S80 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



ing from the sublime to the ridiculous in one 

 short " jump." 



At the Sunday-school I was introduced to the 

 superintendent, and I thought he seemed ex- 

 ceedingly cordial: and the young lady who led 

 the Endeavor meeting seemed also to treat me 

 as if I were an old acquaintance or an old 

 friend. The superintendent finally explained 

 matters by saying he formerly lived in York 

 State, and for several years he assisted Mr. 

 .John H. Martin, then of Hartford, N. Y. While 

 in friend Martin's employ he read Gleanings, 

 and became quite well acquainted with A. I. 

 Root. And this is to inform Rambler that one 

 of his old helpers in his former home has found 

 an abiding-place away down in La Cygne, Kan. 



Monday morning I started off on my wheel 

 for P. M. Francis, a bee-keeper who lives near 

 Mulberry, Bates Co.. Mo. Near the Kansas line 

 I found considerable coal-mining operated by 

 horse power. The horse was attached to a long 

 sweep; and on the shaft, right over the horse, 

 was a very large drum, around which a rope is 

 coiled. This rope raises and lowers cars of coal 

 from the mine. When the miners want to go 

 down into the shaft, the horse goes one way; 

 and when he pulls up a load of coal or work- 

 men he turns around and goes the other way. 

 By means of this cheap apparatus a great deal 

 of coal-mining is done in this region, and. I 

 should think, at a low rate, for I noticed shin- 

 gles up by the roadside, reading, " Good coal at 

 this mine, only .5 cts.,'" etc. I did not find out, 

 however, how much was furnished for the low 

 sum of five or six cents. Friend Francis has 

 quite a plantation. 60 acres of apple-orchard, 

 all kinds of stock, including thoroughbred 

 horses, etc. When I got there the family were 

 all away except the hired girl. Afterward a 

 young lady called. I commenced trying to in- 

 troduce myself, but she replied. "Ohl I know 

 you. Mr. Root. I heard you talk at the En- 

 deavor Society last evening." 



I began to think that she had mistaken me 

 for somebody else, but she explained, "Ohl I 

 just came from La Cygne. I passed by you 

 when you were mending your wheel, with a 

 whole crowd of schoolchildren all around you." 



It is true, I was obliged to stop about half 

 way on my trip, to put a heavier tube in my 

 back wheel. After that the tire stood up all 

 right for more than 200 miles of stony, flinty, 

 mountainous road through Missouri. Friend 

 Francis has a foundation -mill, quite a stock of 

 implements, and does something in the way 

 of furnishing supplies, but, like most of the 

 rest of the Missourians, he has done very little 

 in the way of getting honey during the past 

 season. Some time in the afternoon I started 

 out again, and reached the pretty town of 

 Archie, Cass Co., just about dusk. At the ho- 

 tel I asked for water to drink and water to 

 wash. I took a drink first, and found the wa- 

 ter to be exceedingly hard, with a slight pecul- 

 iar salty taste. I concluded that such water 

 would not be very good to wash up with, and 

 turned inquiringly to the boy. 



"Ohl that water is all right to wash with, 

 even if it i.v hard. You just try it." 



I filled the basin, and took a piece of soap in 

 my hand a little incredulously. To my great 

 astonishment it made a beautiful suds, and re- 

 moved the grease and oil on my fingers as well 

 as any washing-fluid could have done. The 

 water came from a well about 50 feet deep, 

 right in the center of the town; and I was as- 

 sured afterward, even by the women-folks, that 

 this hard well water was better to wash with 

 than the purest rain water. The mineral it 

 contains seems to be something of the nature 

 of borax. It really assists the soap to make the 

 suds. The water has quite a reputation for its 



medicinal virtues, and has been sent off in bot- 

 tles and barrels. 



After I was washed up I made inquiries in 

 regard to the farmers' institute to be held at 

 Harrisonville. Cass Co. (10 miles off), next day. 

 I went to all the stores, but there were no pro- 

 grams up, and nobody knew any thing about it. 

 Then I went to the postoffice, with the 

 same result. The postmaster and I looked 

 over three weekly Harrisonville papers, but 

 no mention was to be found of the institute. 

 Then I hunted up the editor of the little paper 

 published in Archie. He did not know any 

 thing about it, but said he guessed he could 

 find out in some of his exchanges. After dili- 

 gent search we found a three-line paragraph, 

 saying that the institute would not open until 

 next day in the afternoon. Now just a word 

 here. Friend Abbott Informed me that the 

 State of Missouri paid out something like $50.00' 

 a day to the institute men and for their travel- 

 ing expenses, to teach Missouri farmers better 

 methods of farming. But there seemed to be a 

 general inditterence in regard to the whole 

 matter. Friend Abbot gives a talk one even- 

 ing at each place on apiculture. • Still, but few 

 of the bee-keepers seemed to know any thing 

 about it, and those that do know do not go. 



During my trip I invited quite a number of 

 farmers and bee-keepers to come to the insti- 

 tute. I was told by some of them that there 

 were matters of more importance going on in 

 Missouri just then than farmers" institutes. 

 This may be true; but sad will be the affairs of 

 any State when farming and kindred branches 

 of agriculture are neglected. The single item 

 of prevention of diseases of domestic animals, 

 as it was there presented by the Missouri State 

 Veterinarian, may be worth hundreds of dollars- 

 to almost any farmer. It is the business of 

 these teachers to correct the superstition and 

 nonsense that pass so current among a large 

 part of the farming class. After I had got 

 through my inquiries in regard to the farmers'^ 

 institute I asked if there were any bee-keepers 

 in the vicinity. The editor told me there was 

 a man engaged quite extensively in that line 

 right in town; and as it was a beautiful moon- 

 light night, I walked over. Sure enough, there 

 was an ideal apiary — at least, it looked so in 

 the moonlight. More than a hundred hives,, 

 nicely painted, were grouped under the fruit- 

 trees. A little girl told me her papa was out in 

 the apiary, and she proposed to call him. 



"No, no!" said I; "let me hunt him up." 



J*retty soon I found some one among the hives 

 and trees, and I commenced: 



" Look here, neighbor, may be you know me 

 better than I know you. and may be you don't. 

 My name is Root, and I live in Ohio." 



" Why, you don't mean to say that this is A. 

 I. Root himself, right here in my apiary ? " 



"Yes, sir. I am A. I. Root, and no one else. 

 But what do you know about A. I. Root, any- 

 how ? " 



I soon found that friend W. E. Leonard has- 

 been for several years a most enthusiastic 

 reader of the ABC book and Gleanings. I 

 had to go indoors and astonish the wife and 

 family by my presence. Friend Leonard would 

 make many of the old veterans smile just be- 

 cause he is now in the high tide of enthusiasm. 

 He is just where you and I at one period of our 

 lives stood, years ago. He has raised queens, 

 divided his colonies, and increased until he 

 now has toward 150 colonies right in his door- 

 yard. He has honey to sell during this season 

 of severe drouth, but he will have to buy more 

 sugar to feed his bees, I fear, than he will get 

 for his honey. Never mind. When a good 

 season comes, as it will come sooner or later^ 



