204 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mak. 



pockets his tobacco-box, saying to Charley, as he 

 handed him the box, that it was the sweetest tobac- 

 co he g-ot down to Smith's the other day, he ever 

 tasted. Wouldn't Charley have a chew? Charley 

 shook his head, for ho had not yet tasted the sweets 

 ol" that "delicious weed." Willie turned squarely 

 around, expecting that August would ask him to 

 take some, but August didn't. After taking out a 

 chew ho put the box back, and, shouldering a bag of 

 beans, told Charley to take the other and they would 

 can-y them to the granary. 



"Sweetest tobacco ho ever see," Willie thought 

 to himself. "Well, he's real mean, and stingy too, 

 not to offer me a taste, when I's company too." 



Willie looked up at the jacket; there, right in 

 plain sight, was the corner of the bo.v sticking out 

 of the pocket. "I can get It easy as nuffin'," suit- 

 ing the action to the words. He climbed upon the 

 fanning-miil, and, taking the box out, he hastily 

 transferred some of that "sweet" tobacco to his 

 mouth. He jumped down, and, going to the barn 

 door, saw August and Charley coming back. The 

 tobacco made his lips and mouth smart and tingle; 

 he thought he could swallow it, and thus get rid of 

 the delicious swig. He undertook to do so. Oh how 

 his mouth and throat did tingle ! So he spit the rest 

 (fut, and, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his 

 apron, thought August didn't tell the truth about 

 that tobacco. 



When the dinner-horn blew he rode to the house 

 on August's shoulder. August carried him to the 

 dining-room door, and stood him down on his feet. 

 Aunt Lizzie had a lire in the room, and Willie, being 

 somewhat chilly from standing out in the barn so 

 long, drew Annie's little chair close up to the stove, 

 and sat waiting for the girl to dish up dinner. The 

 warm room and the smell of the dinner made him 

 vti-y sick. Aunt Hannah was the first to notice 

 how very pale he was, and asked, " Why, Willie dar- 

 ling-, what's the matter?" 



Willie's head grew very giddy, and he came near 

 falling, when Uncle Jake sprang up and caught him 

 in his arms and carried him into the sitting-room 

 and laid him on the lounge. Mamma, Aunt Lizzie, 

 Aunt Hannah, all followed after him. Willie com- 

 menced vomiting. What an excitement! Mamma 

 Hew around for the peppermint; Aunt Lizzie for 

 the camphor - bottle, and Aunt Hannah for hot 

 water. Willie swallowed the peppermint, but it did 

 not make any difference; vomit again, and, oh so 

 sick and paid Aunt Lizzie mixed camphor and 

 warm water for him, but that didn't do any good. 

 It was evident that Willie was very sick. Mrs. Lee 

 was getting very nervous. She bustled in and out, 

 though nobody knew what she was doing— herself 

 least of all. Uncle Jake stood by, looking very anx- 

 ious and heli)less; then muttering something about 

 " fooling away time" he rushed into the hall, and, 

 seizing his best overcoat instead of his oil cloth, 

 rushed out in the pouring rain to the barn, and in 

 less than a twinkling, lilack Prince, his famous 

 trotter, was going at the top of his si)eed toward 

 Hochester, scattering the geese out from the mud- 

 jiuddles in the road, and, utterly regardless of the 

 yelping cuis that Hew out at his heels, soon reached 

 Dr. Arnold's olliee. When Uncle Jake drove up, the 

 doctor was just i)reparing to go out for his aftei-- 

 noon calls. Ves,' the doctor would go, for there rose 

 up before his vision a long doctor-bill, which he 

 would have the pleasure of jirescnting to Mr. Dene- 

 diet. 



"Child sick; company, eh ?" and a long string of 

 questions that Uncle Jake didn't hear, for he was 

 turning his horse for home, and close behind fol- 

 lowed the doctor's horse. 



Willie was looking very pale and ghastly as llie 

 doctor entered the room, and, going through the 

 usual examination of tongue, pulse, and head, he 

 looked puzzled, and asked Mrs. Lee what Willie had 

 been eating. " Nothing m(n-e than his usual food;" 

 but Willie might have enlightened him, if he had 

 tried, but he didn't. The doctor mixed a large pow- 

 der for Willie, which didn't taste any better than 

 the sweet tobacco, Willie thought. The doctor told 

 L'ncle Jake that he thought the child had taken 

 poison. 



" Impossible," said Uncle Jake, turning very pale. 

 Willie's mamma did not hear; if she had, she prob- 

 ably would have fainted. 



"Clear ease," replied the doctor; "but I have 

 given him a powerful emetic, and will wait until it 

 takes effect." 



Willie vomited again. 



" What's that?" said Aunt Lizzie, as she wiped oft' 

 some tiny black specks from the pillow-case. Mam- 

 ma, doctor. Uncle Jake, and Aunt Hannah came to 

 see. They made such a stir that Willie lifted up his 

 head to look too. 



" Wh}% that's nuffin' but sweet tobacco," he said. 

 Then his mamma went to inquiring, and they soon 

 found out all about August's sweet tobacco. 



" Clear case this time," said Uncle Jake, laughing 

 heartily, as Willie told his story. Dr. Arnold but- 

 toned up his oil-cloth coat and pulled on his gloves, 

 and went home through the pouring rain, his vision 

 of a long doctor-bill entirely disappearing. 



After the emetic took effect it was astonishing to 

 see how fast Willie grew better. He is a young 

 man now, and does not smoke or chew, and says he 

 had all he ever wanted of tobacco in that one chew 

 of "sweet tobacco," and I think it is a great pity 

 that more do not try a good dose in their first at- 

 tempt—enough to sicken them ever after at the 

 thought of the filthy stuff. Aunt Vir. 



Rockton. III. 



WALTER'S STORY ABOUT THE FRUIT- 

 TREE AGENT AND THE BEE-HIVES. 



A 12-YEAIi-Or,D llOV TEM.S US HOW TO MANAtJK 



WHEN A RUNAWAY HORSE OETS LOOSE IN AN 



APIARY Ot' 800 COI.ONIES. 



}' NEVER tried to get any thing without paying 

 [ for it; but I should like to have Ten Nights in 

 I a Bar-room to read, and 1 am terribly scant of 

 ■ cash. One year ago last summer there came a 

 fruit agent liere from Nashville, to sell pa 

 some fruit-trees, and that fellow didn't have a drop 

 of bee sense. Pa has his apiary inclosed with barb- 

 ed wire, about two acres inside. That fruit agent 

 drove liis buggy up to the big gate, and tied his 

 horse to one of the jjosts, within ten feet of where 

 the bee-.stands were, and he went into the honey- 

 house where i)a was uncajjping honey, for we were 

 extracting then, and he was admiring evt'ry thing, 

 calling i)a the biggest bee-num ho ever saw. He 

 wanted to sell him some fruit-trees, you know, 

 when one of the black boys who was bringing in 

 honey screamed out, "The bees are stinging that 

 horse," and none of us in the honey-house knew 

 where the horse was; but we looked out, and that 

 horse had broken loose from the pest, and was 



