1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



5J6i 



Friend Root:— A few years ago you g-ave in 

 Gleanings a little testimonial trom an atheist in 

 regard to his likings tor Gleanings. Now, 1 had 

 read Gleanings for some time jirevious to that, as 

 well as ever since. 1 read it all and that is more 

 than I can say of the dozen other papers I get. I 

 had concluded that at last I found a real Christian 

 without that universal compliment of bigotry, do- 

 ing right because it was right; and when others did 

 right, gave them credit for it because it was right, 

 and not because they belonged to such or such a 

 creed. Your writings and answers to correspond- 

 ents were in such a very liberal spirit that I could 

 not help but admire you, and your words certainly 

 did rae good. Your sentiments were so elevating that 

 no one could read them and not be benefited, if he 

 or she desired to make all of this life possible. But 

 do you know, friend Root, that a change is slowly 

 coming over you? that narrowness is creeping in at 

 the corners, and the Apr. 1st number, page 248, your 

 answer to Mrs. Chaddock caused this to be written. 

 Such sentiments you have before expressed, but 

 probably not quite as much to the point. Now, I 

 can not find words in the English language to ex- 

 press my contempt for such a brute as Mrs. Chad- 

 dock describes; and when you want to unload him 

 from Christianity and make it appear that the 

 Christian religion will prevent men from becoming 

 such fiends, I think you got twisted into one of 

 your narrowest moods. You even went so far as to 

 state that, were it not for the influence that Chris- 

 tianity exerts on y<m. A. I. Root might drive away 

 and leave the wife and cliildren the way the manf?) 

 Mrs. Chaddock describes did. Now, Mr. Root, I 

 think you are an honest and truthful man, and I 

 would trust you to almost any extent in a business 

 way; but, beg your pardon, 1 can not believe that. Do 

 you know that our prisons and penitentiaries are 

 filled with Christians? Who but Christians swing on 

 the gallows? Do you know, Mr. Root, that, if I were 

 to point out to you a few " heads " of families of 

 my acquaintance, of the strongest Christian pro- 

 clivities, I would point to persons who have very 

 much of the fault that Mrs. Chaddock preaches 1 

 about? Of course, they are not Christians as A. T. 

 Root is a Christian; nevertheless, they are Chris- 

 tians. They are leaders in their churches; and as 

 they claim to be Christians, what else will you call 

 them? Do you know that the ministers of the 

 Christian religion, as a class, bi-eak your seventh 

 commandment oftener, by a large per cent, than 

 any other class of people? If you don't believe it, I 

 can prove it to your satisfaction, or you can prove 

 it for yourself, if you look over our dailies for a 

 while. 



Now, to come back: Don't you think you did a 

 wrong to a class of people who don't happen to be 

 Christians, but happen to have faith in Mahomet or 

 Budha or Brahma or Confucius or Mormon or Yaw- 

 .yah, or— none of 'em at all, but still are good, kind, 

 and loving husbands and fathers, and wives and 

 mothers? 



The most prominent Djan in the U. S. as an orator 

 happens to be an unbeliever is such isms as above 

 named, and he raised a family that is an honor to 

 any society, and he never spoke across word to 

 any one of them. His name is Robert G. Ingersoll. 



Oneof England's greatest Commoners happens to 

 be not a Christian, also, and his enemies can not 

 help but mention that he is a good husband and 

 kind father. In such a strain I could fill page after 



page, but probably it would be of no value to you. 

 You speak iiuich of your neighbors. N< iw, I think 

 that you, lieing a Christian, the other religions and 

 non-religions are your neighbors; and when you 

 try to load such things on your neighl ors' shoul- 

 ders, instead of trying to dispose of them in the 

 proper way, you do your neighbors a big wrong. 



One more word, friend Root: 1 am not one of 

 those persons who think they know all. >,o, I think 

 I know practically nothing, and am tryin ^ to learn 

 every day, and gladly take lessons from such as 

 A. 1. Root used to be; but when bigotry takes hold 

 of a person, 1 think he is not a good teacher for me, 

 be he a Christian, a Jew, or a believer or an unbe- 

 liever. L. W. LlGHTY. 



Mulberry, Pa., April h. 1888. 



1 admit, dear friends, that tlie above is 

 pretty severe, and no doubt more tban one 

 reader of Gleanings will feel mightily 

 stirred within himself. Very likely we all 

 need stirring up, and I am sure the above 

 letter will do us good, if we take it in the 

 right way. Our brother has expressed him- 

 self very strongly, it is true, but 1 presume 

 there is at least a grain of truth in every 

 point he makes. As I am getting to the end 

 of my allotted space, perhaps we had all 

 better let the matter drop where it is until 

 ova- next issue. Meantime, let us all re- 

 member that if any of us feel in a lighting 

 mood, there are probably enemies or sins 

 within our own hearts that can be fought to 

 much better advantage than to fight (even 

 with words) one of our fellow-men. I want 

 to say to the writer, however, that I thank 

 him for his timely .warning. I wil! try to 

 take very great care that iiarrovvness <ind 

 bigotry shall not creep into my life, even 

 " at the corners." I did not mean to reflect 

 on any class of people ; and if I did I hum- 

 bly beg pardon. I know that a lack cf 

 charity is one of my most grievous and oft- 

 besetting sins ; but, dear brother L., If I re • 

 fleeted on the sects and denominations that 

 you enumerate, haven't you reflected very 

 severely indeed on a good many who think 

 not as you do? I am glad to hear you say in 

 your closing-up remarks that you feel as I 

 do, that we know practically nothing. In 

 view of this, shall we not both ask the Al- 

 mighty, who created us, for more wisdom 

 and more understanding? shall we not hold 

 fast to the promise — 



If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 

 who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth 

 not? 



I^EPe^Tg ENC0a^??6iNe. 



NO LOSS IN FRAME HIVES; BOX HIVES WINTERED 

 POORLY. 



T HAVE been looking over my bees to-day, and 

 1^ find them all alive and in good condition, with 

 ^f plenty of stores. I commenced the season of 

 "*■ 1887 with one swarm of Italians, and now have 

 three strong colonies. They were all out on 

 summer stands, packed in chaft', and wintered with- 

 out loss. 1 fed sugar last fall, and think that is one 

 reason why they wintei-ed so well. 1 noticed that 

 one swarm of bees that were wintered almost wholly 

 on sugar were bringing in pollen abundantly to- 

 day. Bees in box hives in this locality have winter- 



