JUNE 1. 1913 



who goes about seeking- to stir up mischief 

 and strife; and yet we forget — yes, e\en 

 the best of us at times — and let the wrong 

 spirit gain a footing. Instead of answer- 

 ing back when sorely tempted, let us remem- 

 ber who it was that said, " Pray for them 

 that despitefull}- use j'ou, and unto Mm that 

 smiteth thee on one cheek, turn to him the 

 other also." We are not only to keep quiet 

 and steady- under the fire of untrue and un- 

 just words, but we are to be cool and steady, 

 even if it should come to blows; for the 

 same dear Savior says, '' Your reward shall 

 be great, and ye shall be called the children 



of the Highest." Again, will it answer to 

 put these precepts into practice in business? 

 Let us remember that beautiful beatitude 

 that says, " Blessed are the meek, for they 

 shall inherit the earth." After the meek 

 have inherited the earth, what is there going 

 to be left for the gTeedy, the unscrupulous, 

 and the cjuarrelsome ? And, finally, if you 

 think a Clii'istian spirit will be a losing- 

 business in the end, read the promise away 

 back in the Old Testament : " Five of you 

 shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of 

 you shall put ten thousand to flight." 



Health Notes 



THE AMERICAN HOOKWORM, ETC. 



A good friend of Gleanings calls my 

 attention to the fact that, since I have been 

 spending so much of my time in Florida, it 

 might be well to say something about the 

 hookworm in the South. The JRural Xeic- 

 Yorker for Dec. 14, 1912, g:ives a very full 

 description of this pest of humanitj', and 

 I wish it were possible to give it entire in 

 Gleanings. When I first commenced spend- 

 ing my winters in Florida, seven or eight 

 year ago, Mrs. Root and I were both shock- 

 ed to find that out in the rural districts at 

 some of the homes there wei'e no outbuild- 

 ing-s of anj' sort. At one place, where there 

 was quite a family of young people, includ- 

 ing 3'oung ladies, I was told the " men 

 folks" were expected to go out among the 

 bushes on the north side of the road, while 

 the south side was understood to belong- 

 exclusively to the women folks. I am glad 

 to tell you, however, that Florida has been 

 coming forward by leaps and bounds in 

 sanitary matters and sanitary precautions. 

 The hotels and dwellings — at least to a 

 great extent — have as convenient and up-to- 

 date outbuildings or closets as we have here 

 in the North. Well, now, to get back to 

 our subject. 



The hookworm, if permitted to live, will 

 annoy and oftentimes even destroy innocent 

 boys and girls because of this xevy back- 

 woods (and I might almost say heathen) 

 fashion of having no outbuildings. Just 

 think of a country schoolhouse Avith boys 

 and girls going everywhere without any 

 such sanitary conveniences as I have been 

 speaking- of! Permit me to say right here, 

 if the disease £»r parasite exists in the part 

 of Florida where we are located, I have not 

 heard of it. Manatee Co. has never had a 

 saloon; and, God helping us, it never will 

 have. But what have saloons to do with the 

 hookworm? Just this: Where there is pov- 



erty, suffering, and want, the women and 

 children will have to go without the com- 

 forts of life. The eggs of these terrible 

 " animals " are laid inside the body, and 

 pass out with the excrement. If they get 

 into the damp warm soil they will get on 

 to the bare feet of the ureliin and get 

 through the skin just as the redbugs and 

 sticktight fleas do. Once inside, thej^ make 

 their way quickly to the intestines, where 

 they are veritable bloodsuckers. Where the 

 children plaj- in the dirt, these eggs or mi- 

 nute worms get into the mouth through the 

 food or drink. The children are stunted in 

 growth and dwarfed in intellect from a lack 

 of blood — blood-sucked by a hookworm in 

 the raw intestines. Thanks to science and 

 medicine, however, they are easily banished. 

 Thymol in the hands of a competent phy- 

 sician puts an end to them; and a dose of 

 Epsom salts cleanses the patient from the 

 dead worms and eggs. Now, am I not right 

 in saying that, Avhen we banish the saloons, 

 we shall do away with the hookworm large- 

 ly? and when all the public places, and 

 even every little home, is taught up-to-date 

 sanitation, the hookrvvorm will disappear. 



Just one thing- more: The Rural Xew- 

 Yorker tells us that the hookworm is a near 

 relative to the gape-worm in chickens, the 

 colic-worm of horses, and the kidney-worm 

 of hog-s, and the dangerous trichina, which, 

 several years ago, was so common in pork, 

 especially ham. 



starving AMERICA. 



The above is the title of a brand-new 

 book put out during this year by A. W. 

 McCann, who has been in close touch with 

 Prof. H. W. Wiley in regard to his crusade 

 against impure food and food jjreserved by 

 means of injurious chemicals. I presume 

 our good friend T. B. Terry will smile when 

 he sees the book I am going to send him; 



