46 



GLEANINGS IN 13EE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



an will marry, neither of them having a cent iu the 

 world. They work and save, and have children, and 

 sometimes one of them dies. If it is the woman, no 

 change is made; the man owns every thing, just as 

 he did before; and when he marries again, his sec- 

 ond set of children inherit just as much of his 

 property as his first set. But if it is the husband 

 who dies, every thing must be torn up, overhauled, 

 appraised, and the wife's share, generally one- 

 third, set apart for her, and the rest divided up 

 among the children; and If she marries again, her 

 second set of children get only a share of " her 

 thirds." I agree with you, that there is something 

 " radically wrong:" but for humanity's sake, don't 

 lay it on the women. Men made the laws, and men 

 interpret them. Women submit. And is it any 

 wonder to you, Dr. Miller, that a woman should 

 feel timid about Asking for, or spending money 

 that is all her husband's, but is only one-third hers? 

 I know that some men say, "My wife and 1 are 

 equal partners." It sounds well and looks well in 

 print, but it is not so. I know that a man can will 

 property to his wife; and if his children or other 

 relations do not prove him to have been insane, she 

 can have the use of it while she lives; then (mostly) 

 it must revert to hisfulks. 1 think it is good for a 

 woman to have some property of her very own. I 

 have been watching this thing for twenty years; 

 and all my observation goes to prove that men 

 whose wives have money in their own right are a 

 little more polite and deferential to those wives 

 than are the men who own it all. 



Mahala B. Chaddock. 

 Vermont, 111., Dec , 1887. 



I think, friends, we had not better talk 

 women's rights any more just now, especial- 

 ly as spring is looming up in the distance, 

 and we want to talk over the important 

 matters pertaining to bee culture a little be- 

 fore the bees begin to fly. 1 want to say, 

 however, that I made a will about twenty 

 years ago, placing all my property in my 

 wife's hands at my death ; and 1 ain told by 

 competent authority that she can go right oh 

 with business, without, wasting time or 

 money in employing lawyers, or doing any 

 thing; and I think it behooves us all to 

 make such provision that our hard earnings 

 may not be taken from the wife and chil- 

 dren in case of death, and wasted in useless 

 red-tape proceedings. My wife and I are 

 partners ; and when God calls me away I 

 expect her to have as full control of every 

 thing in business matters as I have now. 



HELPING GLEANINGS. 



HONEY, MAPLE SYUUP, AND— "TAFFY." 



9 EAR BROTHER ROOT:-Wouldn't you like a 

 little taffy? I know you like maple syrup on 

 your cakes. The idea of liking it better than 

 honey! It must be a very different article 

 from that made in those four great camps in 

 Chicago, and labeled " Pure Vermont Syrup." Did 

 you ever see a big lot of glucose-barrels down in the 

 hollow, behind the camps? ' 



I took Gleanings and laid down to rest, and, no- 

 ticing the number of subscribers, I reckoned up how 

 many more you would have to have to make 8000. 1 

 said to myself, "Now, if every one he now has 

 should get one more it would double the list; and 



every one could do it if they would only try." Now, 

 Lucinda Harrison, you start out and get that new 

 one. There, now, is that dear old lady who drives 

 down here so often about her bees, and you have 

 doubled them up in the fall and packed them for 

 winter, never charging; for you know if you did, 

 that every one owning a few colonies would be 

 sending for you, if you would hive a swarm for .50 

 cents, or take off surplus for a quarter. Gleanings 

 would brighten this old lady's home; and when she 

 has read it, she could send it to her only son on a 

 farm in Kansas. Now, who will join hands with me 

 in a merry-goround to helji Uncle Amos? I've a 

 hitch in one leg, and can't go very fast, but I'll get 

 there all the same. Tral-la, tral-la, tral-la. 



I think all questions that are answered by refer- 

 ence to a back number are no good. How many of 

 your readers, do you think, will take the trouble to 

 hunt up this back number to see how it is answer- 

 ed? Mhs. L. Harrison. 



Peoria, III. 



Now, Mrs. II., are you not getting to be a 

 little uncharitable in regard to the adulter- 

 ation of maple syrup ? At one of the R. R. 

 eating-houses in Grand Rapids I saw a very 

 pretty card put up — "Buckwheat Cakes 

 and Maple Syrup, only 25 cts.'' As I had 

 not been to breakfast, I called for some, just 

 on purpose to see if it were genuine. The 

 syrup was rather dark in color, compared 

 with ours, but I am sure it was genuine, 

 right from the maple-trees, every bit of it. 

 At a hotel in the same city I found genuine 

 glucose, and no mistake, put on the table 

 with the buckwheat cakes. But the syrup- 

 cup was not labeled syrup, honey, or any 

 thing else. It was put on with the cakes, 

 and you were to eat it or not as you chose, 

 and 1 suppose call it what you chose. It 

 was thick, and light in color, "but there was 

 so little sweet about it that one of the bee- 

 men suggested we should sweeten it with 

 some sugar out of the sugar-bowl. The 

 taste reminded me of the peach-tree gum 

 we children used to eat, years ago.— 1 am 

 very much obliged indeed for your sugges- 

 tions in regard to Gleanings; but my ex- 

 perience is, that it would take a considera- 

 ble pile of money to induce every subscriber 

 to obtain an additional name, or even to 

 induce them to do it on an average. I don't 

 like to have people work for me without 

 pay, or, at least, I don't like to ask them to 

 work for me without pay ; and we have, 

 therefore, as you may remember, offered 

 every subscriber 25 cts. for showing our 

 journal to his bee-keeping neighbors, and 

 explaining it to them, and getting them to 

 subscribe. Now, where the friends feel dis- 

 posed to undertake this work of tlieir own 

 accord, as you do, a great many times they 

 may be induced to take a little more time to 

 canvass their neighborhood well, where they 

 know they will get 25 cts. pay for every new 

 name they secure ; but this offer has as yet 

 made no great addition to our list. I hope 

 the friends will remember that those who 

 accept of this offer must not advertise 

 Gleanings at 85 or 90 cts., for they would, 

 perhaps, in that case, gather up many of our 

 old subscribers at a reduced price, a\ ithout 

 extending our circulation niucli if any 

 among those who are not acquainted with it. 



