1518 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



was trying to "gather" my surplus young roos- 

 ters. Of course, I got 20 cts. per lb. for them; 

 but she said she was a little afraid it would wear 

 me out, mentally and bodily, in getting those 

 young roosters in a cage to send to market. You 

 see, down there they roost away up in the pine- 

 trees; and my flock of sixty White Leghorns here 

 in Ohio have been roosting up in the evergreens 

 which surround our apiary. I succeeded in get- 

 ting them out of the evergreens and driving them 

 into the orchard; but just now all but about a 

 dozen positively insist on roosting in a big ap- 

 ple-tree that overshadows the poultry-house, in- 

 stead of staying indoors. If any of our readers 

 can tell me of a quick way of getting these chick- 

 ens out of the tree and into a cloth-curtain poul- 

 try-house, say along about Thanksgiving time, 

 I shall be gready obliged to them.* 



Now, I do believe we can have things so ar- 

 ranged that the amount of real work needed to 

 care for a flock of fifty or a hundred chickens 

 would not amount to much; but when somebody 

 tries to persuade you that they can be so man- 

 aged that you will have comparatively "nothing 

 to do but gather the eggs," do not be too ready 

 to accept the statement. When it comes to set- 

 ting hens or running an incubator, and caring for 

 the brooder, to say nothing of hawks and other 

 "varmints," I think you will be likely to have 

 exercise enough to give you an appetite about ev- 

 ery mealtime. At the same time, when your 

 fowls are carefully fenced in with a good high 

 poultry-netting, so as to make sure that no live 

 animals can crawl or burrow under it, with large- 

 sized feed-hoppers, feed and shelter, and abun- 

 dance of green food, you can so manage that there 

 will be a good many days when there will be 

 but little to do but "gather the eggs." 



TEMPERANCE 



A JUG OF WHISKY FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 



On page 708, June 1, I told you of a tragedy 

 that took place near where I started a Sunday- 

 school, in Osprey, Fla. There was one family 

 in the neighborhood that had had a great deal of 

 trouble. The poor wife had been insane, and 

 had been in an asylum; but she had come home 

 so much better that she was taking care of the 

 children, fixing them up, and finally for the first 

 time, perhaps, in many years, the father and 

 mother and children all came out to a Christmas- 

 tree festival on Christmas eve. They felt bright 

 and happy, and all the neighbors felt glad to see 

 them out once more among folks, and espe- 

 cially at a gathering of that kind. Besides the 

 insanity trouble, the poor mother was stone deaf 

 — she could not hear a word. Well, this man 

 was in the employ of a millionaire brewer. He 

 may not have been quite a millionaire, but he 

 was wealthy. He had bought a place near the 

 Sunday-school chapel, and employed the man of 

 whom I have been speaking as laborer. Just 

 before the holidays he gave all of his helpers a 

 jug of luhhky for a Chrutmas present. I think 

 the man who received the whisicy did not drink; 

 but a couple of other fellows who did drink 



*Later: — I finally got them all safely " corraled," during a big 

 snowstotm. 



found out about it, went to his home some time 

 after midnight, rapped on the door, and demand- 

 ed that jug of whisky. Of course, the poor wife 

 did not hear any of the racket. The first inti- 

 mation she had of what was going on was to find 

 her husband's dead body out in front of their 

 home. He was shot because hp would not hand 

 over that whisky to a couple of men who were 

 already crazed by drink until they were ready to 

 commit murder or do any thing else. This poor 

 woman (who had at the time a nursing babe) be- 

 came mentally unhinged again, and who can 

 wonder.? They decided she was not fit to take 

 care of her babe, but she declared she would have 

 it, and they had to confine her by main strength 

 to keep her quiet. A little time after that, this 

 wealthy brewer, who gave the whisky as a Christ- 

 mas present, committed suicide, and I have just 

 read in the Manatee River Journal that the two 

 men who committed the murder are sentenced to 

 go to the penitentiary for life. Well, this whole 

 thing was again brought to mind by a glaring 

 advertisement of " Straight Kentucky Whis- 

 ky FOR Christmas, 1S08." Now, friends, what 

 do you think of the man or men who are so far 

 lost to all sense of Christianity, honor, and de- 

 cency, as to suggest a jug of ivhisky for a Christ- 

 mas present F 



Health Notes 



HEALTH, HOME, AND TEMPERANCE. 



Mr. Root: — I will say, in reference to your little editorial note 

 in last issue of Gleanings, that I think your misgivings as to 

 the acceptability of your Home and Temperance Departments 

 are entirely unfounded. These are to me a delightful inspiration 

 and strength, and are undoubtedly the same to thousands of your 

 readers. So far as 1 am concerned, if you and Mr. Terry keep to 

 your purpose, and live to be centenarians, I hope you will both 

 remain active in your literary pursuits and contributions to the 

 cause of health and temperance. In your food hints, I should be 

 pleased to have your views as to the value of honey for food. 



Salem, Ohio, Nov. 12. T. S. Teas. 



Thanks, friend T. Regarding honey of late 

 years, as I have told you, I find my health very 

 much better when I use little or no sweets of any 

 kind; and 1 have to be especially careful about 

 cane sugar. A very little well-ripened honey, 

 better still sterilizing it by setting the dish iii the 

 oven until the honey is very thick, seems to be 

 all right, say perhaps a few spoonfuls with my 

 rolled wheat. Milk and honey are both uncooked 

 foods. I have mentioned before that young peo- 

 ple, especially growing children, no doubt require 

 more sweets than grown-up people, especially 

 elderly ones. In the same way, any one who is 

 doing muscular work, and especially outdoors, 

 and more especially still in cool weather, needs 

 sweets of some kind in the same way the Esqui- 

 maux need a great amount of fat to furnish fuel 

 for the body. Where honey seems to agree with 

 you nicely, by all means use it, and thank God 

 for it. But I think it is well for us all to be care- 

 ful about taking our honey or any other dessert 

 after we have made a good square meal. The 

 new diseases that are constantly coming up to 

 afilict our people are, without doubt, caused by 

 overloading our digestive apparatus; and this is 

 often done through carelessness or ignorance. 

 Look out, and beware of " clogging the machin- 

 ery. " -^ 



