good friend York, the editor, hi\s seen fit to 

 print a communication from one of our unbe- 

 lieving friends. This communication was call- 

 ed forth because friend York mentioned edito- 

 rially the way in which Mrs. C. C. Van Deusen 

 met death with such Christian fortitude. Our 

 good friend York evidently I'onsidered it not 

 best to undertake' to argue ag:iinst this fiing at 

 the Christian religion; and, ys a rule, I think it 

 is not well. There is, however, one point in it 

 to which I wish to call attention. Let me 

 quote just four lines. The writer says: 



" Did this poor woman's pitiful prayer drive 

 God frantic as it did the crowd ? Does this not 

 prove that man is less cruel than God. or that 

 God is a mvth, and prayer futile?" 



Perhaps I should not think so much of this 

 were it not true that, years ago, I myself— yes, 

 A. I. Root— used these same or similar argu- 

 ments: and I took a certain kind of satisfaction 

 in shocking Christians, and in laughing at those 

 whose faith was weak, as I repeated something 

 that I had heard or read, or quoted from prom- 

 inent skeptical writers. Tiiis was toward 

 twenty years ago, however. One reason for my 

 sad blunder at that time of my life was because 

 of a misapprehension. Perhaps Christian teach- 

 ers were somewhat to blame fur that niisappre- 



