1448 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



Our Homes 



By a. I. Root 



If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, 

 and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. — 



Num. 14:8. 



Dear friends, I want to tell you a story that I 

 have told once before. I want to tell it again 

 because it has a new significance just now; and I 

 am also reminded of some things that I omitted 

 in my first narrative. 



About the year 1874 (over thirty years ago, 

 you will see), when I was very busy one morn- 

 ing planning my article for the ABC book in 

 regard to bee-hunting, a good-looking well- 

 dressed stranger came down to my home. I 

 looked him over and concluded he was a travel- 

 ing man who had something to sell — probably 

 something for jewelers. My store had just been 

 burned out, so I was for the time rather out of 

 the jewelry business, and my mind was all taken 

 up with bee culture. These runners are very 

 bright fellows, as some of you may happen to 

 know, and sometimes it is not very easy to put 

 them off. This fellow was much interested in 

 bees or (at least so I thought) he pretended to be. 

 He asked a great lot of questions, but just then 

 I had not time to answer them. He did not 

 seem at all hurt, even if I was somewhat rude to 

 a stranger; and when I tried to excuse myself by 

 saying I had employed a man, a veteran " bee- 

 hunter," to go out in the woods hunting bees, 

 he with great readiness proposed to go also. I 

 hope he will forgive me when I say that on that 

 particular morning I did not really want him 

 along. If he kept asking questions as he had 

 been doing I could not well give my whole at- 

 tention to the bee-hunting and write it up in good 

 shape for the ABC book that was just then in 

 embryo. By the way, let me digress a little. 



At that early date I had learned that a teacher 

 must knoiv what he is talking about. We had 

 agricultural papers published then (may be some 

 of them now) by city editors who thought they 

 could instruct the farmer by just sitting in their 

 nice offices and not going out over the farm and 

 through the woods at all. No wonder farmers 

 were disgusted with book farming and farm pa- 

 pers. Well, I had decided that I would not write 

 a thing for that ABC book until I had been 

 right on the spot and been through it, and had 

 seen the things I wrote about, with my own eyes; 

 and that is exactly why my ABC book and 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture took hold of the 

 people, and took such " root " and gretv. 



Well, this city chap with his nice clothing 

 went along. I think he was rather fleshy at that 

 time, even if it was over thirty years ago, and I 

 concluded he would soon tire out and go back to 

 town. But he did not, even if it did make him 

 puff^and sweat somewhat to climb over logs and 

 follow the line of the bees. I do not now re- 

 member very much about what happened that 

 day, as it was so long ago. But two little inci- 

 dents impressed themselves on my mind while we 

 were out there in the woods. I was interested in 

 music at that early day, and I had been taking 

 lessons on an instrument. While out in the 

 woods I began whistling one of the exercises I 



had been going over on the keys during the 

 morning. As this simple little exercise was run- 

 ning through my head I kept whistling it over 

 and over. Finally this city chap remarked that 

 the little melody I was whistling ^Mas rather pret- 

 ty; and when he finally added, "I am glad you 

 like it, for it is one I composed," I stopped 

 abruptly and turned around and looked at him. 

 He looked remarkably innocent; but I made up 

 my mind that he was only a "runner" and said 

 this in order to get into my good graces and sell 

 me something or other. I think I was too polite 

 to tell him frankly what I thought of his state- 

 ment. He was very much interested in bee-hunt- 

 ing. When we got home, although I had en- 

 joyed my visit with him, I rather hoped he would 

 stop at the hotel. But he did not. He came on 

 down to our house. Then he wanted to see my 

 music-book, "Root's Curriculum." I brought 

 it outdoors and let him see it. Near the title he 

 pointed to a star. At the bottom of the page he 

 called my attention to a line of fine print. This 

 fine print read, " Composed and arranged by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller." I did not catch on, even then. 

 Finally he pointed his thumb toward himself and 

 said, "That's me. I am Dr. C. C. Miller. When 

 I told you out in the woods that I composed that 

 little refrain you did not believe me, and thought 

 I was just bragging." 



About that time I think I put out my hand 

 and said, " Dr. Miller, I humbly beg your par- 

 don. I meet so many men who take up a lot of 

 my time before I find out they have got some- 

 thing to sell or some investment they want me to 

 go into, that perhaps I am a little suspicious. I 

 hope you will forgive me." 



Then I invited our old friend into the house, 

 and introduced him to Mrs. Root and the Root- 

 lets. I think, however, I could not quite get it 

 out of my head that he had some purpose that 

 had not yet come to light. During the evening 

 (for he stayed that night with us) he sang quite a 

 few beautiful hymns; and one especially among 

 them that I shall remember as long as I live; in 

 fact, I believe I shall be glad to hear it sung when 

 I come to die. It was the hymn called "The 

 Rock that is Higher than I." By the way, if it 

 should ever be your good fortune to meet Dr. 

 Miller, by all means have him sing that old hymn 

 for you. Well, before Dr. Miller left us (I think 

 it was at family worship next morning, for about 

 that time we had become well enough acquainted 

 with him to invite him to ask a blessing at the 

 table, if nothing more), I began to urge him to 

 stay longer, instead of hoping he would go away, 

 as 1 did 24 hours before. Then he said some- 

 thing like this: 



" Mr. Root, 1 /ia--ve been deceiving you some- 

 what. It is true, however, that I am greatly in- 

 terested in bee culture, and I have been longing 

 for the time when I could have a little home of 

 my own, and do nothing but stay at home and 

 keep bees. I have questioned you a great deal 

 as to the possibility of a man's making a living 

 by bee culture alone. You think it somewhat 

 doubtful — at least until the man has had years of 

 experience. Now, nothing would make me hap- 

 pier in the way of obtaining a livelihood than to 

 be able to secure even moderate means, and be 

 with my wife and family and my bees. I am 

 hoping and praying that this may be brought 



