484 



GLEANiXGS IN BEE CULTUllE. 



July 



whom I had decided to keep if I could, be- 

 cause they needed work badly, liavinj? but 

 little to do have got into mischievous ways. 

 You know what .Satan always linds for iiile 

 boys and. gills to do. .'vnd, by the way, I 

 liave been studying, and i)iayiug as well, 

 over this problem of finding something use- i 

 f ul for those to do who depend upon me for I 

 tlie means of getting a livelihood. ^V'liat 

 shall we do in the fall of the year, when the 

 great roar of swarming time is past V Make 

 up goods for another season ? We might, 

 dear friends, but it takes a mint of money to 

 keep every thing going at full blast, so long- 

 before the goods are going to be wanted. 



There is one kind of work'that makes me 

 feel happy every time I think of it ; but it is 

 with sadness I aui compelled to realize that 

 but very few, comparatively, love the work. 

 Do you want to know what the work is I am 

 talking about? I mean working in the 

 ground, raising garden stuff, fruits and ber- 

 ries, and doing it intelligently. I wonder if 

 any of you want to know what to do along 

 in these July days. There is a great deal in 

 making work pleasant. Did you ever realize 

 it? God has ulessed my efforts here in the 

 factory, in trying to make work interestiug 

 to the boys and girls, and there are hun- 

 dreds who will work here for me in the fac- 

 tory, when they would work hardly any- 

 where else. You might ride miles iiere in 

 Medina County to find a good giil to do house- 

 work ; but they will come to work here in 

 our wax-room, or even in oiir kitchen, and 

 they will wash and bake and iron and 

 stew, and wait on the table in the lunch- 

 room, and like to do it too. And wliy, do 

 you suppose? There are three reasons that I 

 think of ; one is, that we have a pleasant, 

 good-natured lot of people around here, and 

 almost everybody likes to see us all so busy. 

 Another thing, inost of our rooms and tools 

 are pleasant to work in and witii. Another 

 and greater reason is, I think, that here 

 there is no aristocracy. Only one thing 

 places one hand above another, and that is 

 skill and fidelity; and every one lias the 

 privilege of raising himself here if he pleases; 

 in fact, I think most of them know that 1 re- 

 joice at the opportunity of rewarding intel- 

 ligence and energy, in almost any depart- 

 ment of our business. JSow, if I could 

 teach these young people who come here, 

 how to work at home in the same way they 

 work here, what a grand thing it would be I 

 We do teach a great many of them bee cul- 

 ture, and they succeed at home with it after 

 they leave here. But in most localities we 

 have to wait agood while for an income from 

 bees. It comes only at certain seasons ; and 

 besides, I should be afraid to advise every- 

 body to spend all their time in bee culture ; 

 in fact, I could not do it. Now, in tilling 

 the soil and raising the necessaries of life, 

 there is no danger. When you become expert 

 in making seeds grow, and raising large 

 crops of any thing wanted from day to day, 

 you are independent, no matter where you 

 are. Why do not more people love garden- 

 ing? I liave watched and studied into the 

 matter, and it has seemed to me it was be- 

 cause their gardens were uninviting, and the 

 labor to be done in them was fatiguing, and 



mostly but poorly remunerative. Take a 

 peep at the market gardens near the cities. 

 Who would not like to turn in and help? 

 What boy is there, or girl either, who does 

 not delight to pick peas and strawberries, 

 wlien they are large and line, and it takes 

 only a few minutes to hll a basket ? We al- 

 most all of us love to do work when the work 

 succeeds, and a bountiful crop rewards mir 

 labors. x\nother large class of people are 

 willing to work, and love work, if they only 

 knew just what to do and how to do it. They 

 want some kind friend or teacher, as it were, 

 to guide them safely, and to help them to 

 avoid mistakes— one in whom they have con- 

 tidence, and in whom they can put their 

 trust. Did you ever know, my friends, how 

 full of wants I am ? It seems to me tliere 

 never was a human being who wanted so 

 many things as I do. I want better helpers 

 than the world furnishes; I want wisdom 

 and understanding ; I want skill ; I want 

 dexterity ; I want accuracy ; I want infalli- 

 bility. I believe it is right to want all these 

 too, for God knows I do not want them for 

 selfish purposes or selfish ends. I want them 

 that I may help humanity ; that I may help 

 you, my friends. 1 want about a dozen dif- 

 ferent people to take charge of the different 

 departments of our work ; to look after the 

 boys and girls ; to cheer them up in their ef- 

 forts to be not weary in well doing, and to 

 teach godliness and righteousness. 



Just now I want a market gardener to 

 direct us in working our eight or ten acres 

 of ground. You might be apt to think this 

 is an advertisement for a man ; but when I 

 tell you what I should want embodied in one 

 single human being, perhaps you will think 

 I shall have to want. 



I wrote to a friend in the city that I want- 

 ed a man who did not drink, swear, nor use 

 to))acco. After that I told him I wanted 

 him to love children, and then, besides, I 

 wanted a man who is educated in every 

 thing that pertains to the business of raising 

 fruits and vegetables ; one who knows all 

 about underdrainingand irrigation; one who 

 was sutliciently "conversant with manures to 

 tell me just what to buy, and not waste my 

 money ; one who won't make the blunder of 

 doing hard and laborious work with his 

 hands when it might be easily done with 

 horses ; one who knows all about getting 

 the l)est seeds that are to be had in the 

 world, and who is so familiar with garden 

 seeds that he knows just when to plant them, 

 and how to make them do their very best ; 

 one who could tell us the very best' way to 

 utilize not only the manure from our stables, 

 but all accianulalions of filth of every de- 

 scription, and how to work it with the least 

 labor into plant-food; one who would not 

 make the common mistake of doing work 

 with his own hands that a child ten years 

 old could do just as well, or even quicker, 

 witli his nimole Ihigers and bright young in- 

 tellect ; one who would he capable of teach- 

 ing children accuracy ; t>ne who would not 

 overwork their powers of body or mind 

 either, but would keep constantly in mind 

 that his business is to love (Jod and 

 his fellow -men above every thing else in 

 tliis world. Then I should want this man 



