1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



H53 



side of a bag, or in some other place where 

 I could make them stay and behave accord- 

 ing to my notions instead of tlieirs. — I want 

 to congiatiilate you, friend C, on the pic- 

 ture you sketched, of a tine old gentleman — 

 farmer ov bee-keeper. Just to look at his 

 placid face and deliberate (I was going to 

 say movements) position, is an encourage- 

 ment. When you feel inclined, jilease give 

 us some more from real life, along with your 

 writings, and we extend the same invitation 

 to the rest of our readers. 



MRS. CHADDOCK'S LETTER. 



HEK EXPEKIENCE AT A CAMP-MEETING DURING 

 DHY WEATHER. 



R^^ EES have done nothing- this summer— have not 

 I3i g-athered enougli honey to winter on— will 

 f^ have to be fed, or starve to death. We 

 -*^ have not had a good old-fashioned soaking- 

 rain for 14 months. We had no winter rains 

 —only snows. The spring rains that we usually 

 have, that stop plowing for days, did not come this 

 spring. Not a single hour was lost on account of 

 wet weather. We had a middling sort of rain on 

 the 3d of Jul}', and that is the last. Every thing 

 of the grass kind is dried up. Our pasture fields, 

 blue-grass sod, and timothy and clover, are as dry 

 as the highway, and almost as dusty. Vesterdaj', 

 as we rode along past the woods pasture, Jessie 

 said, " That pasture is rather low, isn't it?" We all 

 laughed — "rather low " was pretty good where not 

 a spear of grass could be seen, and a great cloud of 

 dust rising u)) whenever the sheep walked about. 

 We pump our stock-well dry every day, and then 

 water the cows and calves at the house-well. Our 

 pastures dried up the second week in June, and we 

 have been feeding dry hay and green corn ever 

 since. We had just six weeks of green pasture this 

 year— a pretty short summer. We live away from 

 the public highway, and all the dust we get at 

 home is of our own raising; but as it is, we get 

 enough. We can hardly get the washing dried 

 without having- it all covered with dust, and it 

 comes into the house, and settles on every thing. 

 They say dust is a good disinfectant. 1 feel sure 

 that we have had enough dust sprinkled over us, 

 sifted down our backs, and breathed into our lungs, 

 to disinfect us as long as we live. 



Last Sunday we went to camp-meeting. Every- 

 body was there. They had a big tank of water, and 

 a great crowd stood around it with tins and dippers 

 and buckets, waiting for a chance. I went uj) with 

 my two daughters to get a drink. We did not have 

 a tin, and we stood there a good while. Finally a 

 brisk young man, in a striped seer-sucker, said, 

 " Let me have your tin, Henry; here are two ladies 

 who want a drink." Jessie snickered (she is fif- 

 teen), and Minnie pressed my arm. The brisk 

 young man held the tin at the faucet till it was full, 

 and then passed it over my head to the two ladirs. 

 Jessie took it, and, extending it to me, said, as 

 sweet as peaches, "Won't you have a drink, mam- 

 ma? " And I took it and drank. That was early in 

 the day, while i)eople were yet calm and polite to 

 each other. Before long, when the heat grew in- 

 tense, they pushed each other away by main force, 

 and Jammed and almost quarreled over whose cup 

 should be tilled Hrst. Then the whole thing ran 



dry, andjthere was not a drop for anybody, and the 

 strong- were^no stronger than the weak. 



There is a mineral well on the caniii-grounds, but 

 the water is sweetish'and saltish, and sourish and bit- 

 terish, and very tew like the taste of it; but then, 

 everybody drank it, and it was fun to see the wry 

 faces andthe spitting and sputtering. 



T do not see how bee-keepers can attord to go to 

 conventions. 1 can not. 1 paid out $3.5.00 for hives 

 and foundation, and we have not a pound of honey 

 to eat. Won't some brother be kind enough to 

 pass around the hat? Mahala B. Chaddock. 



Vermont, 111. 



Why, Mrs. ('., do you really mean to say 

 you had such a state of affairs at a camp- 

 meetinyf Had it been at a circus, or even a 

 political meeting, I should not have been 

 very much surprised ; or had it been a tem- 

 perance meeting, it would not have been so 

 very strange, where the people wanted to 

 show their zeal for cold water. You did 

 not tell us any thing about the sermon ; but 

 the text surely could not have been any 

 thing about '"in honor preferring one an- 

 other."' We hope the preacher was not too 

 severe on the three or four millions of Isra- 

 elites wlio. when tliey came into the " great 

 and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery 

 serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where 

 there was no water,'' murmured against Mo- 

 ses ; for if the Israelites simply murmured, 

 surely the people of Illinois should not 

 strive. It seems to me that water-tank 

 must have afforded an excellent opportuni- 

 ty for people to show their Christian spirit. 

 And now, my good friend, have you not 

 omitted to mention that a great niany did 

 show a spirit of self-sacritice, and^ stood 

 back and went away thirsty, because they 

 preferred to suffer rather than to see others 

 suffer? When Jesus stood at the well, wait- 

 ing for water, and, if I am correct, not 

 getting any after all, he spoke these wonder- 

 ful words : " Whosoever drinlceth of the 

 water that I shall give him, shall never 

 thirst." I do not know that I have ever 

 been where there was not water enough for 

 the crowd to drink ; and if I should ever get 

 in such a gathering, it seems to me I should 

 enjoy the opportunity of furnishing water 

 myself for all who might care for it. A few 

 days ago it was mentioned in my hearing, 

 that they were selling lemonade and pies at 

 their camp-meetings, and this, too, on Sun- 

 day. I remonstrated. My wife took me to 

 task, and asked if I were not uncharitable, 

 suggesting that people who w'ere from a dis- 

 tance must have refreshment. I replied 

 that, under such circumstances, they should 

 have crackers to eat and water to drink ; 

 and if anybody was not willing to pay for 

 the crackers I should enjoy footing the bill 

 myself. I am very glad to hear you had such 

 a gathering at that camp-meeting that the 

 supply of water provided was not adequate; 

 but I should be still more glad to hear that 

 that great gathering drank of the water of 

 life as well as of the water contained in the 

 tank mentioned. Had they striven as ea- 

 gerly for the water of life, '• flowing, freely 

 flowing,'' as they did for the natural sub- 

 stance, it would have been a beautiful com- 

 ment on Clirists words, '• The kingdom of 



