1S92 



GLEANINGS IN HEE CULTURE. 



021 



shekels that would romo in. Our i)linis an> well 

 diMintnl; :iud from tli(> skctoli you observe that 

 our solu'iiio looks well on papiM". 

 , It may he oonsidiMvd hy some that bee-keepers 

 sliould not indiilsie in the elaboration of such 

 soliemos; but tliat, perhaps, is one liisadvan- 

 tage bee-keeping rests und(>r in this eliinate. 

 Tlie actiye season is for oi\ly a few tntmths. and 

 then there is ample time to indulge in seheines 

 or business, and too often tlw other things ab- 

 sorb time that should be devot(Hl to the bees. 



The great need of bee-ke(>ping in California 

 is, to make it an all-the-year-round business; 

 and to that end W(> ought to rejoice at the 

 scheme of Messrs. Ilutcliinson and Cook in re- 

 lation to sugar feeding to make honey. With 

 our Chino and a dozen other beet-sugar fac- 

 tories, and endless summer, we could flood 

 Michigan knec-dcci) with that kind of honey. 

 The Rambler will immediately visit the Chino 

 sugar-factory and give you tiae results of our 

 researches. 



Although Messrs. Wheeler & Hunt have so 

 many apiaries around Redlands. there are 

 many others; and we may at .some future time 

 describe some of them to you; but for the pres- 

 ent, adio-s .says the Ramblkr. 



[That there are advantages in having top- 

 bars as illustrated, can not be denied. We have 

 thought some of making frames that way. but 

 could not see our way clear to do it, because it 

 would make an expensive change. In moving 

 bees over rough roads there would be danger 

 that the frames would hop out of place, and, of 

 course, one end \\ould dropdown and spoil the 

 whole. Taking it all in all, we question very 

 much whether it would be wise to make the 

 change, even if it would not break up the uni- 

 form length of all Langstroth top-bars.] 



STAKVING INDIA. 



FUKTHER rARTICULARS FRU.M MR. FRANK VAX 

 ALLEX. 



Mr. A. I. R')Ot:—l have received by this 

 day's overland mail from Europe, which 

 reaches us once a week, the .S34.80 which your- 

 self and your customers have so kindly sent me. 

 We have indt^ed had a hard time with tlireat- 

 ened and actual famine in South India. In 

 many districts actual famine has prevailed, 

 relief works by Government being the only 

 means which has prevented the utmost distress. 

 For several months we were stared in the face 

 by the prospects of the fearful famine scenes of 

 187G and 1877 being rejifaii'd. when upward of 

 .i,00(J.(XJO people are estimated to have died from 

 actual starvation, diarrho-a, and famine-fever. 

 The prompt action of the English Government 

 has tided over for us now a critical time, and 

 prospects are much brighter: and. though this 

 is so, times are very hard, and the prices of 

 grains in some cases almost toucliing famine 

 rates. There are some of our Christians among 

 the natives, who barely get one meal a day. 

 The effects of a serious scarcity last for some 

 time; by this we are cheered, that it is only tlie 

 remnants of the recent serious scarcity, and 

 that, as we have now had good rains, the crops 

 will soon begin to come into market, and the 

 high prices will be reduced. The slate of affairs 

 now in South India is well represented by this: 

 Rice (the staple food) is .53^ measures for a 

 rupee. The usual price is 8 measures for the 

 rupee. A rupee is about 3.5 cents, and the wage 

 of the mass of the people is about (3 or 8 rupees 

 a month. A " measure " is a little more than a 

 quart. 



My work in India is tliat of a medical mis- 

 sionary. I have a hospital and dispensary in 

 Madura (pronounced Mad-ju-ra). European 

 medicine is aj)preciated liere in India, due to 

 its intrinsic valuci and thecfTectof the influence 

 of the English (iovei iim(!iit. My dispensary is 

 thronged every morning with those seeking 

 either simply medicine or (dse surgical relief. 

 Last year I treated (with the help of my two 

 '* dresours," or native medically qualified men) 

 a little over 38,<)00 cases (including new and old 

 ones). 



Our dispensary and hospital has an excellent 

 name for miles about, and it is not in the least 

 unusual for i)atients to come 40 miles in a bul- 

 lock cart, for treatment; and sometimes they 

 iiave come more than 1(X) miles. Of course, the 

 majority of my patients come from Madura 

 and th(^ immediate surrounding villages. Last 

 year, [)atients came from :24G diflensnt villages, 

 near and remote. Such a work, as a well-known 

 medical work, is a Christian light that shines 

 brightly in such a heathen country as India. 

 It is the means of making many friends for 

 Christianity. It has always been tlie policy of 

 our mission to have tnedical work that the 

 people may see, as they perhaps might not oth- 

 erwise, our disinterested motives, and know 

 that we seek only their best good. They get 

 an insight into our motives through our medi- 

 cal work which they otherwise would not in 

 most cases. They know that the door of our 

 dispensary is always open, day and night: that 

 medicines are to be had without money (unless 

 they choose to pay for them; but the great ma- 

 jority do not do so), and that the hand of the 

 missionary doctor is ever ready to help. A 

 good deal of the money for my work comes 

 from America. I get also good local grants, 

 and my wealthy patients often give me most 

 liberally for my hospital. From this source 

 alone I have received this year about one- third 

 of my whole expense for the year. I try to 

 make this country bear as much of the expense 

 as possible, but the great majority of the peo- 

 ple are very poor indeed. 



Perhaps you would like to look at a few of 

 the cases in my ward. In one bed lies a man 

 who came suffering with what is called " Ma- 

 dura foot." The foot becomes diseased with a 

 peculiar fungus which, by the way. is found 

 only in the Madura district in South India, and 

 here it is, unfortunately, very common; begins 

 to swell, becomes painful; later, disorganizes; 

 and there is but one remedy, and that is, re- 

 tnoval. This man's leg was amputated just 

 below the knee. He is entirely well now, and 

 goes home to-day (of course on crutches). He 

 asked me for a new "cloth." A " cloth " is the 

 name of a straight strip of cloth, rather less 

 than a yard wide, and a yard or two long, 

 wound about the hips, and falling to the knees. 

 This is the one garment worn here by the poor- 

 er classes. As a rule I give only food; and 

 when he asked for the cloth I told him I 

 couldn't do it; but I shall now spend a very 

 little of this money, which you have sent me, 

 for him, and try to impress on him that it is the 

 gift of friends thousands of miles away who 

 have never seen him and never will, but who 

 wish him only good. 



Another case in a bed not far from his is that 

 of an old woman who fell on a jagged piece of 

 wood, tearing away her entire breast. It was 

 a most ugly wound, but she is now rapidly re- 

 covering, and will go home in a few days. An- 

 other woman is suffering from a large and seri- 

 ous abcess. Near by, in another bed. lies a 

 little boy. about eight years of age, who was 

 brought here by his father about two weeks 

 ago. He had fallen from a tree and broken his 

 arm iust above the elbow. The mother had 



