1885 



CiLi<:AJSi.N(j.S 1^ liJh:^ CULTUliK. 



799 



soon there loomed up, close to the bow of the boat, 

 a monstrous rock. The captain had also come to 

 the bow of the boat, and Mr. P., with a strong ex- 

 clamation, called to the captain, and told him there 

 was Seal Rock. 



"Hard a-starboard!" screamed the captain; and 

 the boat, quickly turning, just missed going upon 

 that rock, where in all probabilitj' she would have 

 been broken up, and may be many lives lost. 



Los Alamos, Cal. Aunt Katie. 



Aunt Katie, I tliank yon for the little les- 

 son you have given us. You will notice that 

 I have something to say on this same trait, 

 in the Home Papers tliis month. Using our 

 eyes and ears, and training tliem to be faith- 

 ful servants, is a wonderful lielp to any one 

 who wants to be helpful to his fellow-man. 

 In the incident above, this man's remarka- 

 ble powers of observation, with ears as well 

 as eyes, saved the ship, and the crew with it, 

 from, possibly, a watery grave. 



CARP IN FAR-AWAY CHINA. 



SOMETHING ABOUT HEATHEN WORSHIP AND SU- 

 PERSTITION THERE. 



Tip BOUT six miles from the city of Foochow is a 

 gll^ mountain called Ku-shan, or Drum Mouu- 

 ^w' tain, which rises directly from the plain to 

 ■^^ the height of 2900 feet. Half way up the 

 southern slope is situated a Euddhi^t mon- 

 astery, covering two or three acres of ground. Em- 

 bowered in trees, and watered from the mountain 

 above, it constitutes a delightful summer resort. 

 When the long-continued heat of the plain below 

 begins to tell on us thin-skinned Americans, a little 

 money can secure us a rest here, even if we do eat 

 beef, kill vermin, and commit other such enormi- 

 ties. There are about one hundred and tifty Bud- 

 dhist priests connected with'the establishment. Of 

 idols, large and small, there are perhaps three hun- 

 dred. The largest of them are three, called the 

 "Three Precious Ones." They are each about 

 twenty feet high, and are made of wooden frames 

 plastered over with clay, and then overlaid with 

 goldleaf. They sit side by side in the main temple, 

 cross-legged, each on the figure of a gigantic lotus 

 flower, and their faces wear the most perfect ex- 

 pression of dreamy repose. Public worship is held 

 in their presence twice every day. About half-past 

 three in the morning, the priests, to the number of 

 sixty or seventy, are summoned from their couches 

 by the beating of a. fish -drum. This is the trunk of 

 a camphorwood-trce, carved in the form of a fish, 

 and hollowed out so as to resound. They spend 

 about an hour in worshiping Buddha. The worship 

 consists of repeating over and over, in various 

 strains and postures, the words, "Aw-ine-taw-huk," 

 which is the Chinese form of Amida Buddha. .A 

 part of the time they are standing, a part of the 

 time kneeling, and another part of the time, march- 

 ing about. Bells, large and small, and curious wood- 

 en drums of various sizes, are by turns tolled and 

 beaten to keep time. The same thing is repeated 

 about 4 p. M. The end and aim of all they do is to 

 make merit for themselves, or others who pay them 

 for it. 



Connected with this monastery is a large fish- 

 pond In which are kept a number of fine carp as a 

 work of merit. Any one wishing a share in the 



merit buys small hard biscuits of the priest in 

 charge, and thi-ows them to the fish. It is fine sport 

 to see the great fat fellows splashing, pushing, and 

 crowding in the water, trying to suck in the biscuit. 

 The priests consider it a sin to harm even the small- 

 est living thing. 



One stormy day several of us were sitting in one 

 of the temple buildings, near the back side of the 

 premises, reading aloud from a book, when we were 

 interrupted by a sudden outcry. One of the priests 

 had just encountered a good-sized snake, which the 

 storm had driven in. Of course, he could not think 

 of killing it, so, loudly shouting, "Aw-me-taw-huk," 

 he seized a broom and a dustpan, shaped like the 

 toe of an immense shoe with a handle to it, swept 

 the snake into this, and, keeping it there by occa- 

 sional pushes with the broom, he carried it about 

 one hundred yards to the front entrance, and threw 

 it out. The snake attempted to crawl back two or 

 three times, but was thrown further and further, 

 each time, till it gave up and went elsewhei-e for 

 shelter. 



Some of the priests are fine-looking men, but 

 most of them are quite ordinary. Many of them 

 seem sincere and earnest. But one of the worst 

 things about idolatry is, that a man may be very 

 devout and sincere in it, and still remain a rascal. 

 But no one can be a sincere Christian, and not be a 

 good man. J. E. Walker. 



Foochow, China, Sept. 1, 1855. 



Many tlianks, friend Walker, for your very 

 interes'ting letter, especially that iKirt relat- 

 ing to the carp. Perhaps I miglit inform 

 our readers, that we have just now a little 

 greenhouse. 19 x 24 feet ; and in the center 

 of the building, under the large central bed, 

 is a tank, or cistern, open on all sides, where 

 we have a dozen or more carp swimming 

 about as happy in the warm sunshine as 

 ever carp were in the open air, for auglit we 

 can see, and we hope to see how large they 

 will grow by next spring. AVe think a great 

 deal of the carp, like your Chinese friends ; 

 but if a rattlesnake should invade our green- 

 house, I don't think he would get a chance 

 to crawl back many times. 



A GOOD REPORT; 157 LBS. OF HONEY 

 PER COLONY. 



HONEY TO BE N.\MED, ETC. 



T SEND you by to-day's express a sample of extract- 

 (at ^^ honey; and to settle a dispute, I want you 

 ^l to decide the kind of flowers it was gath- 

 ■^ ered from. I have 2000 lbs. like the sample 

 yet, and 1200 lbs. of candied honej'. Extracting 

 0000 lbs. of honey I got less than 12 lbs. of wax from 

 cappings and broken combs. 1 think you will con- 

 clude it is good enough, if it was taken before it 

 was capped over. I keep it in barrels, and the 

 sample hasn't begun to candy yet. It may com- 

 mence, though, since I put it in the bucket. What 

 Is such honey worth? 



I am now fixing my bees for winter, by contract- 

 ing the brood-nest from 6 to 3 combs, most of them on 

 6 combs, with 35 lbs. of honey. I took the bee-bread 

 away, but the bees were bringing in pollen yester- 

 day fast. I have fed 500 lbs. of granulated sugar to 

 finish out the combs. I will pack leaves around all 

 my bees, and winter on summer stands. I wintered 

 them all that way last winter— 43 colonies. I had a 



