500 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



one came within a few yards of their hive ? 

 Their sisters in the hive, not having knowl- 

 edge of what their sisters outside were do- 

 ing, seem to be fairly quiet with ordinary 

 precaution. 



PYgEIiF MB MY piEI6pB@R?. 



Lay up for yourselves treasures In heaven, where 

 neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where 

 thieves do not break through nor steal. — Matt. 6: 20. 



There are three things that I wish to 

 talk about to-day. First, " our homes ;" 

 second, " our neighbors ;" third, strawber- 

 ries ; or, if you choose, the cultivation of 

 strawberries. Can any one lay up treasures 

 in heaven by raising strawberries? I feel 

 sure he can ; and the very thought of it an- 

 imates me and gives me energy, enthusiasm, 

 joy, hope, and finally health— yes, health. 

 Health comes as a result of honest enthu- 

 siasm in some praiseworthy object, a great 

 many times, when it will not come in an- 

 swer to the combined skill of our greatest, 

 wisest, and best physicians. Perhaps I 

 might as well tell you, to commence with, 

 that neighbor Terry has been for some time 

 bard at work writing a strawberry-book. Per- 

 haps it was nearly a year ago that I told him I 

 wanted him to get a good ready, and write me 

 a strawberry-book very soon. I was not much 

 surprised when he replied that that was just 

 what he would like to do. I do not know 

 but he said he had been thinking of it. 

 When I met him at one of our institutes he 

 asked me if I had considered that he was 

 only a very novice in the berry-business. I 

 told him I had, but that I would give morp 

 for his fresh enthusiasm, even if he did not 

 know so much, than I would for something 

 written by some of the veterans who had 

 lost their enthusiasm, and to whom the sub- 

 ject had become an every-day affair. There 

 is something wonderfully interesting in see- 

 ing any one take up any of these industries, 

 when a great part of it is new to him. I 

 like to see a boy or girl who has become ex- 

 cited, and is full of energy over bees, straw- 

 berries, chickens, or any of these outdoor 

 industries. As I look back and think of the 

 enjoyment, and the new thrills that have 

 come as I have taken up each new subject 

 in turn, it makes me feel young again. 



Well, when the first chapters of the 

 strawberry-book came we were so full of 

 business I did not pay very much attention 

 to them. I knew that, when the printers 

 got ready to take hold of them, I should 

 have to read them any way. In fact, I have 

 become so tired of reading letters and fol- 

 lowing out the different lines of business 

 through the letters, that I do not know but 

 I have lost energy somewhat. Before I got 

 through with the strawberry-book, however, 

 it all came back. Why, in the concluding 

 chapters I could hardly sit still. I looked 

 at my plants out in the plant-garden, and I 

 looked at the gseund on the hill by the wind- 

 mill where I am preparing to plant berries, 

 and I could hardly contain myself. Before 

 I got many pages further, I got into a fever 

 to visit friend Terry. But tlaere were the 

 letters piled up, many of them grievous 



complaints because the writers had not got 

 their goods. I could not be spared one 

 whole day, and I did not feel as if it would 

 be right for me to desert my post so long. 

 I did, however, write to friend Terry that I 

 wanted the privilege of dropping in upon 

 them some night oetween nine and ten 

 o'clock ; and I wished them, also, to let me 

 go back about seven or eight o'clock in the 

 morning. I bade him tell his good wife that 

 all the preparation she need make for my 

 entertainment was plenty of bread and butter 

 for breakfast. With the berries I could help 

 myself to, I should be quite satisfied and hap- 

 py. Then I counted the hours until a reply 

 should come. A reply did come — not in an- 

 swer to my letter, however, for it was writ- 

 ten before my note had been received. Here 

 is a part of friend Terry's letter : 



Friend Root: —Oar patch is a grand success, 

 bringing us about $15.C0 a day. We get our price, 

 without a bit of trouble. In spite of great competi- 

 tion. Plenty of room wp ahow. T.B. Terry. 



Hudson, O., June 18, 1890. 



I received it just before nocn. Friend 

 Terry lives about 25 miles from us ; and a 

 little before four o'clock, one of our Clydes- 

 dale horses was standing before the office, 

 waiting for me to get the letters looked aft- 

 er so I could be spared until the next day at 

 noon. My wife admonished me that the 

 barometer was falling, at a pretty good jog. 

 But the strawberry fever was too strong to 

 be allayed by a summer shower, so off we 

 started. My teamster has always been rath- 

 er skeptical in regard to Mr. Terry's farm- 

 ing; and I am sorry to say that a great 

 many farmers and teamsters throughout our 

 land are somewhat the same way, and yet I 

 do not believe that they could give any good 

 reason for it if they were to try. I rather 

 enjoyed accepting his invitation logo along 

 with me to take care of the horse. Mrs. 

 Boot said, before I went away, something 

 like this: "Now, husband, remember that 

 Mr. Terry's folks are in the midst of farm- 

 ing, besides taking care of their berry crop, 

 and very likely Mis. Terry is burdened. 

 Stop somewhere and get your suppers, and 

 feed the horse, so that you may make them 

 as little trouble as possible." 



We came into the pretty town of West 

 Richfield just about six o'clock. Did I ever 

 tell you that I have an especial liking for 

 hotel-keepers? Well, I have. I like every 

 thing about a hotel— especially the country 

 hotel. I like the landlord and the landlady ; 

 I like the girls who wait on the tables (as 

 you may remember); I like the boy who 

 tends to the horses in the stable ; yes, and I 

 like pretty well the folks who lounge around 

 the door and bar.* I should like them bet- 

 ter, however, if they were busy in some- 

 thing good— in the line of our text, for in- 

 stance. These country hotels are homes for 



* When I use the term "bar "I do not mean a 

 place where drinks are sold, as used to le the cus- 

 tom forty years ago. A good many of our country 

 hotels here in Ohio do not sell any thing at the bar 

 —not even cigars or tobacco. Perhaps the term 

 "bar" had better be exchanged for "olBce." I 

 wonder how it is with you, friends. Do the hotels 

 in your small towns nowadays sell drinks of any 

 kind? 



