I8S.5 



GJ.KA\IX(;S IN 15KK CULTURE. 



■.'Al 



My friend, I know just exactly how you 

 felt when you crawled on your liands and 

 knees, and got the last of "that big lot of [ 

 plants set out, and whether the rest felt 

 like helping any more or not. I think I , 

 know, too, how you felt when it rained and 

 they all grew. Energy is a grand thing, es- 

 pecially just the kind of energy you speak 

 of. liiit I think it is grander still when it 

 is harnessed and made to work evenly, con- 

 sistently, and methodically. Commence a 

 whole year ahead, if necessary, in preparing ; 

 your ground for strawberries. Underdrain 

 it at one time, subsoil it and plow it as you 

 know it ought to be at another time. Raise 

 some plants yourselt ; and if you have them 

 in pots, you won't need to mind very much 

 whether" it rains or not. We were "setting 

 plants out but yesterday, and the gronnd 

 was so soft and nice tiiat we did not have 

 to gouge out holes with case-knives, and 

 pour water into them. We stretched a stout 

 cord the whole length of the tield. clear 

 from the carp-pond up almost to the house. 

 Then we made the liorse follow tliat cord. 

 and plow and furrow in the soft dirt. The 

 ground had been manured and harrowed 

 and rolled and dragged, and worked up until 

 it was so soft that almost any child might 

 envy the jol) of moving the line rich mold 

 with his fingers. Mr. Weed says if you 

 give him ground like that, and every thing 

 hxed just right, he thinks he could set out 

 10,000 plants in a day. 1 know his back 

 would ache almost as bad as yours, though. 

 Mrs. C.. by the time he had got half of" the 

 10,000 plaiited ; but I should feel a good deal 

 more respect for the boy who got the back- 

 ache that way (or girl either for tiiat malter , 

 than if they got the backache in a iive-mile 

 contest at the skating-rink. 



A BEE-KEEPER IN TEOUBLE. 



ONE OI- THE JUVKNILES TEI.LS US ABOUT IT. 



SERE is papa's roport for last year. He says it 

 will do to. g-o in Blasted Hopes, if any will. 

 Out of 80 stands of bees he never received 

 one pound of honey, and to-day finds us 

 with only 8 stands living'. Had luck seems to 

 be his lot in every thing:. He has not been out of 

 the room for twelve days; he got his arm and hand 

 caught in a belt in the elevator where he was at 

 work, and tore it nearly all to pieces. It is his 

 right arm, and h(; can't write to you. He says you 

 will have to stop Oleanings, for he feels too poor 

 to take it any longer. It frets him because he can't 

 go to Sun(hiy-school, but he still puts his trust in 

 till' Loi'd, and hopes for a better day to come. 

 Please write to him. I'ltKit Parsham.. 



Skidmorc, Mo., Ajiril :ill. ISS".. 



Why, Freddie, things do look dark at your 

 liouse" indeed, do they not V I am afraid 

 your papa let his bees starve, did he not, or 

 did they get aphis honey V I did not know 

 there was much trouble in wintering so far 

 south as you are. You say you did not get 

 (me pound of honey from 8(3 colonies. I be- 

 lieve that is one of the worst reports I ever 

 knew. I should not have neglected to pre- 

 j)are them all for winter, though, even if 1 

 did not get a pound. Your locality has. in 



former years, given very good results, and it 

 will yet— never fear. Go to work, Freddie, 

 and make the most you possibly can of those 

 eight remaining colonies. It will not be a 

 very diflicult matter to fill the 80 hives 

 again, in your warm climate.— Now in re- 

 gard to that accident. It is true, accidents 

 of this nature will sometimes happen, but 1 

 am afraid your pa must have taken risks. 

 We trust the "damage will not be so bad 

 after his arm is thoroughly healed up.— No. 

 Freddie,we are not going to stop Gleanixcjs. 

 With your papa's permission we will keep it 

 going right along, and may be some of the 

 brethren may feel disposed to help you fill 

 your 80 hives, in the way of donating a 

 queen or two. when they can spare them. 

 The brightest part of yoiii- little letter is the 

 winding up. where you say your father is 

 still going to put liis"trust in the Lord. Tell 

 him to remember the words, '• Whom he 

 loveth he chastenetli."' Now, when things 

 get Ijetter. Freddie, please write us another 

 letter. v\ ill you notV There is another pleas- 

 ant thought. Freddie: Even if it should 

 jilease (itul to permit your father to be kept 

 away froiu Sunday-school, the school he was 

 instrumental in starting will still go on. and 

 will be a blessing, who knows how long? 



ANOTHER LETTER FROM JAPAN. 



now THE .lAI'ANESE OBSEIIVE NEW VEAH. 



K. HOOT:— Please excuse me for not ac- 

 knowledging the book you sent me, sooner. 

 I was quite sick at the time it arrived, and 

 was unwell for over a month. Then 

 Christmas time drawing near, it made me 

 very busy. 



I should like to tell you about our .laiianesc 

 Christmas service, but this year we i)ostponed it 

 till some time this month, and so it is impossible. 

 The Japanese make a great ado about the new 

 year, so I will tell you about that. 



Every house is cleaned so as to look bright on 

 New Year's day. They are decorated with a lob- 

 ster, which signifies "many happy returns of the 

 day till your body bends like a lobster" (I suppose 

 you have noticed that boiled lobsters double upi. 

 On either side of the eiUrance is placed a pine-tree, 

 and two or more i)ieces of bamboo. Sometimes the 

 trees are joined by a rope, to which is fastened a 

 number of pieces of paper, which are supposed to 

 drive away evil spirits. The above festivities for 

 the new year seem more like men's work, but yo i 

 must not think the women are idle; they have to 

 make their own and their families' clothing, for 

 they must Cn all be new, since every .Japanese 

 wants to have some new article of clothing. 



Just before the new year, all of the shops con- 

 taining kites, toys, hair-pins, and battledores, are 

 renewed, and they sell these very cheap then; but 

 on New Years day the prices rise enormously. 

 Many of the cake-shops bake large round cakes 

 made of"mochi,"or mashed rice. They are set 

 upon a little table in the houses during the festivi- 

 ties, after which they ai-e thrown away. Many 

 cook their meals for the first three days of January 

 beforehand, so as to have a good rest at the begin- 

 ning of the year. 



If you would go out on New Year's day in Japan 



