1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



741 



Now a word in regard to the girl who wait- 

 ed on me. Had this woman had tlie Savior's 

 love in her heart, it would have been a plea- 

 sure for her to wait on a stranger, and hunt 

 up the best that could l)e found for him un- 

 der the circumstances. She knew, or might 

 have known, tliat her employer received 

 half a dollar for the supper she was to fur- 

 nish, and it was her duty to I'eason some- 

 thing like this : '" If we get half a dollar, we 

 can well afford to give this stranger the best 

 the house affords." One who is building up 

 a business, or assisting to build up a busi- 

 ness, feels thankful for patronage, and I 

 do love to see people show their thanks in 

 looks and actions, under such circumstances. 

 A pleasant, cheerful willingness to wait on 

 the great traveling public, is worth more 

 than money in the bank to any man or woman 

 who wants to succeed, whether such persons 

 be gardeners or hotel-keepers. 



Well. I did not succeed in finding any tine 

 vegetables on the tables at Arlington, so 1 

 thought 1 would try the great city of Boston. 

 I was told that tlie farming and gardening 

 community generally stopped at th^ New- 

 England Hotel, as it is quite near Boston's 

 greatest market. I was disappointed in one 

 thing at the outset — I could not have any 

 breakfast before 6 o'clock, and (5 o'clock in 

 Boston is about 7 o'clock in Ohio ; therefore 

 I walked over miles of the city, before break- 

 fast was ready. Now for the vegetables 

 seen displayed i]i such wonderful profusion, 

 right close by this large hotel. Well, for 

 breakfast I had just two baked iwtatoes — not 

 another thing in the vegetable line. 



At one of the railroad eating-houses on 

 the way home I was served with a dinner 

 comprising almost all vegetables grown in 

 gardening. It cost 7-5 cents. I took break- 

 fast on the dining-cars, for which I paid one 

 dollar. I hope you will excuse me for saying 

 that it seems almost wicked to pay a dollar 

 for a breakfast, especially Avhere one's wants 

 are few and simple. One reason why I de- 

 cided to have a dollar breakfast was, that 1 

 wanted to see if I should find the products 

 of the garden as well as of the apiary here. 

 I was abundantly satisfied. The dining-car 

 proprietors not only provided almost every 

 vegetable in their bill of fare, known to the 

 garden, but the dishes were cooked with 

 wonderful culinary skill. The waiters were 

 pleasant and courteous, and the whole para- 

 phernalia of the dining-tal)le is like a beau- 

 tiful picture. Fruits are served from almost 

 every clime, and these, too, are the best and 

 Jiundsonictit that can be Juought for mon- 



ey. I confess that I greatly enjoyed such a 

 breakfast, for the proprietors evidently 

 spared no pains to make it worth a whole 

 dollar; and the thought that you were 

 sweeping over the landscape at the rate of 

 forty miles an hour while you sipped most 

 excellent coffee, and tasted of the viands 

 prepared with the best skill that the present 

 age affords, helped to make one feel that a 

 dollar invested occasionally in this way was 

 not so very bad an investment after all. 

 The market-gardener who supplies the din- 

 ing-room cars ought to be one of the most 

 progressive ones of the present age. 



Now, then, is it advisable to let vegetables 

 and garden-stufts have a place on our tables 

 every dayV and should they enter largely in- 

 to what goes to make up our " daily bread"? 

 *I think that, in a sanitary point of view, the 

 question has been fully decided. It is true, 

 people sometimes get into summer ditlicul- 

 ties by eating fresh fruits and vegetables ; 

 but I believe such troubles are brought 

 about of tener by a scarcity of fruits and veg- 

 etables than by a surfeit ; that is, on tables 

 where fruits and vegetables are seldom seen, 

 everybody is so ravenous for them when 

 they make their appearance, nature is upset 

 by too large a dose on too short notice ; 

 whereas, had there been fruits and vegeta- 

 bles at each meal, more or less, the year round, 

 nature would suffer no such shock, and no 

 bad results would follow. 



The appointments of the meal I mention- 

 ed, in the dining-room car, were such as to 

 make one feel pleasant and happy ; now, of 

 course, I would not recommend that every 

 day laborer or farmer should deck his break- 

 fast-table with cut glass and silver ; but I 

 do think there might be a very great im- 

 provement, and with no great outlay either. 

 The women- folks (if not overworked) are 

 ready and willing, and will gladly do their 

 part. A few flowers put in some pretty lit- 

 tle vase might prove one of the best invest- 

 ments ever made for the breakfast-table, just 

 because the sight of them calls out our bet- 

 ter feelings. Now, a surprise in the way of 

 new vegetables nicely prepared may accom- 

 plish the same object ; and suppose they 

 should divert conversation during the meal 

 to the discussion of new fruits and vegeta- 

 bles, seed catalogues, etc.; suppose, when 

 the radishes are passed. Johnnie proudly 

 announces that lie raised them in /(/,s garden ; 

 or suppose that papa announces that the 

 peas we have for dinner are the celebrated 

 Stratagems, advertised through the papers 

 so much, HuU through the seed catalogues, 



