230 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar 15. 



have wondered why I have kept on month after 

 month and year after year, with that same old, 

 oI(7 story of Jesus and his love. It occurred to 

 me this morning that I could answer all such 

 by the liTile plaintive illustration I have just 

 given you. The deliverance came in one day — 

 yes, almost in a moment of time. I havf not 

 been a cheerful, joyous servant oi hlsffit-ilie 

 while during the years thai have passed; but 

 God Itnows I have never been dltsloyal to him 

 for even one moment since that time. Those 

 who have known me long enough will remem- 

 ber the sudden change and the sudden turning- 

 about. My whole heart and soul were turned 

 about. I commenced to work for somebody else 

 on that very day. And let me say again, that 

 not for one instant in the twenty years and 

 more that have passed since then have I ever 

 regretted the new service. I have never yet, 

 sleeping or waking, once wanted to go back 

 and serve my old masters. Again and again in 

 my dreams have I found myself groaning under 

 the old burden, and fettered with the old har- 

 ness. But, oh what was the rejoicing when I 

 awoke and found it rmljy a dream! Sometimes 

 in these dreams I have said, " Lord, save me or 

 I perish." And again and again of late has 

 the answer come, even while I slept. On awak- 

 ing it has been a most pleasant thought to re- 

 view, that Jesus answers prayers— prayers ut- 

 tered in our sleep, and he sends deliverance, 

 even in our sleep. 



Once in the delirium of a fever one of the 

 emissaries of the evil one persuaded me that I 

 had been " cursing God " on account of the pain 

 and distress. But even in the delirium I rose 

 up with such an emphatic contradiction that 

 an angel of peace spread his protecting wings 

 about me, and whispered in gentle and loving 

 accents, "No, no, child. Not once since thou 

 didst start to serve the Lord has there ever 



been a disloyal or complaining word." czi 



uYou may say the above was only the result 

 of a fevered imagination. But, dear friend, 

 feverish or not, it has been a comfort to me, for 

 I know it is true. Satan has tried hard. He 

 has at different times sifted me as wheat; but I 

 have never once — no, not even for the briefest 

 instant — been persuaded to let go my hold on 

 that strong arm— that arm that " paid the 

 price" and set me free. And, oh what a joyous 

 and loving service has been running all through 

 these years since then! Again and again has 

 come the comforting thought that I am not 

 working for self, but for him who made me 

 free — who not only delivered me then, but end- 

 ed all controversy in regard to whose I am or to 

 whom I belong, by paying the price in full. 

 And then my emancipation papers are so made 

 out that nobody can dispute them — not even 

 my worst enemies— not even Satan himself. 

 thank God. The prince of darkness himself 

 has never once suggested there was a fault or 

 fraud in the papers. He has tried several 

 times to tell me that I am hampered, and a 

 prisoner still. Yes, I am hampered a little 

 sometimes, but I am not a prisoner. I belong 

 to him who paid the price. But I ivant to be- 

 long to him, soul and body, for evermore. 

 There is no joy I have ever found like that I 

 have experienced in his service, and in serving 

 those whom he loves. Once in awhile I get. 

 oh such precious words of commendation and 

 approval! I get such wonderful rewards. 

 Why, sometimes when I think I have been hav- 

 ing a hard time, after it is over — yes, may be 

 after weeks or months have passed, come the 

 cheering words, " Verily, I say unto you, inas- 

 much as ye have done it unto one of the least of 

 these my breliiren, ye have done it unto me." 



In the little incident I have told you, two 



things stand out prominently. First, there was 

 a good man — a Christian man; and on the 

 other hand there was a good and grateful ser- 

 vant. It is not every one who would have 

 realized and recognized the great deed that had 

 been performed. I fear we who are advanced 

 Christians are sometimes guilty of the sin of 

 ingratitude. We forget the magnitude of the 

 gift; we forget that we have been redeemed, 

 and transformed from death unto life. We slip 

 back, and become ungrateful. May God help 

 us. 



May I venture just one more thought before 

 closing? In the old life of bondage and slavery 

 we are powerless to do good. We are of no use 

 in the world. In fact, as long as we are slaves 

 of self, and live only for selfish purposes, we are 

 very likely to be a curse to humanity instead of 

 a blessing. In the new life, if we are honest 

 and grateful servants, we are helping the 

 whole wide world to be better. We are striving 

 every day to bring in new recruits, away from 

 the bondage of Satan and selfishness out into 

 the light of freedom and a sincere love for the 

 welfare of others. Oh what a need there is that 

 this emancipation work should go on! — that 

 men should be emancipated from greed and 

 self, and taught to love other people instead of 

 self, and to love Jesus our captain, our friend, 

 and our emancipator! For some days back the 

 fragments of a hymn have been floating through 

 my mind. I have not yet found the book that 

 contains it; but four lines of the chorus, if I re- 

 member right, run something like this: 



And then we'll shig around our King, 

 And crown him blessed Jesus; 



For there's no word ear ever heard 

 So dear, so sweet as Jesus. 



A CROP EVERY SIX WEEKS, WINTER AND 

 SUMMER. 



What kind of a crop ? Why, a crop of lettuce; 

 and a valuable one too, I assure yon. When I 

 was in Columbus, in January, I got up early in 

 the morning and went over to the State Univer- 

 sity. Of course, I gravitated at once toward a 

 large greenhouse, 100 feet long or more. The 

 center b^d, perhaps 8 feet wide, contained a 

 crop of Grand Rapids lettuce almost ready to 

 cut, and it was one of the most beautiful sights 

 I think I ever saw. Prof. Hunt seconded my 

 exclamation, that there was hardly a plant in 

 the hands of the florist that made a more strik- 

 ing and beautiful display than a full crop of 

 Grand Rapids lettuce when it is just in its 

 prime. They are working exactly on the plan 

 I have given you in some of our back numbers. 

 The seed is sown in the flats shown on page 76, 

 and they are transplanted once into the flats 

 before going into large beds, a sufficient num- 

 ber of plants being kept constantly on hand to 

 All up the large bed just as soon as a cutting is 

 made. In this way they average a crop from 

 the bed once every six weeks. I can not give 

 you the figures just now; but at this date, 

 March 10, we are sold out on lettuce, and are 

 paying a neighboring gardener 15 cts. per lb. 

 for what we sell. It would be a poor crop in- 

 deed that did not average half a pound to the 

 plant, and the plants stand 7 inches apart all 

 over the bed. Of course, you have got to at- 

 tend to things, and know your business, to har- 

 vest a crop every six weeks; but any one who 



