468 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



had said about cultivating, and I meditated 

 taking off his lines and all unnecessary parts of 

 the harness, to make the poor fellow as com- 

 fortable as possible in his intirmity. 



Now. this brings me to a humiliating confes- 

 sion: If I took off' his lines 1 must guide him 

 by '"gee" and "haw:" and. to be downright 

 honest, and own up. I never coul^l learn to tell 

 "gee" from ''haw."' My father scolded me 

 time and again because I got them wrong ; but 

 the more he scolded, the worse I got ; and I am 

 afraid that my good parent gave way in des- 

 pair when I was a boy. I was like the little girl 

 who was counting the chickens. She said she 

 counted them all butooe; but that one ran about 

 so " everlastingly" she really couldn't count it. 

 I could learn every thing but "gee" and 

 " haw ;" but nobody could teach me that ; and 

 here 1 was, 53 years' old, and didn't know " gee" 

 and " haw " yet. My teamster had consented 

 to drive the big team so as to get in some crops, 

 even though it loas Decoration day, since it 

 was the only suitable weather we had had for 

 weeks, and I meditated asking him to explain 

 to me about "gee" and " haw," bat I was 

 ashamed to. Finally a thought struck me: 

 Oh. yes! old Charley is to be my helper and 

 teac/ier to-day, and he knows sure!'' I ventur- 

 ed to say "haw" when I wanted him to go a 

 little further off from a row of strawberries. 

 He very promptly walked right on to them. So 

 I learned which way " haw " was, by sad ex- 

 perience. Pretty soon we were working nicely 

 without any lines at all, and when we came to 

 a shady tree I let Charley eat grass while he re- 

 covered his wind, and I leaned over against the 

 cultivator and recovered my wind. Charley 

 looked at me several times with his great hon- 

 est eyes, thinking, perhaps, that was a new 

 glimpse of my character ; and I, too, had got a 

 new glimpse of Charley. He knew " gee " and 

 " haw " just as well as he knew this name, and 

 minded to a dot. For a while we had a little 

 confusion in turning around, because without 

 the lines he couldn't tell whether I wanted him 

 to go once or twice in a row, and sometimes I 

 skipped from one part of the grounds to the 

 other, cultivating the stuff' that needed it most. 

 How was Charley to know when he should go 

 ahead to some other place, and just when he 

 should turn in? I was greatly surprised and 

 pleased to find that, by telling him to "go 

 ahead j/ee." or "/laif right in there, Charley," 

 he would do it every time. I didn't know be- 

 fore that a horse could be taught so much as 

 Charley seemed to know already that afternoon. 

 I knew that for several years Charley had been 

 very impatient at being led by the bits by any- 

 body. He will even bite, snort, and stamp his 

 feet in protest, when you attempt to take him 

 by the bit. He seems to say by his actions, 

 " Oh ! you go and take hold of the lines and tend 

 to your business. If you will tell me what you 

 want, in plain English, I can understand, and I 

 have got sense enough to know how to do all 

 sorts of work." 



All of his drivers sooner or later learn that, 

 and they often remark: " You can drive Char- 

 ley anywhere with the Hues, but he doesn't lead 

 by the bits worth a cent." We have been told, 

 in old-time fables, of people who had been, by 

 some scorcery or incantation, transformed into 

 certain animals for a certain period of years. 

 These people knew everything, but could indi- 

 cate who they were only by signs. My friend, 

 did you ever think it possible that your patient 

 horse might be one of that sort? Hadn't you 

 better be kind and gentle to him, and even re- 

 spectful, even if it isn't true ? 



Well, while Charley was getting his wind I 

 took the opportunity to get " acquainted " with 

 the Planet Jr. cultivator also. I had been 



annoyed by having young stuff, just peeking 

 through the ground, covered up by soil ; in 

 fact, the cultivator had sometimes thrown c ods 

 on my choice strawberry-plants. I soon found 

 that, by swinging the slender narrow teeth, I 

 could make them draw the soil away from the 

 plant. Now, this wasn't just what was needed 

 exactly, so I put a rather wide shovel in the 

 center that linished up. by throwing tine soil 

 back where the front tooth had drawn it away; 

 and I not only tore out the weeds close up to 

 the plants, but I threw up a mulch of fine soil, 

 leaving a furrow in the center to take away the 

 water from heavy rains. Oh I I tell you, but I 

 did enjoy the worls that afternoon. It is true, 

 I sat down and rested at the end of every row, 

 and sometimes in the middle of a row ; but be- 

 fore long the blood was tingling to my very 

 tlngers' ends, just as it did when I climbed Wil- 

 son's Peak ; and notwithstanding my clothing 

 was removed, one ai'ticle after another, it seem- 

 ed as if the perspiration ran in streams from 

 almost every part of my body. With surprise 

 and thanksgiving I began to realize that not 

 only entusiasm but strength was coming back — 

 strength and a keen sense of enjoyment in liv- 

 ing, that was new and most wonderfully deli-- 

 cious. I was enthusiastic about accomplishing 

 so much work to my perfect satisfaction, and I 

 was enthusiastic, too. in finding what a grand, 

 capable helper I had found in poor old Charley. 

 When the sun came out between the clouds, 

 and poured down its rays full upon him, with 

 very little breeze blowing, his labored wheezing 

 admonished me he could not hold out to the end 

 of the row. for the cultivator was almost buried 

 in the soil, for it hadn't been stirred before in a 

 month; in fact, pretty good-sized weeds made it 

 laborious. After the sun was obscured by 

 clouds, however, and a big breeze came up, 

 Charley held his wind rather better than I did 

 mine. I think it was about half-past three 

 when I first began to feel a little symptom of 

 fatigue. The teamster, who is a good neighbor 

 of mine, also began to remonstrate. If Mrs. R. 

 and Ernest knew what I was doing I felt pretty 

 sure my enjoyment would have been cut short. 

 Finahy I left Charley eating grass under a tree, 

 and I made my way slowly to the house. When 

 my strength commenced to give out it went 

 out pretty fast. Mrs. Root supposed I had 

 changed my mind, and tinallygone to Decora- 

 tion, and no one had missed me. Perhaps I 

 should mention, that, down in the field, the 

 men drink hard water from the windmill pump; 

 but I have been so feeble — at least I thought I 

 was — that I always have to have soft water 

 from the cistern ; but while I was cultivating 

 and perspiring at such a rate I drank the hard 

 water — well, I should say quarts of it— and it 

 didn't hurt me a particle. I lay on the lounge 

 perhays 20 minutes, drank a cup of beef-tea, 

 and, oh my I what a supper I had that nightl — 

 Wilson's Peak over again, as sure as you live ; 

 and it didn't costseveral hundred dollars either, 

 because it was thousands of miles away. My 

 prayer was answered. The overcoat, fur cap, 

 the flannels, and a great lot of other trumpery, 

 were disposed of on that afternoon. The friends 

 all prophesied a reaction ; but it hasn't come, 



* Since the above was submitted to Ernest he tells 

 me that tliere is a scliool i)f physicians who practice 

 on the line I have indicated. I do not knuw wlieth- 

 er they prescribe horses and cultivators or not; but 

 this thing is certain— at least to my mind— outdoor 

 exercise, or, if you choose, any sort of exercise, 

 must be accompanied witli enthusiasm in and for 

 the work: and 1 do not know of any better place to 

 g-o for this eutliusiasm than to Him who gave lis 

 tlie promise: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him 

 ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and up- 

 braideth not." 



