90 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



SO.IIETHING THAT IS NOT ABOUT 

 BKES, 



AND YET A MATTER OF MOCH INTEREST PRO B ABLY, 



AND OF GREAT IMPORTANCE SURELY, 



TO US ALIi. 



*rp>^ RIEND ROOT:— I would like to call your atten- 

 j![i tion to "Diphtheria— Death -Hj-Riene," page 

 ■'^^ 23, A. B. J. May I suggest that you copy the 

 article in fuUln Gleanings at an early day? I know 

 that it is long, and not strictly bee-talk; but if you 

 can thus lead some poor care-worn and anxious 

 mothers to turn to the light, you will be doing God's 

 work. I know from experience that Mr. Pringle 

 has the argument; his article can not be too highly 

 commended. Hoping that I am not presuming too 

 much in writing the above, I remain 



Vours fraternally, E. M. Hayhust. 

 Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 14, 1884. 



On receipt of the above kind note we turn- 

 ed to page 28, and take great pleasure in giv- 

 ing place to it. 



DIPHTHERIA — DEATH — HYGIENE. 



This is a strange medley of subjects for a single 

 article, and I make use of it to attract the reader's 

 attention, for I want every reader of the American 

 Bee Journal to read this, especially those who have 

 children whom they are liable to Icse for ever by 

 that dread, fatal disease, diphtheria. 



I am pained at reading on page 619, No. 40 of the 

 Journal Mr. Fradenberg's touching letter about the 

 death of his two dear little boys from diphtheria; 

 and the thought at once forces itself upon me, as it 

 has many limes before. Is this fearful mortality 

 from this" dread disease necessary 1 Is it inevitable? 

 I think not. indeed, 1 know it Is not. Of course, 1 

 know it is inevitable under the fatal circumstances, 

 but the circumstances can be changed, and hence 

 the fatal results changed from death to recovery. I 

 unhesitatingly affirm (and I know whereof I affirm), 

 that nineteen out of every twenty of those children 

 who die of diphtheria could be saved by simple, com- 

 mon-sense home treatment without a doctor at all. 

 The allopathic, or drug treatment, of this disease is 

 nearly always fatal. 1 am not a physician by profes- 

 sion, but I have studied the whole of the popular 

 (and unpopular) medical systems, and understand 

 the principles upon which they are based, especially 

 the popular drug system and the (as yet) unpopular 

 hygienic sjstem. 1 have no axes to grind one way or 

 another. 1 have no interest in any of them, except 

 to know the truth. 1 studied them and studied the 

 science of health, as embraced in physiology -and hy- 

 giene, for my own physical preservation and the 

 physical good of those over whom 1 might have in- 

 fluence, and those dependent upon me. The conse- 

 quence is, that for 25 years 1 have not taken a parti- 

 cle of medicine of any kind; and have been quite 

 free from sickness. And this uniformly good health 

 and exemption from sickness has not been due to an 

 unusually strong and vigorous constitution, which, 

 unfortunately, 1 never possessed. Indeed, it was 

 just the reverse of this in youth, coupled with cer- 

 tain predispositions to disease that impelled me to 

 look into and study the subject of health, and master 

 the conditions upon which it depends. No medicines 

 —patent or professional, quack or regular— are used 

 in our family; no doctors are employed to medicate 

 with drugs. Our habits are simple and natural, and 

 we reap the reward in good health. Physically 

 speaking, the reo?, naturnl needs of human beings 

 are few and simple; the artiOcial and imasinary 

 ones are many and complicated. Children are not 

 reared according to nature, but according to the 

 ffll<e and unnatural conventionalities of society; and 

 the consequence of this is physical inttrmities and 

 moral obliquities. Our only child— now about 10 

 years of age— has never tasted a single drop of med- 

 icine of any kind— not even the simple remedies in 

 common domestic use; and has always been free 

 from sickness, with, of course, the exception of the 

 contagious diseases incident to childhooa and youth, 

 such as whooping-cough, mumps, etc. 



The reader will, I am sure, pardon me for so much 

 personal allusion when ho considers that I am writ- 

 ing this with a motive to possibly beneflt some who 

 may need instruction and admonition of this kind. 



It is a well-known fact in human nature, that to 

 some minds personal facts and experience on any 

 subject are all-convincing; while to others the prin- 

 ciples upon which the experience and practice are 

 predicated must be presented and established. The 

 latter class of thinkers look below the surface at the 

 foundations and fundamentals; while the former 

 are content with superficial appearances and prima- 

 facie evidence. The safe way, then, in all matters 

 not palpable or axiomatic is, that while mere experi- 

 ence may be adduced as an auxiliary for the purpose 

 named, to put forward or postulate nothing that 

 will not bear the scrutiny of science and reason. To 

 illustrate this point: The man who has used tobac- 

 co for 50 years, and is now 70 or 80, adduces his age 

 and experience to prove that tobacco is wholesome. 

 The man who has used whisky-and-water half a cen- 

 tury as a beverage, and is now an octogenarian, 

 cites his age and experience to prove that whisky is 

 wholesome; while another octogenarian who has 

 used pure water his whole life without the whisky 

 cites his age and experience to prove that water 

 alone is the most wholesome beverage. But does 

 the fact that the one who has used tobacco 50 years 

 and is still alive, and the other whisky .50 years and 

 is still alive, prove that tobacco is wholesome, or 

 that whisky is wholesome? If it proves any thing in 

 the eye of the physiologist, it proves that humanity 

 is tough, and that some constitutions can stand a 

 great deal of abuse. On the other hand, does the 

 fact that the other octogenarian who used only wa- 

 ' ter prove that water is wholesome? No, it does not, 

 for we must be fair on both sides. It will thus be 

 seen that experience alone without a rational or 

 scientific interpretHtion is by no means a sure guide. 

 When the tippler lives to be 80, and avers that whis- 

 , ky is wholesome, and the teetotaler lives to be 80, and 

 I avers that only water is wholesome, science must 

 step in and decide the matter between them, by in- 

 quiring what is whisky, and what are its relations to 

 the living body of man; and what is water, and 

 j what are its relations to the living system? 



When, therefore, I affirm the following proposi- 

 tions (which I do most emphatically), I affirm what 

 is supported not merely by experience and prima- 

 i facie evidence, but what will stand the scrutiny of 

 I "the highest intelligence and the most advanced 

 science of to-day. The propositions are these: 



First, All sickness, disease, and premature death, 

 as well as all conditions of health, are purely natu- 

 ral sequences, mostly within man's cognition and 

 I control, instead of being either arbitrary " dlspen- 

 t sations," or in any manner fortuitous. 



Second, As a natural corollary ©f this, human be- 

 ! ings have, barring unavoidable accidents and he- 

 ' reditary diseases, their life and health in their own 

 j hands. 



Third, Following also from the above, nearly all 

 the sickness, misery, and premature death with 

 which the world is filled is caused by ignorance, and 

 could be avoided by knowledge. 



Fourth, As the preservation of health and life is 

 or ought to be the highest concern of life, our high- 

 est and greatest duty is to study and make ourselves 

 acquainted with the natural conditions, upon which 

 health and life depend, so that we may preserve our 

 own health and instruct our children in this knowl- 

 edge, and save them from premature death. 



The masses, however, do not do this. The most 

 deplorable ignorance on these subjects prevails, not 

 : only among the lower classes, but among the upper 

 and so-called educated classes. 1 say "so-called," 

 because no man or woman is educated who does not 

 Know how to take care of his or her body, or save 

 their little ones from premature death from diseases 

 which could either have been avoided altogether, or 

 cured under proper hygienic treatment. Through 

 unphysiological living,— the breathing of foul air 

 and poisonous miasms, bad eating and drinking, un- 

 cleanlicess, etc.,— sickness invades the household. 

 Wholly ignorant of thecauses. the victims are equal- 

 ly ignorant of the remedies. The doctor is sent for. 

 He gives his poisons. Some, with good vitality, re- 

 cover in spite of them; others die. ' 

 ; With reference to the disease called diphtheria, as 

 ; already asserted, 19 out of every 20 of those who die 

 might be saved were the parents properly enlight- 

 ! eucd on the subject, and the simple, natural treat- 

 I ment applied. I have never seen a single case prove 

 j fatal under hygienic treatment; but I have seen at 

 ' least five-sixths die under the regular drug treat- 

 ment. 

 i In order to make this letter practically useful, and 

 in hope of saving some of the little ooes from pre- 



