1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



237 



most able physicians of the world, and the 

 whole book, in fact, as I understand it, is 

 the result of a congress of the best medical 

 talent of the world. 1 am sure great good 

 would come from using this book as a text- 

 book in schools; and if the world were com- 

 pelled to read it and live by it I think it 

 would do more to lessen sickness, pain, and 

 death, than any one thing that has ever 

 been done since the world began. It is a 

 significant fact, and one that points plainly 

 to the trend of the times, that no medicine 

 is recommended at all. A tremendous pro- 

 test is made against liquor, tobacco, and 

 stimulants of every kind. 



Keader, if you are a friend of humanity 

 help Fred Flori to put this book in the 

 hands of a suffering world, and do it quick. 



I submit, in closing, some clippings from 

 different pages: 



There is no doubt that alcoholism must be consid- 

 ered thp greatest ent my of the welfare of a nation, the 

 most frequent destroyer of family happiness, the ru- 

 ination of mind, body, and soul, and certainly the 

 most active cooperator of the deadly tubercle bacil- 

 lus or germ of tuberculosis (consumption). 



In families in which there is a fear of hereditary 

 transmission of the desire for strong drink, even the 

 mildest alcoholic drinks should be absolutely avoid- 

 ed. It would also be best if all people so predisposed, 

 or who may have acquired only the occasional desire 

 for drink, would never smoke, for experience has 

 taught that attacks of dipsomania (periodical sprees) 

 are often caused by an excessive use of tobacco. 



The love of nature and life in the open air should be 

 more cultivated. In ihf proportion in which this is 

 done, tuoerculosis will decrease. 



At the International Tuberculosis Congress which 

 convened in Paris in 1905, the American medical pro- 

 fession was represented by an oflicial delegation ap- 

 pointed by the President of the United States, com- 

 posed I f Drs. Beyer, Flick, Jacobs, and Kropf. There 

 were also delegates from the various medical centers, 

 among whom were such men as Brannan, of New 

 York: Lowman, of Cleveland; McCarthy, of Philadel- 

 phia; Pottenger, of Los Angeles, etc. 



At the closing session of this congress an invitation 

 was given to nave the next Tuberculosis Congress 

 meet in Washington in the fall of 1908. That will be 

 the first time that this distinguished body will honor 

 our country by its presence; and the American medical 

 profession as well as the public at large should re- 

 joice in the distinction and the prospect of having 

 the greatest minds engaged in the combat against the 

 white plague gathered at our national capital. 



The first executive order with a view to preventing 

 the spread of tuberculosis among the employees of 

 the government by a president of the United States 

 was issued by Theodore Roosevelt, Feb. 28, 1906. 



A sanatorium should not only be a place where a 

 patient becomes cured, but also a place where he 

 should learn some lessons for the future. All that he 

 will have learned from the rules and regulations, and 

 the advice of the physician concerning how to pro- 

 tect himself and others from contracting the disease, 

 how not to take cold, and how not to lose what he has 

 gained, are precious lessons which he will take home 

 with him. 



MT 1908 CHICKEN STORY. 



Now, dear friends, even if this is to be a 

 "chicken story, "and perhaps a good deal of 

 it specially for the children who read Glean- 

 ings, I think it may pay you all to read it, 

 for in it I shall te.l you a good deal about 

 Florida, touching on it as a place for inva- 

 lids, tuberculosis, lettuce growing, and per- 

 haps automobiles, and, may be, fiying-ma- 

 chmes also. 



On page 63, Feb. 15, 1907, 1 told you about 

 a White Leghorn hen that would not only 



lay eggs and hatch chickens the year round, 

 winter and summer, but that it was her reg- 

 ular habit to commence laying again when 

 the chicks were only two or three weeks old; 

 and by the time she had a nest full she wean- 

 ed her chicks and commenced to set again. 

 If I didn't tell you this last part, it is be- 

 cause I neglected to do so. 1 tried to buy 

 this remarKable hen, but she was not for sale; 

 but I told you how I did succeed in buying 

 five of her pullets, because they 2)ersisted in 

 flying over the fence and getting out of the 

 yard. I told you last winter of my plan to 

 develop this valuable trait in watching the 

 five pullets and their progeny. With the 

 cheap incubator and sitting hens, I secured 

 something like lOO chickens; but a large part 

 were roosters, and many of the pullets were 

 more or less colored; and as I wanted my 

 new strain to be all white I asked Mr. Shu- 

 mard to send me only the white pullets. He 

 therefore shipped me 26 pullets and 2 roost- 

 ers. On p. 44, Jan. 1 this year, you will see 

 a report of one of these five white hens. Sure 

 enough, she began to cluck almost as soon as 

 she was let out with the other 25; but she 

 kept on clucking (probably because she was 

 separated from her 20 chicks before it was 

 time to wean them), even while she laid an 

 egg every day. Now please turn to p. 498, 

 April 1, 1907, and read the. article about 

 "fighting mothers." I soon found, by her 

 leg band, this hen that clucked every day 

 while she laid was the fighting mother of last 

 winter, and I soon fouhd, also, that she was 

 the acknowledged boss of the ranch. Young 

 or old roosters included, cleared the way 

 when she came along. This winter I have a 

 66-egg Cyphers incubator, besides the old 

 cheap one; and as our people in Ohio had 

 shipped me a new brooder they wanted me 

 to try in Florida, I made no provision for 

 my chicks. 



When the chicks began to hatch, the brood- 

 er hadn't reached here, and I had been un- 

 able to coax a single one of my 26 hens to 

 get broody. The day after the chicks were 

 out, this "figBting mother" I have been 

 writing about was on her nest when I went 

 to gather the eggs. She not only "flatly re- 

 fused" to vacate, but came so near taking 

 several "mouthfuls" out of the back of my 

 hand that I thought I should have to back 

 out. She stayed on the nest over night — just 

 one night, mind you. When I spoke of giv- 

 ing her some of the chickens from the incu- 

 bators Mrs. Root (and the neighbors whom 

 we consulted) said she would kill them, swre. 

 I suppose you all know there has been a lot 

 said and written about introducing queens. 

 Well, I think I can tell you something about 

 introducing "day-old chicks." I took one 

 chick first, the one that first broke the shell. 

 I tossed him up against the hen; but as she 

 paid no attention to him he soon traveled 

 back out of the barrel wnere she was sitting. 

 Just about sundown I tried again. I took a 

 dozen chicks and tossed them one after 

 another over behind her; but she apparently 

 paid no attention to the poor motherless 

 waifs. Mrs. Root said, "There! didn't I tell 



