594 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



rious times, and will be remembered by our 

 older readers. 



On returning from the "bee-yards Mr. Jen- 

 kins proposed that we drive around to some of 

 the cabins of the colored people on his planta- 

 tion, and talk with them. We drove up to 

 the home of one old colored woman, and Mr. 

 Jenkins, after calling her out to the buggy, 

 began the conversation in this wise : 



" Well, auntie, I brought around a real 

 Yankee who would like to know about that 

 gospel train you talk so much about. Is it 

 running yet?" 



" You'h jes' right it's a runnin', Mista Jm- 

 kins all de time. Yis, sah ; it runs all de 

 time'. An' so dis ge'men's from de No'th, is 

 he? Glad to see you, Mista Root. Hab you 

 got on dat gospel train ? " 



This was a pointed question, and I did not 

 know whether I had got on her train or not, 

 and I answered her accordingly. 



" Bettah git a ticket putty soon, for it may 

 be too late, Mista Root." 



" But your ticket has all run out," said Mr. 

 Jenkins banteringly. 



"No, 'tain't, Mista Jinkins. De Lor' Jesus 

 he punched my ticket." 



" But your ticket ought to be renewed." 



"Yis, yis, Mista Jinkins. I have de Lor' 

 Jesus renew it eb'ry day, Mista Jinkins. Say, 

 Mista Jinkins, does you renew you's eb'ry 

 day ? an' you, Mista Root ? " said she, looking 

 me straight in the face. I said I hoped so. 



" Well, you bettah. De debble is aftah ye, 

 sartin' shu', Mista Root." 



"But," said Mr. Jenkins, "how are we 

 white folks going to get on your train ? " 



"We'll all be white when we git on dat 

 train. The' won't be no compahtments for 

 brack folks. You, me, an' all on us will be 

 white— yis, sah, Mista Jinkins." 



" But where will the black folks go? " in- 

 quired Mr. Jenkins. _ 



" If dey doan git on dat gospel tram dey'll 

 all go down to hell — yis, sah, down to hell, 

 an', say ; dar'll be some white folks dat'll go 

 down to hell. Dey'll be white up heah, but 

 be brack down dar. Yis, sah ; dey'll all be 

 brack down dar ; but in hebbem we'll all be 

 white, no mattah whethah we got a brack 

 skin heah o' not— yis, sah ; yes, sah." 



" How do you renew your ticket ? " 



"I makes my peace with my God eb'ry 

 night an' eb'ry mo'nin'— yis, sa. Say, Mista 

 Jinkins and Mista Root, do you do it eb'ry 

 night an' mo'nin' ? " 



We told her we tried to, and then drove on 

 to see others. 



Mr. Jenkins explained that the religion of 

 the black people is largely sentimental ; that 

 some of the loudest shouters would lie and 

 steal, and yet not seem to knoiv that their 

 lives' were inconsistent. They need a gospel 

 so taught that it will take hold of their lives, 

 he explained. ' ' They need to be taught, ' ' he 

 said, "to be provident; to have a sense of 

 ownership, and, more than all, that lying and 

 stealing are an offense unto the Lord." 



Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are earnest Christians, 

 and are doing much for the blacks all around 

 them. The colored folks always had a pleas- 



ant smile for " Mista Jinkins," and are always 

 glad to see him. 



" But," said Mr. Jenkins, " some of the the- 

 ories held by some of the Northern white peo- 

 ple concerning this race problem will not 

 work out in practice. What the colored peo- 

 ple need is not higher education but a practi- 

 cal knowledge of some trade. They should 

 be taught to read and write, to earn and buy 

 a home, not to rent one. Booker H. Wash- 

 ington's methods are all right." 



I must confess that many of my preconceiv- 

 ed notions have been materially changed since 

 visiting the Southland, and I only wish that 

 there might be more charity on the part of the 

 Christian press of the North in dealing with 

 the race problem. 



CONVENTION NOTICE. 



All arrangements for the next convention of the 

 National Bee-kteper&' Association have been com- 

 pleted so far as possible, and the convention will be 

 held in the audience rconi of the Buffalo Society of 

 Natural Sciences, Sept. 10th, 11th, and 12th; com- 

 mencing on the evening of the 10th The place of 

 meeting is in the Buffalo lyihrary building, corner of 

 Washington and Clinton Streets, near the business 

 center of the city. The president of the Natural Sci- 

 ences Society. Mr. Smith, has also kindly offered our 

 Association the use of their library and other com- 

 mittee rooms during the time of our convention, and 

 to do all in the power of the society to help make our 

 meeting a success. 



Railroad rates will vary in the different passenger 

 association territory, from one cent per mile each 

 way to one and one-third fare for the round trip. 

 Each person can readily learn the rate on inquiry at 

 his railroad station. 



The Buffalo bee-keepers will try to provide enter- 

 tainment at reasonable rates for all attending the 

 convention, who will notify Mr. Sydney S. Sleeper, 

 of Holland, N. Y., by Sept. '2d, of their wish for en- 

 tertainment. 



In a letter just received from Mr. Sleeper he says, 

 " We want all to come who can, for we wish to make 

 the Buffalo meeting the most pleasant and instructive 

 one that was ever held in America. We will have the 

 CO operation of all the sciences as well as the school 

 board," and names some professional men who are 

 interested in our specialty and will be at the conven- 

 tion to help. 



In a long letter from Mr. Hershiser, just received, 

 he closes by saying, " Call upon me for whatever fur- 

 ther assistance I am able to render ;" and Mr Penton, 

 an ex-president of the Erie County Bee-keepers' Soci- 

 ety, and others, have offered to do all they can to pro- 

 vide for the comfort of the delegates. 



As stated in my previous convention notice in 

 Gleanings, there will be no fixed program and no 

 papers, and the time will be occupied in answering 

 and discussing questions, except that on Thur.'^day 

 evening there will be a joint session of our association 

 with the American Pomological Society, to discuss 

 " the mutual relations of bee-keeping and fruit-giow- 

 ing ;" and Prof. Beach, of the N. Y. Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, and Prof. Fletcher, of the Central 

 Experimental Farm of the Dominion of Canada, will 

 help talk for the bees at that session, and it is hoped 

 that much good will result to fruitgrowers and bee- 

 keepers from this joint session. 



If any bee-keeper who can not be at the convention 

 has any questions, knotty or otherwise, he would like 

 to have answered at the convention, will send them 

 to me I will see that they are presented. 



A. B. Mason, Sec , Sta. B, Toledo, O. 



Robbing the bees is a term used by many 

 of the Western bee-keepers for taking off the 

 finished supers. Our forefathers used to talk 

 about robbing their bees when they sulphured 

 them in the good old fashioned way, and the 

 term has crept into use, even among up-to- 

 date bee-keepers in the great West. 



