1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



179 



was not quite pleased with something. He 

 said he had been a bee-keeper a good many 

 years, and had taken Gleanings, and that 

 he would like to say a little something to 

 the members of the convention on the sub- 

 ject of bee-keeping before we adjourned. 

 The opportunity was given him, and he 

 spoke. Nineteen years before that time he 

 attended one of the first bee-keepers' con- 

 ventions, held in Cleveland. Father C,Juin- 

 by was present, Prof. Cook, myself, and 

 quite a good number of others. R. C. Otis 

 was there with an American hive. Friend 

 Ilosmer, of Minnesota, was also present, 

 and told his wonderful stories, and banter- 

 ed the convention to " put up money,'' if 

 they dared, against what he could do during 

 the ensuing season*. There was a good 

 deal of excitement, and the friend in ques- 

 tion went home crazy on bee culture. He 

 had followed it more or less during the 

 whole nineteen years. But his golden 

 dreams had not been realized. He was 

 rather embittered toward editors and oth- 

 ers who urged people to go into bee culture 

 with the hope of getting rich. He also had 

 some pretty keen and scathing remarks that 

 seemed to be directed toward supply- deal- 

 ere ; but perhaps he did not intend it so. 

 There is much truth in the point he brought 

 out, and our worthy president, friend 

 Boardman, in his address, summed up at 

 length a good many facts in the same line. 

 A good many of us have been disappointed 

 in bee-keeping. During these nineteen 

 years, real facts have seemed to indicate 

 that one must work for his money, and take 

 his share of disaster and loss in apiculture 

 as well as in all other industries. Before 

 the convention closed, however, this friend 

 came to me. During the convention I had 

 replied briefly to his charges, and perhaps 

 he felt a little more friendly toward us all ; 

 but notwithstanding, he was not quite ready 

 to give up his position. During our discus- 

 sions, one friend mentioned the delicious 

 aroma, or perfume, from sweet clover where 

 it grows to perfection along the roadsides. 

 Others spoke of the perfume from the white 

 and the red clovers, alfalfa, apple-blossoms, 

 etc. Well, this friend came to me dviring 

 the recess, and said : 



" Friend Root, there is one perfume that 

 none of you mentioned ; and it surpasses 

 that from any honey-plant that ever grew. 

 It is the perfume of a one-dollar bill."' 



To prove this he pulled one from his 

 pocket. It was a crisp new one ; and as he 

 waved it in his hand it rattled suggest- 

 ively. Now, I am not certain whether he 

 said that the said perfume was dearer to me, 

 or whether he simply included all bee-men. 

 But I think, that perhaps my face com- 

 menced to color just a little. But when he 

 added, that, notwithstanding the faults and 

 failings of Gleanings, he wished me to 

 take the dollar to keep it going, I was ready 

 to take him cordially by the hand and enjoy 

 his joke, so characteristic of what he had 

 been saying. Now, then, what do you think 

 of the proposition of the street-car conduct- 



* I Df^ed hardly say, nobody ever heard from Hos- 

 mer afterward &a a bee-keeper. His apiary became 

 run down and neglected. 



or and the one of the bee-keeper V Just as 

 I was shaking hands, and taking leave of 

 the friends in Salt Lake City, a flne-looking 

 young fellow who had been with us that 

 evening said to me, "' Bro. Root, that street- 

 car conductor hit my case exactly. The 

 greatest trouble I have in this world is a 

 lack of money. I have never had enough of 

 it yet, and I can not get away from the idea 

 that money is of more importance than any 

 thing else that this world has to offer. I 

 know what you think about these things, 

 but I thought I should like to tell you just 

 where my temptation lies, and where my 

 trials and difliculties center." 



The above may not have been exactly his 

 words, but they express the sentiment as 

 nearly as I can remember it. It was time 

 for my train to start, if I remember correct- 

 ly, so I did not have time to say very much 

 with him about it. But I have often 

 thought of it. My heart goes out in sympa- 

 thy and love toward him. He was a nice- 

 looking boy— young, bright, handsome, and 

 good-natured looking ; but there seemed to 

 be a vein of sadness over his otherwise fair 

 exterior, and I presume he said truthfully, 

 when he told me where his trouble lay. 

 May Christ Jesus be with him, be near him, 

 and teach him that there are better things — 

 oh ! far, far better things — in this world than 

 the " chink of gold in your own pocket," 

 and that there are more beautiful perfumes 

 to be found than those that come from the 

 sight and rattle of crisp new dollar bills. 

 Some of you may say that I do not know 

 about these things. I am afraid that some 

 of you think that dollar bills are so plenti- 

 ful around me that I do not know what it is 

 to be hard pressed for even one single dol- 

 lar. Yes, I do know, dear friends. I have 

 often been censured, and am still, for my 

 economy. All of you know, where I have 

 been among you, that I am by no means 

 wasteful. I do not know but that some of 

 my good friends who are well to do in this 

 world are often a little pained to see me 

 dressed so plainly. But I would far rather 

 it would be so, than that any should be 

 troubled because I dress so much better than 

 they do. May God help me to remember 

 those who are struggling with poverty and a 

 scarcity of money. Perhaps some of you 

 may wonder what connection our text has 

 with the subject in question. The connec- 

 tion is this, dear friends : The Savior of the 

 world, who had all things at his command, 

 when he came among us to live a human 

 life refused and at once rejected the idea of 

 performing a miracle that he might supply 

 himself with needful food. He gave bread to 

 five thousand when they were destitute, and 

 produced the food by a miracle ; but during 

 the whole record of his public life, full of 

 miracles daily and perhaps hourly, no one 

 is recorded where it was performed for self. 

 He took his chances with the rest of hu- 

 manity. Yes, more than that, he took his 

 chances with that little band of followers. 

 When they were hungry, thirsty, and fa- 

 tigued, he was hungry, thirsty, and fatigued 

 also. No one of them could ever say that 

 he, because he was God, had food or drink 

 or rest when they did not. In his anxiety 



