1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



THE NEW WATER CURE, HOME PAPERS, 

 GLEANINGS, ETC. 



SOMETHING SEN.SIBI.E FROM S. I. FHEEBOKN. 



I have read carefully the article on page 183, 

 and, I hope, with profit. It might be urged by 

 some, that the article in question is foreign to 

 the bee-interest, and therefore should have no 

 place in a periodical devoted specially to tiie 

 interest of bee-keepers. The same objection 

 might be and has been urged against the Home 

 Papers; but A. I. Root has said, by way of apol- 

 ogy, that he gives us our money's worth in bee- 

 literature, and throws the rest in, all of which 

 I am willing to admit, and he has my consent 

 without the asking (especially as long as he 

 throws it in), to make Gleanings as valuable 

 and necessary to us as possible. He has been 

 most fortunate (or I have) in that he has chosen 

 topics, aside from the bee-interests, in which I 

 am vitally interested. The Home Papers have 

 proved instructive, and a spur to action in the 

 right direction. Ministers have expressed to me 

 their appreciation of them, and said that the 

 reading of tlie Home Papers had better fitted 

 them to care for those over whose spiritual in- 

 terests they were called to watch. Give us the 

 Home Papers. Bro. Root. What can be of more 

 importance than our eternal welfare? 



Referring to the horticultural depai'tment in 

 Gleanings, this also hits me right; for in this 

 line I attempt to get what bread and butter 

 bee-keeping fails to supply. 



In reference to the new water cure (for this I 

 most designed to write, though it is not new by 

 any means), it was pi'acticed to some extent 30 

 years ago in this neighborhood, and then as 

 now was considered of ben(>Ht, but had almost 

 become a thing of the past till revived by Wil- 

 ford Hall & Co.. who claim to have distributed 

 300,000 copies of their pamphlet, and received 

 14,000 testimonials commendatory of its effi- 

 cacy, within the last 18 months. This might 

 at first sight look like a gigantic swindling 

 scheme. Allowing that they gave away a third 

 to ministei'S and those who were unable to pur- 

 chase, and there would be left 200,000 paying 

 customers at ^4.(M) each. This would amount 

 to the enormous sum of I^SOO.OOO. which a suf- 

 fering and gullible public have paid for that 

 which was already free to all who cared to use. 

 We must not be too hard on "Hall ife Co.," for 

 the probabilities are that they have done the 

 public a kindness; for what costs nothing we 

 are apt to consider lightly. 



That the so-called new remedy will accom- 

 plish all or Ixt.lf that is claimed for it. I veiy 

 much doubt: but that it will pi'ove palliative, 

 and a benefit to large numbers. I fully believe. 

 The world is sick. A. I. Root says; the $800,000 

 paid Hall say so; the millions squandered every 

 year on drugs and patent medicines say so; 

 the army of health-seeking pilgrims that year- 

 ly are seeking what they have lost, in Southern 

 {California, Florida, or some other so-called 

 health-resort, bear evidence that we are truly 

 sick. We all like sheep have gone astray; and 

 the question may well be asked, as it was of 

 old. '■ Who has sinned, this man or his parents? " 

 We say botii. calling "'this man" this genera- 

 tion, aiid the past his " parents." With all the 

 accumulation of knowledge and boasted ad- 

 vancement of the age. we are behind tlie cattle 

 of the fields in the matter of health. Who has 

 heard of a short-horn steer having dyspepsia, 

 or a Jersey cow with sick-headache? 



Don't yon think, readers, that, if they were 

 obliged to eat and do as tlieir masters, they 

 would have both, and the thousands of other 



evils that humanity is subject to in conse- 

 quence of their tiansgressions? The steer eats 

 grass, hay. and grains, as designed by nature to 

 do: his wants are few and simple, and easily 

 supplied, and, as a rule, he remains healthy. 

 Put his master (man) can not supply his wants 

 so easily, especially his iin(({iin<iry wants. He 

 must bring under tribute all living tliings,-of 

 sea, earth, and air. At present, in civilized 

 countries (especially in the U. S.), such a glut- 

 ton and physical sinner has he become that the 

 old list of diseases was not long enough, and 

 more names had to be added to express and ex- 

 plain the new agonies and troubles. 



To illustrate how far we have left the path 

 of pui'ity and nature, let us take the horse for 

 an illustration. Suppose, Bro. Root, that you 

 had a valuable young horse with indications of 

 becoming a second Axtel, and that you had en- 

 gaged an intelligent horseman, a regular ex- 

 pert, to take charge of him. What would the 

 groom say, if, at the time the colt was to have 

 his tirst feed at his hands, you should say. 

 " Hold on ! I am vei'y particular about the ra- 

 tions fed my liorse. Any thing that I eat is 

 none too good for him. Here is a tin of hot 

 rolls; some slices of fat bacon with mustard 

 and })epper; pickels: a mince pie, and some 

 strong coffee?" The groom's eyes no doubt 

 would be distended to their fullest capacity, 

 and he would remonstrate by saying, " My dear 

 sir, with all due deference to your judgment 

 and manner of feeding, if you expect me to take 

 charge of and be responsible for the appearance 

 and actions of the colt I hope you will allow 

 me to have my way in feeding, for I can assure 

 you he needs none of the things you mention, 

 to make him a healthy colt; in fact, he won't 

 touch the bacon, mustard, and coffee." You 

 could tell him that children won't eat such 

 things till educated to it by their elders; but by 

 judicious mixing and coaxing, in tim(» they can 

 be brought to it. and so can the colt. The 

 groom lemains obstinate, and declines to serve 

 yon if you insist on this absurd kind of ration, 

 and says a ration of pure water, and good hay 

 and oats, will make a better horse of him; he 

 will live longer, look better, and. in fact, be 

 better on his rations of oats and hay than he 

 would on all the mince pie and fat bacon in 

 America. What intelligent horseman would 

 doubt his word? In place of a colt we will sub- 

 stitute a boy in his te<>ns, and, by leaving out 

 the hay and preparing the oats right, the boy 

 would live longer, and be of more use to himself 

 and the world, than he would on the pie condi- 

 ments and bacon diet. 



Much has been written on tobacco and the 

 liquor-traffic. What is wickedly squandered on 

 these evils would feed the needy of Europe and 

 America. A man may be free from the use of 

 liquor and tobacco, and still not be as temper- 

 ate as he should be. Have we any better right 

 to kill ourselves by eating hot rol'ls and mince 

 pie than we have by drinking liquor? If we 

 an* temperate in some respects, does it give us 

 the I'ight to gluttony in others? 



Now, Bro. Root, as yon have done a good 

 thing for us in the past in helping ns produce 

 many things for our comfort and pleasure here, 

 as well as directing us to find the way to a bet- 

 ter country beyond. I eai-nestly hope that you 

 will direct your efforts, and teach us how to 

 live so we need not be sick all or part of the 

 time, but that good health may be the rule and 

 not the exception. To that end we suggest 

 that you invite correspondence on this subject, 

 that the readers of Gleanings, especially the 

 young, may get ideas and information that will 

 enable them to escape and steer clear of the 

 wi'ong habits that have wrecked their elders. 



Ithaca, Wis., March 2(5. S. I. Fkeebokn. 



