Vol. XII. 



MAR. 15, 1884. 



No. 6. 



TERMS: 81.00 PKKANNCM, IN ADVANCE 

 2 Copies for 81.90; 3 for S2. 75; 5 for $4. 00 

 10 or more, 75 ets. eaoh. Single Number, 

 6 ets. Additions to clubs may be made 

 at club rates. Above are all to be sent 



to ONE POSTOFFICE. 



ANCE;! Tj^ct+^T^lno'U r,/l I'-M 1 Q'V Q f Clubs to different postofHces, NOT LESS 

 $i.00i \Jli6l/U/OoZorl6U/ Lrb a O / c) . I than 90 ets. each. Sent postpaid, in the 

 inber, I . ..„ ,,. „„ J U. S. and Canadas. To all other eoun- 



PUBLISHED SEMl-MOSTIILY BY 



A. I. ROOT,MEDI]SrA, OHIO. 



tries of the Universal Postal Union, 18c 

 i per vear extra. To all countries not of 

 ^ the U. P. U., 42c per year extra. 



• KINDNESS TO DUMB ANIMALS. 



PROF. COOK TALKS TO THE JUVENILES A LITTLE. 



jjN page 203 our friends will notice an in- 

 quiry from one of our ten-year-old ju- 

 veniles. As soon as the matter Avas in 

 print, I sent a proof to friend Cook, and for 

 once in my life I did a wise thing. After you 

 read' the following, see if you do not agree 

 with me : 



Friend Root:— Thanks for the kind compliment you 

 pay me in the note. You know, the merciful man 

 is merciful to his beast, and the beatitude reads 

 thus: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall ob- 

 tain mercy." I like the following, which has clung 

 to my memory since I first read it in boyhood. Re- 

 ferring to our dumb animals, the stanza runs thus: 

 And if to us, one precious thing 

 Not theirs — a soul — is given, 

 Kindness to them will be a wing 

 To bear it up to heaven. 



Vou know, friend Root, that a gram (to change to 

 our modern measure) of prevention is worth a kilo- 

 gram of cure. Now, I commence to train my calves 

 and colts to milk and be driven kindly, as soon as 

 they are born. If from the very dawn of their exist- 

 ence they are treated as less-giftedbrothers— all the 

 more kindly because less gifted, they will fairly blush 

 at the thought of refusing any thing we may ask, or 

 resenting any treatment we may offer, as maturity 

 comes on. Will the juvenile readers cf Gleanings 

 laugh when I tell them that, a few years ago, having 

 to drive a mare with her young foal — the latter 

 highly bred and spirited — too far for the strength of 

 .the lauer, I picked it up and took it with my own 



two children right with me in my carriage? Twice 

 that day I lifted the wee thing out to nurse, and 

 then again into the carriage. How grateful the lit- 

 tle thing looked! I have my own notion that the 

 act has never been forgotten by that colt. The oth- 

 er day, when I first drove that same colt, it went so 

 well, and looked so wise, that i could not but think 

 the dear little thing was all the time cogitating as to 

 how it could best please me. Talk of its kicking! 

 That is a fruit that never grows on such treatment 

 as my colt has always received. 



My Jerseys are spirited, and full of life; but we 

 commence our playspells as soon as they are well 

 righted up, so that my Jersey cow, as T milk her, 

 will fondle me with all the show of affection and 

 thankfulness of a true friend, which I think she is. 



So, Brother Root, you see I have had no experl- 

 fmce in breaking unruly animals. The treatment 1 

 give makes it unnecessary. Had I such a one, I 

 should expect that good oats, corn, and abundant 

 caresses, would change the bad heart, which, by 

 petting and handling, should have been kept right 

 from the start. 



I am sure that animals should be kindly treated 

 and petted from birth. This doeth the owner good, 

 like medicine; will be appreciated by the animal, 

 and will make it perfcclly docile and tractable from 

 the very first. A. J. Cook. 



Lansing, Michigan. 



Friend Cook, you do not know how glad I 

 am to get just such an article, and 1 suppose 

 yon will not object when 1 say that 1 feel 

 mre that bees can be made gentle in just the 

 same way. Of course, many things are to be 



