184 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15 



time, I am convinced that large numbers might 

 live perhaps several years could the winters be 

 bridged over. Old people get chilled, and I 

 know by experience it is often quiie a task to get 

 thoroughly "warmed up." When away from 

 home I sometimes wake up in the night cold, 

 and at such times it seems almost impossible to 

 get warm, no matter how much clothing I pile 

 on. This often happens when I have been out 

 and gotten pretty well chilled during the day. 



Well, this winter Mrs. Root and I have dis- 

 covered a beautiful remeJy. Of course, it is "as 

 old as the hills," almost; but it is new to us I 

 told you about our fireplace that we scarcely 

 used last winttr. Well, this winter we have used 

 it and enjoyed it Our testimony is now em- 

 phatic, that, of all the inventions for keeping 

 people warm (especially old people), there is 

 nothing to compare with the open fireplace. 

 Ours is large enough so we can bring in a " back- 

 log," almost as long and as big around as my- 

 self, and then with a very little small fuel we can 

 keep the heat just right. The radiated heat and 

 the abundant ventilation are, one or both, an in- 

 spiration for work or sleep, or any thing else. 

 My old father's remedy for a cold was to "toast 

 the feet" before an open fireplace When your 

 feet are well toasted you are pretty sure ti be 

 toasted also, pre'ty well all over, and after this 

 "thorough vsarming-ur" you can lie down un- 

 der the warm blankets before the open window, 

 right in almost any kind of drafts, and "sleep the 

 sleep of the just," and not take cold a particle 

 I have been here now nearly three months, and 

 have had nothing that could be called a cold, or, 

 for that matter, any other trouble. Of course, I 

 am careful of my diet — no sugar to speak of, and 

 very little meat. Mrs. Root and I are both us 

 ing the Battle Creek health foods, and greatly 

 enjoy them. The saving in housework is im- 

 mense, and "dinner" is always ready. I was 

 much pleased to find in the last Practical Farmer, 

 in Terry's department, the following, especially 

 as the individual is the father of our Mr, J. T. 

 Calvert: 



NOT TOO OLD TO GET WELL. 



A Vermont reader asks: " Is there any hope that a man 60 

 years old can cure himself of asthma of 30 years' standing by right 

 livingf My mother suffers from rheumatism and heart trouble. 

 Do you think she is too old to be benefited by a change of livint, 

 or would it be apt to be injurious?" An extract from a letter 

 which came in the same mail, from John Calvert, Reaboro, Ont., 

 a farmer and bee-keeper, will answer these questions best. 



" 1 have sufiered greatly for years from rheumatism in shoulders 

 and back, and my eyes have foubled me. For four months 1 

 have been following Health Hints, and 1 am happy to report that 

 I am free from those pains now, and my eyesight is all right. I 

 used to suffer so I could not sleep nights. Now I have better 

 health than I ever Bad before — am able to do a good day's work 

 in the bush, chopping and sawing logs, although I am past 76. 

 God bless the Practical Farmrr for teaching people how they can 

 have comfort while on earth, .ind st^y many years longer than 

 they otherwise would." Friend Calvert lives much as we do at 

 our home, and as )ou have often been advised to. Asthma can 

 be cured and prevented, the same as rheumatism, and so can 

 heart trouble, or any other ill, if one hasn't gone so far as to 

 commit the really unpardonable sin against nature, which is al- 

 most never the case. But change in habits of living should be 

 gradual. I should prefer myself to change and live in "comfort" 

 for 30 or 40 years yet, rather than to sutler for 5 or 10 years and 

 then pass away. There are causes for every disease in one's way 

 of living, and the consequent condition of blood. Remove these 

 causes, give the stream of life proper air, water, food, rest, etc., 

 and natu e will go right to work to cure. Failure will practical- 

 ly always come from your not doing your full part. Nature is all- 

 powerful. 



Some may object to the open fireplace on ac- 

 count of the waste of fuel; and as good stovewood 



is worth here $7.00 a cord this might well be 

 considered. I am glad to tell >ou, however, that 

 in dealing up a place for our " cottage in the 

 woods " we dug out stumps and palmetto roots 

 enough for fuel for sez'eral 'Airwtvs. With the 

 beautiful light in our home, mentioned in anoth- 

 er column, and the open fireplace, it is about the 

 most comfoi table and inspiring home that can 

 be imagined 



HOW TO KEEP THE GIRL ON THE FARM, ETC. 



Mr. A. I.'Reoi: — I have always .been deeply interested in the 

 fascinating subject of bee-keeping, though I have never owned 

 any bees. I am also interested in the question of how the farm 

 girl can earn her own spending money at home. Farm-press 

 writers and faim papers devote a great deal of attention to the 

 subject of " how to keep the boy on the farm " The faiher is ad- 

 I'ised to give the boy a calf, colt, pig, etc., or a share in the ciop, 

 to induce him to stay. But the ooy's sister! Well, she general- 

 ly " takes a business course," then goes to the city, and — only 

 the guardian angel knows the sequel 



Now, why can't she be furnished with an incubator and brood- 

 er, a canning-machine, and a stand of bees.' Then the can start 

 her own bank account, take " a course in business " right on the 

 farm, and stay with her mother. 



" We learn to do by doing;" and any average farm-girl could 

 acquire a practical business training right at home, provided she 

 has any money of her own to handle. 



I already own two hundred-egg incubators and two huudred- 

 chick brooders, earned with my pen. 1 also own a No. I mod- 

 ern canner, and both are money-makers. 



After readii'g that cow peas are the thing for bee-pasture I am 

 eager to add bees to my present combination, poultry and can- 

 ning, because I live in a section where cow peas are grown very 

 largely, I raise them for my poultry. 



Until I read the inclosed article it had never occurred to me 

 that their blossoms could be utilized for bee-pasture. But I 

 shall lose no time in " passing on " this suggestion to farm and 

 t>oultry papers that circulate where cow peas are grown. By so 

 doing 1 hope to induce scores — yes, hundreds — of farm-girls to try 

 bee-keeping. I am now 39 years old. 



Fowler, Mo., Jan. 27. Annie Hoffarth. 



The following is the quotation alluded to, 

 from the Practical farmer: 



Our principal money crop for the coming season will be, per- 

 haps, unlike any the majority of Experience Pool readers have in 

 mind. As in the past, the production of comb honey will be our 

 specialty, and other crops will be planted chiefly for their bloom. 

 Of these the cow pea will rank 6rst. While many think that 

 crops planted for the bees can not be made profitable, we find it 

 decidedly otherwise. If the bees winter as well as usual, we ex- 

 pect to have something over 100 colonies another season, which 

 ought to give us no less than 15,000 lbs. of marketable honey. 

 Although prices may not hold up as during the pa-.t year, enough 

 colonies will be run to make up the difference. Many localities 

 are not suitable for exclusive bee-keeping, and the men who are 

 able to make a successful vocation of the business are still fewer. 

 Hence we would advise any one contemplating the field, with 

 that object in view, to move cautiously. We did not enter the 

 business on an extensive scale, nor with any flourishes, but with 

 a few colonies only. As each year demonstrated that no other 

 part of our fa'ming was paying so well as the bees, we gradually 

 made the production of honey our principal business. 



Ft. Smitn, Ark. I.EO E. Gatklbv. 



There are two things in the above letter that 

 commend themselves to me particularly — first, 

 keeping the (;irl on the farm. Why, her letter 

 makes me feel like paying her a visit. I want to 

 see her incubators and that canning outfit; and 

 I also want to rase my — " fur cap" to the lady 

 who has the courage to come right out in print, 

 sav she is almost AO years old, just as honestly 

 and frankly as I can say "Friends, /am almost 

 .le-z'eniy.^' 1 presume she, as well as myself, will 

 be able to surprise many people who grow old 

 before their time. A letter just under my hand 

 closes with th^se words: "W th best wishes that 

 your Century Club may not lose you before the 

 prescribe 1 time," e'c. Dear friends, it is a. "cen- 

 tury club" we are enlisting in, a d not an "An- 

 anias club." 



