788 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 



with eyes somewhat downcast, he said, in a 

 kindly tone of voice : 



" Mr. Root, if you will be so kind, I guess 

 you need not do any thing about what we 

 were talking of. May be I can do a little 

 better, and I am going to try hard.'' 



I wonder how many there are whose hearts 

 will be touched by t'lis little story of every- j 

 day life. IIow many are there of you, niy 

 friends, who know what you ought to do, 

 and who have felt in your inmost heart that ' 

 you hadn't the right spirit to do it? Those } 

 who are older in the Christian work would 

 perhaps have said, " I have not grace 

 enough." What, then, is grace? Is it not 

 the influences of God's Holy Spirit— meek- 

 ness, love, charity, long suffering, and all 

 these other things — the fruits of the Spirit, 

 if you choose? Oh how often I have been 

 compelled to pray, almost in real anguish of 

 heart, " Help me, dear Savior, and give me 

 that spirit of gentleness, kindness, meek- 

 ness, and love"! 



1 told you there were five verses that I 

 had in mind ; but I have as yet said noth- 

 ing of more than one of them. The second 

 verse says, that if this spirit of meekness 

 and love does not answer the purpose, we 

 shall take some other brother, or a couple of 

 them, with us; and here is this won- 

 derful plan of arbitration mapped out — the 

 plan that has of late been used to prevent 

 fierce wars between great nations. What a 

 grand and what a wonderful truth is there 

 in these simple little words of Christ the 

 Savior! My experience has been, however, 

 that among neighbors (and it is of neighbors 

 we are talking) there is seldom any need of 

 any third party at all. If you do your part, 

 your neighbor will be almost sure to do his 

 part. It takes two to make a quarrel ; and 

 where even one of the two shows a Christian- 

 like spirit (and this does not mean that 

 you are by any means to allow yourself to be 

 run over, for a Christian must be brave as 

 well as kind), my experience has been that 

 the quarrel ends. I suspect that the trouble 

 between these two neighbors, A and B, was, 

 that Satan's spirit, instead of Christ's, had 

 got between them. They were both at fault, 

 no doubt, and I fear both had forgotten the 

 teachings of the Bible, especially the five 

 verses I have been speaking of. 



The third of my five verses directs that 

 the complaint shall be brought before the 

 church, and that the church shall deal with 

 both parties, if need be. If either one re- 

 fuses to submit to the church, of course he 

 must reject Christ and Christ's teachings ; 

 and in that case there would be little hope 

 for him. He must be treated as a heathen, 

 or one who rejects Christ, and one who re- 

 jects Christianity. 



The fourth verse tells us that these things 

 that are settled here on earth are settled for 

 all time to come ; that these little acts and 

 quarrels go on to eternity, and even reach as 

 far as heaven and hell. 



The last of the verses considers the atti- 

 tude of, and what may be accomplished hy, 

 two Christians working in harmony and 

 brotherly love. If even two of us agree in 

 any petition to our lieavenly Father, Christ 

 says that our Father m heaven will grant it. 



Of course, we are to understand that this 

 verse refers to two brothers in Christ. So 

 greatly is God pleased to see us doing our 

 work "in brotherly love, and with Christ's 

 spirit uniting us, that he has promised what 

 we ask in his name. And then follows the 

 little text that I started out with. Where 

 even two or three of us are gathered together 

 in the name of (^lirist, there will he be in 

 the midst of us. And, dear friends, is not 

 this little verse at the root and foundation 

 of the church of God? Is it not the germ 

 and seed from which any church must spring 

 up, with Clirist as a center? Let us read 

 this little text together again ; and as we 

 read it, let us see if it will apply to ourselves 

 and our neighbors. 



For where two or thret' are gathcre'l together in 

 my name, there am 1 in the midst of them. 



HOW A BEE CLINGS TO GLASS. 



A TALK TO THE JUVENILES; ALSO SOMETHING 

 FROM MR. LANGSTROTH. 



T^-; S I promised, I will now give the juveniles a 

 glllk talk on a bee's foot, and what it can do. 

 ^Pl?' It' you will grive me your attention for a little 

 ■*^^ while I will try to make it clear to you how 

 a bee clings to a piece of glass, and doesn't 

 fall. Did you ever think how a fly can walk up a 

 window-pane, and not slip'/ 



Below is a drawing of a bee's foot, e.vactly as it 

 appeared in my microscope. It is 40 times as long 

 and 40 times as wide as the natural foot. D, D, are 

 the two notched claws which the bee uses in cling- 

 ing to wood and other substances which the bee 

 can stick his foot into. Did you ever have a bee 

 plant his little feet right into your flesh when he 

 was getting a good hold so as to sting? These little 

 claws are what hurt, and are almost as hai-d as your 

 jack-knife. They do not always hold this position as 

 seen in the picture, but they can close up like your 

 thumb and finger, or can turn themselves clear 

 around like the letter Y. 



" How does the bee 

 cling to a piece of 

 glass?" I suspect you 

 are beginning to ask. 

 Just listen. There is a 

 little film as at C, that 

 looks a little like the 

 head of a hatchet, or, 

 perhaps, more like a 

 fan. B is a pair of 

 arms that keep this lit- 

 tle disk, or fan, spread 

 out on the piece of 

 glass. A is a little 

 muscle that looks like 

 a potato-masher. The 

 little end is fastened to the 

 the other connects the end of the foot between the 

 claws. 



Perhaps this is a little hard for you to understand. 

 If you will wait a moment I will tell you how to 

 make something just like this little arrangement 

 upon a bee's foot. Did you ever notice, when you 

 were washing your hands in soap and water, how 

 your hflndpwjll cjinir together by the force of sue- 



A IlEE S FOOT. 



little fan-like film, and 



