1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



715 



.Just at present, Ernest and myself do not 

 quite agree about introducing queens. Aft- 

 er the years of experience we have had in 

 sending queens out, I do not feel satisfied 

 that any thing else will succeed any better, 

 even if as well, as the Feet cage, as we now 

 have it. New inventions will come up, as 

 they have been coming up, year after year ; 

 but sooner or later the decision is, they are 

 no better. Then why should we make a 

 change, and multiply, and confuse not only 

 the rising generation but many of the veter- 

 ans also ? 



JalYgEIfF Tip MY ]^EI6}IB6^. 



Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 

 good.— Rom. 12:21. 



fHIS whole matter of ''doing good " to 

 those that hate you has been so often 

 repeated, and so much talked about, 

 that these beautiful texts fall upon 

 our ears almost without notice ; and 

 yet almost every one of us, when we get into 

 trouble with our neighbors, forgets to make 

 the application. Last evening our minister 

 made the remark, that, when Melancthon 

 was converted, he felt sure he could make 

 the matter so plain that the world would 

 have to see it ; and he had faith enough to 

 believe that the world would be converted. 

 To his great sorrow, however, he soon 

 found that " old Adam " was more than a 

 match for " young Melancthon." I remem- 

 ber very distinctly when I had something of 

 the same feeling. Our older readers will 

 perhaps remember, too, the energy and ve- 

 hemence with which I started out to explain 

 and talk about the Bible truths here in 

 these pages. For a good while, the princi- 

 pal point on which I exhorted was our 

 homes. Further along it seemed to me as if 

 God called me to consider next our neigh- 

 bors ; and here we are, dear friends, this 

 bright Monday morning, once more consid- 

 ering this matter of our neighbors. Some 

 of you may say, " Why, our neighbors are 

 all right as they are. Our relations to them 

 are all they need to be. What is the use of 

 having any more talk on this hackneyed 

 subject of ' our neighbors' ?" 



Well, sometimes I am tempted to think 

 there is not much use. Some time after my 

 conversion, in thinking the matter over I 

 felt sure that, if I could have a good long 

 talk with a brother of mine, who was then 

 away, I could surely present the matter to 

 him in such a way that he would at once 

 embrace Christianity. He and I had dis- 

 cussed different matters from childhood, 

 and a good many times I had been convert- 

 ed to his way of thinking, while at other 

 times he had been brought over to my way. 

 It seemed as plain as the multiplication ta- 

 ble to me, that, if I could have his undivid- 

 ed attention, say for half an hour, he must 

 assent to the truths and the claims of Bible 

 teaching. lie came home, and we took a 

 walk together out in the country. Some 

 way it is always natural for me to talk best 

 when I am out in the open air riding or 

 walking. Well, he gave me his attention, 

 and I went over the whole ground. He as- 



sented to many of my propositions, as 1 

 knew he must assent; but no such direct 

 change took place in him as I hoped and ex- 

 pected there would. He was not ready or 

 willing to let the world, and what it had to 

 offer, go, and accept in its stead Jesus 

 Christ. 1 have had the same experience so 

 many times since, that I have got over be- 

 ing disappointed or discouraged. I learned 

 long ago to sow the seed after my own fash- 

 ion, as best I could, and leave the result 

 with Him who rules over all ; and as a gen- 

 eral thing I feel happy when I have done 

 my work, whether immediate results follow 

 or not. Now to business. 



In my recent travels I have had so many 

 pleasant experiences when stopped in some 

 unexpected place that I have rather learned 

 to enjoy it. Whenever I am told that the 

 time has been changed, or miss connection, 

 my first thought is, '• Well, what has the 

 Lord for me to do here?" and then I set 

 about finding out. At one place in Wiscon- 

 sin, in reply to my oft-repeated inquiry, the 

 station agent said, "Oh, yes! there are 

 quite a lot of bee-men here ; if you walk 

 down the track three-fourths of a mile you 



will see Mr. , who has a great snarl of 



hives ; and up on the hill, in another direc- 

 tion, is a man who has lately commenced, 

 and he is quite enthusiastic in the business, 

 and I have no doubt he would be glad to see 

 you. Off over the hill is another one," and 

 so on. But as I had only three hours to 

 wait, and my supper was to come out of the 

 three hours besides, I concluded that he 

 had given me directions enough. Three- 

 fourths of a mile down the track I saw 

 thirty or forty hives arranged under an old- 

 fashioned shed. They were on the north 

 side of a very pretty little garden. Every 

 thing was neat and tidy, but they evidently 

 were not quite up to the times in every 

 thing. I talked a little while with the old 

 gentleman who owned the bees, but he did 

 not seem to know much about the bee- 

 journals nor about their editors. He said 

 his son was out harvesting, but added that 

 he would be home soon, and he would doubt- 

 less be very glad to see me. So I walked 

 back to the depot ; but just as I had reached 

 there, however, a young man (the son) drove 

 up briskly, and expressed great pleasure in 

 meeting A. I. Root. He said he was work- 

 ing hard to get money enough to complete 

 his education, and, of course, he and I were 

 friends at once. I proposed making a brief 

 call on one of his neighbors; but he seemed 

 to be a little bit backward. There had been 

 differences between them, mainly in run- 

 ning each other on the price of honey. 1 

 urged him, however, to go over with me, 

 suggesting that, if they got better acquaint- 

 ed, they might possibly agree on some price 

 so as not to cut each other. After a little 

 urgimr he replied, " Why, of course I will 

 go ;" and we three had quite a pleasant lit- 

 tle chat together. The last-named friend 

 had his hives neatly painted, and set each 

 one under a forest-tree, where a partial 

 clearing had been made in the edge of the 

 town. It was a very pretty place, and the 

 hives were very neatly cared for ; although 

 I found in a few r moments that some of 



