Slil'TKM13t:K, 1919 



G I. E A N I N G S IN BEE CULTURE 



607 



I 



N Our Homes 

 for Ausiust I 



OUR HOMES 



A. I. ROOT 



mentioned 

 some of the in- 

 dications that 

 the spirit of tlie 

 Lord Jesus 

 Christ has been 

 coming here on 

 earth ever since 

 I have been able 

 to look at and 

 over humanity. 

 Just recentl}' an- 

 other thing has 

 suggested itself 

 to me — the work 

 of Christ's spirit 

 or the Christian 

 spirit. Fifty 

 years ago pro- 

 fane swearing was so common that one 

 could scarcely pass along the streets with- 

 out hearing it. We heard it on the cai's, 

 we heard it in places of business; and some 

 of the boys and men who operated our 

 railways seemed on a sort of rivalry to 

 show the traveling ijublic who was most 

 proficient in taking God's name in vain. 

 Is it not true, dear friends, that a great 

 change is taking place? In one of ray 

 visits to the late Prof. A. J. Cook, Avho 

 was then connected with the Agricultural 

 College of Michigan at Lansing, he, to- 

 gether with his wife and myself, made a 

 little trip out in the country. Some fellow 

 who sat near indulged in such a strain of 

 oaths and curses that Mrs. Cook put her 

 hands up to her ears; and there was such 

 an expression of pain on her face as I shall 

 never forget. Is it not true that a great 

 change has come over the world, especially 

 over the traveling public? I really believe 

 it is years and years since I have heard 

 such a string of oaths and cui'ses as I used 

 to hear in the years gone by. The advent 

 of prohibition has helped the matter great- 

 ly- 



I remember away back shortly after I 

 was converted there was a notorious char- 

 acter in our town who used to go out on 

 the street and fairly yell his oaths and 

 curses until quite a crowd would collect 

 around him. At one time while I was at 

 quite a distance I heard him holding forth. 

 I meditated that, if I rebuked him in his 

 partly intoxicated condition, he might turn 

 on me, but I decided to take the chances. 

 I walked up with hasty strides; but his 

 back was toward me so he did not see me 

 coming. The crowd did, and began to 

 snicker and look in my direction. " Dave " 

 finally turned around and saw who was 



Tlion shalt not tnke the naiuei of the Lord tliy 

 God in Vcain. — Exodus 20:7. 



Let your communication be Yea, yea, and Nay, 

 nay ; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of 

 evil. — IVLVTT. 5:37. 



Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of 

 my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my 

 strength and my redeemer. — Psalm 19:14. 



Wash me. and I shall be whiter than snow. — 

 Ps.'iLM 51:7. 



coming. As soon 

 as he got a 

 glimpse of me 

 he stopped 

 abruptly. Then 

 the crowd began 

 to laugh. Some- 

 body ventured 

 to say, " Why. 

 Dave, what is 

 the matte r '1 

 Wliat made you 

 stop all at once 

 as soon as you 

 saw Mr. Root 

 coming?" 



He hesitated 

 a little while, 

 and then with a 

 comical smile on 

 his face said, 

 " Why, boys, Mr. Root and I belong to the 

 same church." 



The idea that jooor Dave was a member 

 of any church, or ever had been, was so 

 utterly ridiculous that the whole crowd 

 liroke into a big laugh with cheering. After 

 Dave had sobered down I paid him a visit, 

 and we had a long talk. He promised me 

 to stop drinking, and did stop for a whole 

 near; but, oh dear me! with the open sa- 

 loons we had at that time, and the many 

 temptations surrounding him, Satan got 

 him, I fear, after all. 



Out in Petaluma, Cal., there is a weekly 

 poulti'y journal published. So far as I 

 know it is the only weekly periodical of 

 tlie kind in the United States. But it has 

 been running quite a number of years and 

 still keeps up. Of course, they ui-ge every- 

 body to keep chickens. Here is a brief clip- 

 ping from their latest issue: 



Raising chickens is a pleasant business, and the 

 chickens themselves are a delight. They are good 

 companions, optimists every one, always singing 

 and never swearing. 



By the way, the last sentence reminds me 

 of the old saying that " curses come home 

 to roost, but roosters never come home to 

 curse." I confess I never thought of it 

 before; but is it not true that chickens, es- 

 pecially laying hens, are always happy 

 when they have decent care and suiTOund- 

 ings? and sometimes their singing is just 

 as happy and joyous, especially the cack- 

 ling after the egg is laid, even if their en- 

 vironments are poor and shabby. Shall we 

 not take a lesson from our feathered 

 friends? The idea of chickens swearing 

 suggests a little item I saw years ago in 

 some periodical. I believe it is well known 

 that when pan-ots are learning to talk they 

 ai-e especially prone to get hold of " swear 



